Help sexing angels

[atarah]

Can someone please help me sex these two? Not the best pictures as they are quite skittish.

I’m thinking white is male and black is female just based on how round they are and forehead look but I have no idea.

They are still small about 5cm of body (no fins). White was being bullied in the LFS tank so has nipped fins and I decided to rescue it (they were house with a lot of other angels from small to adult sized) but since they are at home they get along very well and I see no nipping or bullying, so I hope the fins will recover.

 

[Colin_T]

Probably too young to tell but if they keep the head shape when mature they could be male and female.

 

[Ichthys]

Domestic Angels can’t be reliably sexed by sight alone. You’ll need to wait until they breed to sex them properly.

 

[atarah]

I see! I didn’t know that what size do they usually start to breed and do they need anything in particular to start breeding?

 

[BigJfish12]

When mine bred I think I had them about 8 months. But have heard they can breed as young as 6 months(someone else will be able to confirm) when mine bred it was by mistake in the community tank meaning eggs where eaten by other fish or them. What I really recommend is that you breed them in a second tank take them out once they lay the eggs and keep an airstone near the eggs to stop them growing bacteria. Sorry can't help you any further as with mine once I had a second tank for breeding the female decided to kill the male.

 

[atarah]

It’s ok I don’t plant on breeding them! I just wonder what sex they were and if they are the same sex if they will get along

 

[ghyti]

What Ichthys said. Almost impossible until they drop their breeding tubes to spawn. Sometimes the adults with the ugly hump on their head are males, not always.

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[atarah]

Awww they are not ugly bless them

 

[ghyti]

Wild ones don;t have humps.

 

[Ichthys]

Wild ones don;t have humps.

Wild scalare don’t, wild leopoldi do. The domestic varieties are hybrids between these two which is why some individuals have a hump and some don’t. It’s nothing to do with gender, just hybrid variation.

 

[Colin_T]

The lump/ hump forehead on male cichlids is a fatty deposit that shows females the male is getting plenty of food. Lots of male cichlids get it (wild or captive bred)