But, the "female" has been displaying her gills at the male. Unlike the male, her gills are not bright red. Is this a male that is less colorful or do females engage in this behavior?
2006-08-05 05:54:29 · 3 answers · asked by biogirl 3 in Pets ➔ Fish
Firemouths are cichlids and this behavior could be a courtship ritual between a male and a female or it could be a dominance test between two males. The red color varies from fish to fish, so it is not an indicator of male or female.
One way to tell male from female is the dorsal and ventral fins. On the male, they are much longer and come to a point. On the female they are not long at all and usually are rounded slightly at the tip.
If it is courtship, you will know soon enough. There will be a batch of eggs shortly. They breed rather easily. They will lay the eggs on a vertical surface and protect them from other fish.
Hope they are a pair, you will enjoy watching them take care of the eggs and babies.
2006-08-05 06:06:47 · answer #1 · answered by 8 In the corner 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Keep in mind that if the firemouths pair off for mating they may become very aggressive toward their tankmates and a tank divider may be in order. Otherwise sounds good... The raphael and the shark would probably mind their own business as the sharks are generally only aggressive toward others of the same species and smaller fish, and the raphael shark will get large enough in time to hold its own. Also, you have a fairly large tank there with plenty of space on the bottom for both. However, the rainbow shark may become aggressive toward the smaller emerald corys if they go nosing around in his territory. It may be best to just leave the shark out of the mix...
2016-03-27 00:08:06 · answer #2 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hi, I hope you do have a breeding pair. This is a good web site and shows good pictures of the difference in the sexes.
2006-08-05 08:37:37 · answer #3 · answered by plantladywithcfids 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋