mermaid Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 I thought I had a female convict since they I got 'it', but yesterday was told that it looked male. I agreed as it had lost it's rosy pink baby cheeks, and peachy belly, and was now dark blue/grey all over, with dark grey stripes. Now it has just been given its own 2ft tank and is happily swimming around, but now Im not so sure that it's a male! Here are the photos of it: http://groups.msn.com/MyCichlidTank/convicts.msnw I'm confused because when it was in the tank with blue gravel, it went completely dark I think to blend in more with the gravel. Now that it is in a tank with light gravel, it has gone back to being a lighter colour with a slightly pink belly. But then people say it has male finnage and a hump on its head. Is this one confused fish or what? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teamsherman Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 From the photo i looked at on your page, and comparing that to my cons, i would have to say i think its definatley a male. Cheers, Alan. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mermaid Posted March 26, 2004 Author Share Posted March 26, 2004 Okay, I've adjusted the brightness in the pics and I'll upload those in about 5min if you want to just double check. They're a lot easier to see now Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teamsherman Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 Yeah, i'll stay with my previous assessment and say its a male. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mermaid Posted March 26, 2004 Author Share Posted March 26, 2004 Okay I'm still confused about the lavender/pink belly though.. which it has showing right now and always does in light gravel tanks.. but it doesn't in dark gravel tanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ducksta Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 My original assessment, based on what I was told/shown when you just bought it, was female. The fact that it is reddening in the tummy again to me still suggests female. IMO fins are a poor indicator of sex, I have female Americans which people will swear are male viewing finnage, but which I know are females as I have bred from them, and watched them drop eggs. The fish is developing a bit of a nuchal hump. The head shape is the thing that is swinging me towards male at the moment. I have seen girls develop small humps, but generally only when breeding, and it is only very temporary. Sometimes for the duration of the spawning dance only, sometimes for a few days. I would say male now. Get it a girl and if you have viable fry, its a boy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cobaltcraig Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 i would also say girl based on pink belly cheers craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
misty62 Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 Hi Ya mermaid, When I had convicts I had a pair and they bred like dam rabbits.......... LOL...... IMO the male has no colour on the belly the fins are a bit hard to tell as they have beautiful colours that come out when they get older on both male and females the females are the ones with the orange colour bellys and by looking at your pics (which were a bit hard to see) it looks like a male to me too convict females get the orange belly faily early so u should be able to tell male from female. Hope this sheds some light on the subject I think i still have some pics of mine so you can compare if you send me an email i email u some of the ones i had. Just my 2 cents worth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mezzacam Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 Ok.... From the looks of the size of the fish, IMO i think it's a female.. The body just seems to fit perfectly with the body of my female convict, plus the pink belly Female convicts belly and top fins will have abit of gold plated look to them when she has eegs and is ready to breed. I'll try get a pic of my pair and show you the difference between my male and female convicts... my male has a lil' torn finnage as he is sharing tank with a mid grown male GT they are fine together now, but it was a rough first couple days... anyhows, go to some pics now if i can.. cheers cameron. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Chronic Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 it is pretty easy to sex convicts, firstly check the top fin and see if it has a pointy tip on rear end. if so then it is a male females have orange colouring on their body hope that helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mezzacam Posted March 26, 2004 Share Posted March 26, 2004 This was the only good picture i could get of my male, he didn't want to stay in the open... The back fin was just ripped when he tried to fight my GT male, i'm looking to get rid of him today to a LFS maybe, along with his lady... but i couldn't get a pic of her as she stayed hiding.. Anyhows, how it helps, Cameron. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mermaid Posted March 27, 2004 Author Share Posted March 27, 2004 Thats the colour my one looks on light gravel - can't you see the pinkish sheen?? Your one has a biggy forehead then mine.. my one is more slopped instead of humpish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Memphis Tank Posted March 27, 2004 Share Posted March 27, 2004 G'Day mermaid I would say that you have a male. Notice how there is like a threadfin that extends over the tail, well that is what our big boy has. He has also been known to get blushed on his under belly and checks when trying to bos something around eiher his girl or the heaters red light! Our girl has a beautiful metalic glaze just under her top fin, which is there all the time and her blushed belly when she is spawning. Hope i helped but everyone is different in picking sexes. Cheers MT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tamboe2000 Posted March 27, 2004 Share Posted March 27, 2004 its a boy deffinately a boy the fems have bright orange bellys not pink not suttle either its bright as day Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mezzacam Posted March 27, 2004 Share Posted March 27, 2004 oh yeah i know what you mean mermaid.. My boy will go this colour when he is scared/lonely .. a real light colour that has a pinkish colour through it... But when he's boss of the tank and is say protecting fry, he goes back to his real distinct grey with black stripes... I'd say you have a male ... so i'd say just buy him a misses and see how things turn out Cheers, Cameron. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Link2Hell Posted April 10, 2004 Share Posted April 10, 2004 females will usually show a gold belly patch ........ even at 3.5cm size check the link female convict pic L2H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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