Help With Sexing

[Snake42490]

Ok. I think not that my fish are starting to mature.. im seeing a lot more aggression.. Im not sure if some is from to many males per species or what?

My tank 55 Gallon

4 Kenyi

4 Red Zebras

4 Yellow Labs

6 Syno. Petricola

What should my male to female ratio be for these fish?

Kenyi: I'm pretty sure I have 3 males and 1 female... I have 1 that has turned to what looks like a yellow lab. and two that are a pinkish orange.. its really a weird color. then i have one thats just a light blue

Red Zebra: I have 2 holding so i know i have 2 females.. then Im pretty sure i 1 male.. not sure about the other guy

Yellow Labs: Hell If i even had an idea? forsure 1 female.. other than that no clue!

Petricola: no clue not sure if it matters. haha

With that being said do you think I should take some pictures and have you guys help me sex them? I want to have a peaceful tank.. haha.. as in peace between each specie if thats possible! I dont want any deaths coming down the road. The aggression has just started today. Thanks Seth

 

[Snake42490]

Ok well ive been reading around and it looks and sounds as if the kennyi will dominate the tank and probably kill everyone else.. with that being said im thinking it might be best to take them back to the store?

 

[dthoffsett]

Personally I wouldn't keep kennyi (p.lombardoi) in anything smaller than 75 gal, and still only have one male. If you are going for a peaceful set up, I'd definately rehome them.

As for the zebras (m.estherae), you'll want a ratio of 1m/3f, while not extremely aggressive, two of these males can get pretty hostile when fighting for dominance. The dominate male is ususally easy to pic out, he'll be a lighter orange with possibly a blue sheen, they generally develop longer ventrals, subdom males are a little tricker, they are usually also a pale orange however they can take on the coloration of females to "hide".
You might see if you can catch the two you aren't sure of and vent them.
[URL="http/www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/gender.php"]http/www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/gender.php[/URL]

With labs(l.caeruleus), unless you get a rogue male, m/f ratio doesn't matter to much as far as aggression goes, however, if you end up with only one female, she may get stressed by the dom male constantly trying to breed.

If it were me, I'd rehome the kennyi's, and then add another 3 labs and 3 red zebras, pretty stunning tank, and IMO you see more interesting behavior when each species is kept in larger numbers.

 

[Snake42490]

Ok.. so i have been trying to figure stuff out constantly haha.. Today I took the kennyi out.. I believe i said a few words in doing so. I had to take each and every rock out of the tank.. then the little %$#@! Burrowed under the sand so i couldnt see them lol... it took me 45 min to catch 4 fish. bah haha... along with that i was trying to figure out m to f ratio and i also got some F1 Cobue that are coming in tomorrow.. I have been seeing them around and i talked to the breeder to see what his tank setup was. He has Yellow Lab Red Zebra setup and it looks AWESOME. then i checked around and talked to a couple other people so i was like yeah i must do this haha.. Getting rid of the Kennyi i can already tell was a good thing. The fish arent really chasing any more besides my stupid Alpha male red zebra or whatever.. You described him exactly. Hes lighter has really long fins.. and has this sweet blue on him.. its showed up way more since kennyi have been out. The yellow labs have really changed to.. the black on their fins is vibrant now. with that being said..

Red Zebra im pretty sure 3 females to 1 male.. Im questionable about 1 little fish.. he doesnt grow.. But i will see...

Yellow Labs i caught i think to be my male try to breed with two females.. so im thinking i have 1 male 2 females.. not sure about the 4th..

 

[dthoffsett]

Sounds like you're gonig to have a really sweet set-up with the addition of the cobue. Taking the bullies out of a tank can really change things.