Pelvicachromis taeniatus dehani - sexing

[Woody]

I have acquired 5 juvenile Pel. Dehani. They have settle in nice and are eating well. They are almost 3/4 of an inch long, including tail. Can anyone tell me how to sex them at this size, or will I just have to wait for them to get larger.

I thank you in advance

Woody

 

[dhm325]

At 3/4 inches they may be too young to sex. However, there are a few things you can look for. Males have vertical markings on their tails. These markings run from the top of the tail to the bottom and are really more or less vertically aligned sequences of quite small reddish brown spots. Females occasionally have spots on upper half of their tales but never have the vertical markings. With young males these markings will be very faint. When the fish get older the males will also develop spots on their tails but these tend to be concentrated along the outer edge of the upper corner of the tail. Most male taeniatus dehane have at least 2 or 3 spots on their tails. Females frequently (but probably not more than half in any particular brood) have spots on their dorsal fins, males never have spots on their dorsal fins. However, if your fish are an aquarium strain it is possible that more than half of the females will have spots on their dorsal and tail fins if they have been line bred for this characteristic. In addition, young females will show a darkening of the first few rays of the dorsal fin. Males do not show this coloration. Keep in mind that you may need to wait until the fish are at least 1 inch before these markings will be easily visible.

 

[Randall]

Sexing Pelvicachromis taeniatus

Hello Woody,

Sorry for not responding to your post earlier.

Coloration notwithstanding, the one sure fire way to sex all Pelvicachromis species is to look that their pelvic fins. In males the first pelvic ray is the longest, giving the fin a pointed appearance; while in females the second or third pelvic ray is the longest, giving the fin a rounded appearance. This distinction can be made even when the fish are very young.

Good luck!

Randall Kohn

 

[Woody]

Thanks Randall

Will take a good look at them tonight.

thanks for the information.

Woody