My New Nic!

[joeyh51]

Just managed to get some pictures of my new Nicaragua, still only small, about 3 inches. Could anyone identify if it's male or female?

Sorry about the quality of the images, just sold my decent camera

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

If noone beats him to it, I'm sure "Wills" will give you and answer, his female (Elsie) was a truely stunning fish.

 

[mattlee]

a young fish to sex but i would say male at a guess.

 

[minnnt]

Something makes me think male too.

Andy will be able to help you out with a definate ID anyway.

 

[joeyh51]

Nice one cheers for the input so far, I was hoping for a female as I've heard they're a bit more colourful when matured. But nonetheless I'm still basically in love with this fish already

 

[Liam50]

female as the stripe runs the full length.

 

[Wills]

lol no pressure.... to be honest Im not sure. It does look male given the soft body colour and lack of blue in the face and it has spots showing in the finnage and the dorsal fin is not as blue as I would like ... but like Liam says it has black band which says female - though not 100%. I think they need more time to settle and see which of the above signs go more dominant and which go stronger. If the lateral line fades I would say male.

If its from the same brood I had one from for a while I think they are quite close to wild and the others showed a lot of black blotches on the body which suggests that they are the true Nicaraguan race rather than one of the other populations or a farm bred strain

Wills

 

[joeyh51]

I'll wait and see how he/she develops then to determine the sex. Nice to know the it could be a true Nicaraguan breed, does have a small black blotch on the top of its back that is starting to become a bit more prominent.

If/when I find out what sex it is, I might try getting the opposite to try and pair them up, do they come very aggressive/territorial as a pair?

 

[joeyh51]

Just been thinking, I'd quite like to get some shoaling fish for the tank, but a bit unsure what is compatible.... Any ideas?

 

[Wills]

Mine was fine with most non territorial fish. However to cover all bases I would look for tougher tetras, possibly barbs or Swordtails can work - Things like Columbian Tetras or Buenos Aires Tetras could be good options - Red Eye Tetras might work or Bleeding Hearts given how fast they are.

I had Annostomus Ternetzi in with mine and they never got any grief so you could also look at things like them or Marbled Headstanders?

Wills

 

[joeyh51]

Went to the LFS today and bought a new juvi golden sev to keep him/her (can't stand not knowing which one yet) company. Only a small one so will have to keep an eye on possible bullying, but hoping they'll get on ok. Will try to get pics up in a new thread soon.

 

[Liam2368]

Nics are stunning i didnt even consider one until i saw wills. Im absolutely gutted i lost my female at weekend, she menaged ti get her big clumsy head stuck between the glass and a rock while i was at work, she was probably my favourite fish and the most peaceful of all my cichlids in my tank. Im truly gutted. This was her not long after i got her, her colours are nice there but got even brighter as she settled down