Urgent Fry Question

[Xebadir]

To explain. Basically after i had researched the fish and spoken to several people I found 7 juveniles and after making sure the tank was exactly right I added them(this is a 20gal tank for Juvenile growing out).

Now 5 months on they are beginning to show adult colours, and before I add them to their final display tank I would first like to seperate out 1 male and 3 females(for a 25 gal, which i know you wont agree with, but It is set up with lots of rockwork, and after observing the species behaviour i believe them suitable). So hence 3 fish need to be removed. I have already chosen the dominant full coloured male to stay, and the subdominant male to go, however the other 5 fish are causing me issues with identification. The supposed females are completely yellow with a slight tinge of black on the top fin near the head. Am I right in this assumption? Is there an easy way to indentify if any of these are males besides sometimes showing their black stripes, and a much longer black highlight on their finnage? Am I right in my identification of females?

Any answers or help would be great. Unfortunately I cannot get pictures of the fish, and individuals would be hard to identify anyway.

Note: I think I have identified the alpha female: completely yellow like the others with the tinge of black near the head, she has no nips(which the male indulges to the subdom male, and the subdom to the others), and seems to have a connection with the main male.

Regards,
Xebadir

 

[Ferris]

Females shouldn't show any black so they sound more like males starting to transform.

This link should help as there are quite a few pictures of juveniles and sub-adults:

http/www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=1

 

[Xebadir]

I had a look at that before, and it helped a bit, but going back to it now after watching for a while it appears I definitely have at least 2 *show* females, and at least 2 other males. There is a smaller fish which does not show either way, thanks for the suggestion Ferris.

 

[Xebadir]

Well,
Some news: been watching the fish closely and starting to be able to identify individuals. 2 Males, 3 females, and one little fella(runt maybe) thats growing slower than the others, that i cant sex yet.

The female that had the black on the fore part of her top fin sort of declared herself when i discovered she was holding. So now ive got a completely different kettle of fish(oh thats terribly bad punning: someone get a mod to punish me for that).

So i guess that answers my question about maturity. Does anyone have any advice or experience particular to saulosi's(or other Pseudo. species)? Would a 5 gallon be ok for an intial growout tank if i end up with fry? (its my only spare atm and can be set up with either a sponge filter or just aeration). How do I deduce holding times(i think she might have started holding in the last 5 days), and when she is ready to spit/strip. Considering i havent removed the non dom Juvenile males im not exactly sure what to do(im looking to do this next week on Sat...its the first gap in my schedule). I have experience with breeding with panda cories and the like, just never had cichlids breed(my Neo-Brevis is celibate cause i cant find him a mate, just has a lil bristle for company).

 

[Xebadir]

OK got an urgent situation here.

Was cleaning tank(moved a rock while vaccing) and in the process scared the hell out of the holding female, who spat a single fry(she seems to have more, maybe overloaded mouth). So she is definitely further along than i thought. The fry is about a centimetre(give or take), and the yolk sac appears to be slightly depleted. Given saulosi anyone able to give me an idea of how far she is along? Additionally does anyone have any tips for keeping the little guy alive? Atm ive got him in a small fry tank i have with an airstone(because my main tank is too dangerous for a breeding net) on moderate output. Any help would be very appreciated.