Green terror male versus female

[Defever M.]

Hello, i need some help with the distinction between sex difference of the Green Terror.
I’ve been to the store twice, because i would like a couple Green Terrors.
But the problem at first i’ve got two males. I needed to separate them because the larger one kept hunting the other one.
I went back to the store and switched it for a female.

When i got back home and introduced the female to the male, he was curious.
Until 15 minutes in... the male went totally mayhem. He started to bite the tail and flank of the other one.
I would like to know what is a male or female in my tank.
The ideal dream is to get a couple that would breed.

I’ll post some pictures with this post. Thanks for your help!


Kind regards


The first two pictures represent the male
The last two pictures represent the newcomer (hopefully female)

 

[duanes]

In many cases, having a male and female (pairs of cichlids) in a tank, is death to the female.
With cichlids, unless the females are absolutely ready to spawn, she is essentially useless to the male.
If the tank is large enough, a male, and 3 or 4 females is a possibility, and even then, some unreceptive females are often killed, until one is ready to hit it.
I have a 180 gallon tank with 12 Panamanian G.T.s, and there is very little aggression.
But when they were first added, the alpha male, killed 2 close rivals. Since then its been fine, but if your tank is smaller than 6 ft, you may have a problem.
If it were me, I'd buy at least 3 or 4 females, and expect to lose 1 or 2.

 

[Serpentine]

Separating them with a divider is also an option.

I think #2 is female but would need a clear view of both breeding tubes to tell you who's who for sure.

 

[Defever M.]

Thanks for the great response!
Could you enlightened me how I can see the breeding tubes?
At the moment I’m working with a divider to protect them from each other.

Kind regards

 

[Serpentine]

Thanks for the great response!
Could you enlightened me how I can see the breeding tubes?
At the moment I’m working with a divider to protect them from each other.

Kind regards

If they happen to have tubes down when you look, they will be on the underside of the fish about 2/3 of the way toward the tail. A female tube will be a blunt, shallow U shape and a male tube will be a thin, pointy V shape.

 

[Defever M.]

So I have looked at the breeding tubes.
The first photo (also first fish in the post).
The second photo is the newcomer. It would be great if you guys could give me some expertise.

I don’t really see a difference

 

[Serpentine]

It is a little bit hard to see. They don't appear to have their tubes all the way down.

But... the first pic shows a pointy V shape that is angled straight down and the second pic shows a blunter U shape that is swept back. I am pretty confident in saying that in the tubes post, photo 1 is male and photo 2 is female.

 

[Serpentine]

ETA: Forgot to mention, this is in addition to and supported by the coloration and fin shapes of the fish in the first post. On their own color and fin shapes aren't 100% reliable, but they are secondary sex characteristics in this species.

 

[Defever M.]

Ok, that’s good news.
Does cranking up the temperature to breeding standards help to show their tubes better?

Kind regards

 

[Serpentine]

How big are the fish? If they're still growing--especially the female--then I wouldn't rush them. They'll get frisky when they're ready.

I am pretty confident that you have a pair. Others can weigh in, but enough of the tubes were visible to get the general shape and that when taken along with the secondary characteristics seemed clear enough IMO.