jewel cichlid

[danny]

i am trying to pair up and breed my jewel.i have 3 of 'em and 1 i am sure a female,already in her red breeding colors and vent is out.the other 2 i am assuming males,since they are way slimmer than the female and they always flares at her.the dominance was established and i notice that "his" spot on his tail part have darken and became very distinct.i don't see them in other non dominant male and female.do only males display this?

[corycatwoman]

i am not familiar with this species of cichlid other then that they are readily available at most stores. they are a very pretty species. i considerd mixing them in my tank but decided against it after reading up about them. i didnt read about sexing them but i did read that they are some of the more aggressive of the africans. if you plan to keep all of these fish healthy and happy make sure theres adequate space and hiding for your pretty species. i will ask just to be safe what size tank are you housing these 3 jewels in and what other fish may be in the tank with them currently?

[danny]

Jun 21, 2009 13:41:37 GMT -5 corycatwoman said:

i am not familiar with this species of cichlid other then that they are readily available at most stores. they are a very pretty species. i considerd mixing them in my tank but decided against it after reading up about them. i didnt read about sexing them but i did read that they are some of the more aggressive of the africans. if you plan to keep all of these fish healthy and happy make sure theres adequate space and hiding for your pretty species. i will ask just to be safe what size tank are you housing these 3 jewels in and what other fish may be in the tank with them currently?

i house them at a estimated 20 gallons with 2 yellow labs.uhm,may i clear that when i said "dominance was set",i mean among them 3 jewels.yes they really are aggressive.there have been a lot of flaring going on among themselves.not so sure if it is a breeding behavior.i am thinking of buying another male looking jewel.
my mentor who has 40 years of experience have had success in breeding them in a 15 gallon tanks.his "basis" on sexing them is that he said is that males are smaller and slim compared to females.i am following his advice although he said that it is still a "hit and miss" basis.