laetacara dorsigera pair or two females

[miquel]

recently i bought this pair at my lfs as l. curviceps, but now i'm starting to have doubts if it are truely a pair. On cagemans dutch apisto forum people said that they're two female's.

can somebody tell me what they are??? i'm planing to breed with them, so it would be nice if they are a male and a female.

so here are couple of photo's

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o266/agassizii/DSC01298.jpg

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o266/agassizii/DSC01288.jpg

http://i122.photobucket.com/albums/o266/agassizii/DSC01301.jpg

 

[element]

these are not the easiest species to sex. usually the female will have a plumper more round body along with less pointed dorsal and anal fins. they look like to males to me except in the second photo. the fish on the left in that photo could be a female with the other surely being male . with lateacara spp. it's reccomended to get about 6 young fish and let them pair off for breeding. so if they are still available to you get a few more.
-Jason

 

[Refael Hdr.]

It is indeed L. dorsigera. I agree with element, from the second pic it is more likely to sex them properly, yet it's still not 100% sure. But from what I can see in this pic the left one definitely looks like a female and the right one looks more like a male to me...

 

[Joost S]

I agree. Second photo right is male. And I am 95% sure that the other one is female.

 

[Mike Wise]

I agree with the group. Your Dutch friends probably believe that they are 2 females because of the black ocellus on the dorsal fin. This ocellus remains on females but fades to a dark patch on males. Your male seems to be young & has not lost the ocellus yet. Now that I have stated my opinion, I must say I could easily be wrong. I have not kept L. dorsigera in almost 20 years.

 

[miquel]

thanks for your quick replies, and i'm glad that they are a female and a male, now lets hope they are a couple too.

 

[STOKER]

Laetacara dorsigera

Laetacara dorsigera


L. Dorsigera is found in the upper catchments of the Rio Madeira and the entire region of the Rio Paraquay and its tributaries.

L. dorsigera has a roundish body, that is distinctly laterally compressed in comparison to other species, its body is somewhat stouter and fuller, with a blunt head. It has a lateral band that starts at the rear edge of the eye and ends at the midbody, from the midbody to the caudal peduncle, it is marked with at least five characteristical, broad, vertical bands, it also has a distinct stripe between the eyes and there is often an intensely pigmented spot in the dorsal fin. Sexing can only be distinguished in adults. Males grow slightly larger than females and usually develop distinctly longer ventral fins. Females usually have a significantly larger spot on their dorsal fin and a more rounded belly, which is a more intense red than that of males.

Info from the net

Mike