I got this from a website,


How can you tell the difference between a male and female convict cichlid ?
The male has longer more flowing fins and a slight 'lump' on his 'forehead' whereas the female is more rounded with rounded fins, usually smaller than the male. The female also develops more intense colouring during breeding.

Will this hold true even when they are young? I've heard a girl will have a gold spot on her belly, will she even have this spot when she is young?

The easiest and most reliable way to tell the sexes is that females have orange spangles on their belly. The other ways you suggest, fin length may suggest a certain sex but arn't as reliable as the orange on the belly.

You can sex convicts from quite an early age, my LFS had some small ones in, at 1" or less and I was able to sex them without much trouble, by 2" the sexes should be well distinguishable.


The amount of orange on females varies from individual to individual, but this female has lots so its a good demonstration.

This post has been edited by shroob: May 21 2008, 08:53 PM

I believe this one is female.



I think this is a male. This is not a good pic but I hope you can tell based on this.



I think this is a male.

http://i285.photobucket.com/albums/ll42/Ce...ko/PICT0004.jpg

I'm probley not right so I'm hopind you could help me out.

male


female

EDIT: males also have a nochal hump on their head

This post has been edited by jb12288: May 22 2008, 01:09 AM

Can I get some more opinions.

I'll have to retake the pics, but the first one is a female right?

Here it is again.

Yeah, I would agree with your sexing, you definately have one female, you probably have a male as well, but I can't tell for sure from the picture you posted. If it has no orange then its a male, if they are in the same tank you can expect babies soon

your con looks very stressed. what are your water parameters?

Should I be adding to the water like salt etc?

yes i was thinking the same thing, i have lots of these and yours does look really stressed, post up your water test results, what size tank they are in and do you have enough hiding places/plants for them as they are very terrotorial and will get stessed out if not enough in there, how many have you got in there its the female im worried about
shelagh xxx

PS i never use salt

This post has been edited by shelaghfishface: May 22 2008, 07:54 PM

Ammonia is at 0 (that's what my Ammo checker says anyway)

I've only had 'em for a few days so that may be it. I'm gonna get a few [fake] plants tomorrow.

They're not eating very well right now either. Convicts should be really greedy shouldn't they?

Oh they are in a 29 gallon.

i wouldnt say greedy, mine weren't. they do like to eat but not so greedy as you say. What is your water temp, pH, nitrite, nitrate, and hardness? 29 gallon is the minium i would ever keep convicts in, and you have two, it will be really overcrowded if they are a pair. if they are a pair expect to have mass chaos. The only time i ever put aquarium salt (not table salt or sea salt) in my tank is when my fish are sick. If your cons have been in there for a few days they should be adjusted to their new home since they are hardy fish in my experience.

you defo need to test for other stuff too, nitrite.nitrate, hardness ( tho they are very adaptable to PH)
also get a load of live plants and get that corner where the female is, planted, any bascic plant is ok,they can be quite greedy tho they wont hang about demanding food, but will grab it while its about
your female is looking totally under the weather to say the very least,you need to do all of the above today, get smaller pots (halved) and put them in to, so she has cover should she feel intimidated ( which she looks),to be very honest if my convict looked like that i would be very concerned about her,as someone else said she will have settled in by now, but they are fish that appreciate there privacy,so lots of cover is good
good luck

shelagh xxx

This post has been edited by shelaghfishface: May 23 2008, 05:33 AM

live Plants? I thought they were destructive to plants so people advised me to get fake ones.

Crap, I bought fake ones, will these be OK for now. I won't be going back for a few days. I will change that pot too, I thought it was too big.

I bought water conditioner today for cichlids except it's for Africans [I didn't know this until after I bought it] will this still work?

fake will be fine as long as she can hide she will be fine, she just needs a rest im sure, maybe plant some around the opening of the pot, i have one similar its a wine cooler lol, and my cons love it,they are quite destructive, but dont let that put you off if you only buy basic plants it wont cost the earth, and they wont murder the plants they will just nip at them,
i have no idea about the african water conditoner as i use the normal stuff( aqua plus) in my tanks, someone will be along and answer that for you soon, no doubt
glad you are on to it anyway, dont forget to post up your test results, there maybe nothing wrong, but always worth checking

shelagh xxxx