My cuban cichlid (4 in), is male or female? Thanks!
Cuban Cichlid, male of female?
- Thread starter aleelmanya
- Start date
The dark color in the dorsal usually indicates female in Nandopsis.
And although yours has developed a more male profile, this is common if a male of that species is not present, and commonly happens that the female may adopt dominant traits.
I had a female Nandopsis haitiensus whose profile and coloration would change to a more male look, over night if the male was removed from the tank.
normally she looked like this
but if the male was removed, she became this
below is a normal female Nandopsis tetracanthus (Cuban) note the dark color in the anterior of the dorsal
below the male
And although yours has developed a more male profile, this is common if a male of that species is not present, and commonly happens that the female may adopt dominant traits.
I had a female Nandopsis haitiensus whose profile and coloration would change to a more male look, over night if the male was removed from the tank.
normally she looked like this
but if the male was removed, she became this
below is a normal female Nandopsis tetracanthus (Cuban) note the dark color in the anterior of the dorsal
below the male
Are there tricks of the trade for keeping Tetracanthus healthy or just plain "alive" like you have for the Haitiensis? I'm interested since I favor both of these striking species a lot as of the past few months. @duanes @Andy woods cichlids ukThe dark color in the dorsal usually indicates female in Nandopsis.
And although yours has developed a more male profile, this is common if a male of that species is not present, and commonly happens that the female may adopt dominant traits.
I had a female Nandopsis haitiensus whose profile and coloration would change to a more male look, over night if the male was removed from the tank.
normally she looked like this
but if the male was removed, she became this
below is a normal female Nandopsis tetracanthus (Cuban) note the dark color in the anterior of the dorsal
below the male
I found keeping and breeding tetracanthus, much less demanding than haitiensus. The tetracanthus didn't require as much warmth ( compared to the high 80s haitiensus prefer), and were not stressed to death simply by having tank mates, like the haitiensus were.
I believe Cuba being much larger, normally has a more varied aquatic fauna, and with rivers flowing from mountains, more varied water temp fluctuations, so tetracanthus evolved in a less static environment.
I believe Cuba being much larger, normally has a more varied aquatic fauna, and with rivers flowing from mountains, more varied water temp fluctuations, so tetracanthus evolved in a less static environment.