I got my first cichlids!! But what sexes are they?

[Maroonostrich]

Hi everyone, I finally brought my golden eyed dwarf cichlids home, the fish I really wanted since the tank thing started.

They have settled in really well, been here a good few days. I have been told more than once that neons are not the ideal tank mates, but thought the neons shoaled pretty tightly at first and they do occasionally give a half hearted chase at meal times, I've not seen anything sinister.. the neons have spread out again now.

I know I have one male, big dave. But me and the lfs had a lot of problems ID ing any females in the tank.

The LFS told me that when there is a big dominant male in the tank like Davey here, the other males won't 'flourish' as much and remain as sub males, feigning females, so as not to attract unwanted attention.

There are 3 fish here, I wanted a male and two females, but Dave chases the two 'girls' an awful lot. They are a lot 'drabber' as I am sure you can see, but both have the irridescent scaling that my male has on the lower parts of their faces- one has it very little.

I would like to show pictures, but how do I do that again? The option seems to be gone here!

 

[Maroonostrich]

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=99849&st=0&

Put the piccies in the right section!

Hope someone can help!

 

[Maroonostrich]

Hi everyone, the discussion has continued and I may have a tank of 3 males!

It's not the biggest tank so I guess that this is not an ideal situation!

Please take a look at new piccies of the 'female'

(in picture section, linked above- thankyou! )

and advise... I don't think it's very fair to keep one alone and would like Dave to have a partner even if they don't decide to settle into family life- will he get used to sharing with a boy or do I need to take two back?!

 

[lucky62]

Hi M O ,

How big is the tank ?



If the the tank is 30 or larger " , and you supply plenty of cover [ hiding places ] plants , caves ......stuff like that , you should be OK with 3 males , if I were you I'd try to find at least one female , and trade off 2 males , keeping the most vibrant of the 3.

Golden Eye's , like most dwarfs aren't the terrors many larger cichlids can be , there will be aggression , but it shouldn't be life threatening .

However keeping a second male with a breeding pair is probably not a good idea , just thought I throw that in .

Here is a link to google for you

http/www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=nanna...G=Google+Search

You should be able to get a good idea what to look for , the pics you find are much better than mine .

They are a highly prolific breeder , and and awesome sight as well , great fish.