opinions?

[Suzyq330]

so I have these 2 convicts, and im trying to find out if its a pair or not... theres bin a lil bit of fighting going on, and im not sure if they are in mating mode, or if my firemouths are, or if they are just being fish....

anyway, I tried doing the research and looking at other pictures to see if i have a pair or not.. and it says that the female has a bright orange on her side, and males have pointier fins.... well my one has pointier fins AND the orange on his/her side. soooo im confused... so i took pictures to ask you guys.. O and neither has grown a hump on thier foreheads yet either....


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the other one....

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btw sorry for the disappearance.... and please disregard the water marks... tank needs a good cleaning been a couple weeks.

[robnepper]

Looks like fishy #1 is the boy.

[Suzyq330]

I kinda thought that was the male... but the orange side thru me off....
every article i read said the females have more color. and a bright orange spot when its time to mate.

[Gemstone]

my convicts all had orange spots....I had a whole colony....130......which all started out with just one little pair...

convicts are indiscriminate breeders...and they start breeding from small!!!!!!!!!! just over an inch and they get the urge!!..

a word of warning tho...if you have a breeding pair...get them out of the tank ASAP...they will attack anything else...and kill them...they get very very vicious when breeding..

I have since then sold of ALLLLLLLLL of them....and am now contemplating other cichlids which are not the bunny rabbits of the fishie world that convicts are...:hmm3grin2orange:

but they ARE extremely enjoyable to watch tho...they gave us hours of fun.

[canopus_star82]

i found this link on another forum on AC itself... check it out...

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also Blu Ray has given me some more pointers to tell male and female apart in the thread entitled "THE NUCHAL HUMP" alongwith some pics... it could be of use to you...

[jamiepugh]

the convict with the orange is the girl i had 4 the mate like rabbits they were always having fry i swapped 2 as they wouldnt leave other fish alone

[canopus_star82]

it's true that mostly female convicts have the orange patch... but, like lady hobbs said, there are exceptions... since this convict has BOTH the orange colouring and sharp fins i think venting the pair would be a good idea...

wad say?

[UNCLE RUCKUS]

Looks like fishy #1 is the boy.

#1 PIC IS FEMALE W/ ORANGE SIDES
#3 PIC IS MALE
the orang sides will fade during breeding.