sexing mbuna

[nzmbunaz]

ok, ive had my 60g mbuna tank for a little over 2 months now and i am wondering how to determine the sexes of my fish

if anybody can help me in this quest you will be much appreciated

 

[Angry_Platy]

It depends on the fish...but generally with mbunas the brighter prettier fish will be the males and the females will be duller with little colour. Of course there are eceptions to this rule. Do a google search for a site called Malawi Mayhem.

 

[nzmbunaz]

can ne1 help me about tellin me where exactly you should be looking to sapot the sweeling in the mouth. im not sure whether it is right up by the lips or whether its further down the throat a bit

 

[Becca]

can ne1 help me about tellin me where exactly you should be looking to sapot the sweeling in the mouth. im not sure whether it is right up by the lips or whether its further down the throat a bit

I'd love to try to help, but I'm having an awful time understanding what you're asking. I'm not sure what you mean by: "where exactly you should be looking to sapot the sweeling in the mouth."

If you're asking how to know if your mouthbrooder is carrying eggs, it's easy. Their jaw will be dropped a bit. It'll look almost like they've formed a double-chin. (That's the best way I can describe it..) In addition, these fish will also not eat while they're carrying their young. And be careful if you must net any fish - if you stress out (including netting) a mouthbrooder, they will spit out their young.

I hope this helps some.

 

[semper fi]

the only effective way to sex mbuna is to vent the fish. the vents are the excretion holes on the belly of the fish. the one closest to the tail is for waste. this hole is round. the one closest to the mouth is for sexual reproduction. in males this is also round, in females it is slightly oval in shape.

to vent the fish you would net the fish. keeping your hands wet at all times so not to disturb the slimecoat, grab the fish gently and turn it over to expose it's underside. examine the vents on the fish. 2 round = male, 1 round, 1 oval = female.

coloration and eggspots are good for guesstimating when purchasing a group of fish, but should not be used solely for sexing purposes