Laetacara - red breasted flags

[miggi]

Has anyone bred this fish? I have 4, and am struggling to work out male from female! There are two that keep addressing each other - but dont seem to be really aggressive - I wondered if they were males showing off to each other or male and female 'flirting' lol. They will spend a while just nose to nose - then just gently disperse. If it was male and male i would expect one to chase the other off. Any ideas anyone? Do you think I have a pair? :?
Thanks

 

[lucky62]

males and females look very much alike , look for points on dorsal and anal fins , and the remale may show more red on the flanks .

Mine have spawned and eaten there eggs a few times , my water may need to be a little softer than it is .


my pair guarding eggs , note the whitish ones , these are void , I think because of slightly hard water .
male above /female below

male

Hope this helps .

 

[lucky62]

Do you have curviceps or dorsiger ? both are latacara species and look very similar , dorsiger are more of a brown color , and curiceps blueish grey . mine are curiceps .
dorsiger fair better in moderately hard water .

Both are sold as curviseps , at least they are in my area .

 

[miggi]

pretty sure theyre dorsiger, they show lovely red chests at times. dorsiger is hard to get hold of in england - curviceps are fairly common here tho - still really nice fish tho! thanks for your reply
Didnt realise they would spawn on a flat rock, thought they spawned in caves so thats useful too - I'll stick some flat rocks in - I have mostly bogwood at the mo.
I'll try and keep you posted - and sort out some pictures.
cheers
Marie

 

[lucky62]

Do you have curviceps or dorsiger ? both are latacara species and look very similar , dorsiger are more of a brown color , and curiceps blueish grey . mine are curiceps .
dorsiger fair better in moderately hard water .

Both are sold as curviseps , at least they are in my area .

[snapback]841265[/snapback]​

No caves , open water substrate spawners [ substrate ] , I've kept Dorsiger , haven't see any lately .