# Dovii wolf cichlid male or female???



## Angus260z (Mar 5, 2018)

Can anyone tell me if my dovii wolf cichlid is a male or female?? The bloke i got it from (thinks) its a male as it was the dominant one in the tank. It has got bits of green on face but hard to see in recording. Heres a youtube link of my dovii


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## BC in SK (Aug 11, 2012)

I think it is too small and young to be certain either way.
If the fish was dominant in a tank with other small fish of different species that probably wouldn't mean much of anything, though if it were dominant in a tank with numerous other dovii from the same batch that might mean something and the sex might be more obvious if comparisons can be made with other siblings.
Some of the first indicators of being male for dovii are blue/green coloration on the face or snout and lots of spotting, especially above the horizontal stripe.
Of coarse, your going to need a really big tank to house this fish once it starts growing.


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## smitty (May 7, 2004)

Definitely not of a size to determine sex, and anyone saying either way is merely guessing.


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## Countsd (Jul 20, 2018)

Hi, I was doing some research and found a link to a forum of expert fish keepers who says that .."dovii can look male or female right up past 7-8" ime, spotting it in paired fins is the only traits that only the males exhibit, easily visible at 3-4 inch. if it get dots in its unpaired soft finnage it's a male."

https://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/foru ... le.700485/ ... males get small matching spots on their single fins, dorsal, anal and tail.
If it has spotting in these it's a male.

MALE DOVII = Spots on tail, dorsal & anal fins

FEMALE DOVII = NO Spots on tail, dorsal & anal fins

Hope this helps.


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## BC in SK (Aug 11, 2012)

Countsd said:


> FEMALE DOVII = NO Spots on tail, dorsal & anal fins


Sure, if you are talking about large, full grown adults. By this point it's just as obvious by the pattern of markings on the body.
Male or female.....all young juvies will essentially resembles females. It's not that simple sexing dovii at a young age. I still stand by my statement that coloration on the face (blue or green) and spotting on the body (particularly above the horizontal stripe) are some of the first indicators of being male. And of course if the fins are all spotted then you have more then a good idea that the fish is male but just as your link points out the dovii could be 7-8" and you still may not know for sure by looking only at the fins.
The fish in question is simply too small,young and undeveloped to be certain either way. Of course at this stage it has greater resemblance to female.....but it could just as easily be an undeveloped male that has yet to indicate or show it's true sex.
And like any sexing method there are almost always the odd exception. Even when there are very reliable indicators to sex a species, it is seldom 100%. Been on fish forums for over 11 years and have seen some very male looking young fish that fooled everyone......until the picture showing it laying eggs (with out any male around) with a huge egg laying tube that is more then obviously female. One thread had a young female dovii that layed eggs that looked far more male then most young male dovii. Also a thread with a female jag that had a much more intricate pattern then most male jag. Would never have believed that was female with out the eggs below the fish and the huge ovipositor ( and at that stage it's 100% certainty!).
Ultimately, if your patient enough you can determine sex of any substrate spawner 100% by observing the breeding tube over the coarse of weeks to months and knowing what they look like in different phases. Male and female do have different genitals.


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