# two Malawians need sexing



## rquy (Aug 6, 2007)

Hi, the peacock was bought from a lfs about ten months ago and had quite intense orange and blue around the face, i was assured by the owner that it was a male. Except it lost it's colour and only now does it appear to be coming back, total length 4 inches.










The elongatus chalosi was given to me by a friend after his impressive male bred with some of his females, we believe them to be genuine chalosi and the male looks like most online reference. We chose this as it appeared the most male like of the juvys. but six months in my tank and i'm thinking it's a female. total fish length is 3 inches










Any help is appreciated. Thanks


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## rquy (Aug 6, 2007)

Hi, does nobody have any idea? or does the thread name sound weird? Could the moderator please change the name of this thread to 'what sex are these africans'. Thanks


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

It's not the topic that is keeping you from getting answers!

I don't think pic # 1 is a pure peacock of any kind, but I do think it's a female...Looks like a cross between peacock and something else, possibly mbuna.

If it was full colour when you got it and faded, it was likely hormoned.

I can't say for sure about pic # 2. It looks like a female, but I can't confirm that it's an elongatus.

No way to be 100% sure about either fish, but if I had to bet on them both, I'd bet they were females.

Kim


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

The first one could be a pure female peacock (though which species would be nearly impossible to tell), as I have seen egg spots remain after heavy hormoning has worn off. If the color is indeed begining to return it could still be a male. Peacock males can take a long time to come back to color after hormones wear off, if if he is in the same tank as the mbuna, might never color up. (peacocks get very stressed by the boisterous mbuna and often won't show any color, even as adults.)

I agree with Kim on the second one.


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

I don't think the fish in pic # 1 is stressed, though...Look at the fins!

The fin shape and body shape just don't look pure peacock to me, it's just looking rather "full bodied" for a 4 inch peacock, and then it almost looks like there's a splash of some faint colour on the "forehead"???

Kim


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## MalawiLover (Sep 12, 2006)

cichlidaholic said:


> I don't think the fish in pic # 1 is stressed, though...Look at the fins!
> 
> The fin shape and body shape just don't look pure peacock to me, it's just looking rather "full bodied" for a 4 inch peacock, and then it almost looks like there's a splash of some faint colour on the "forehead"???
> 
> Kim


Thats why I said "might". I have had the odd male peacock totally color down (yet his fins up and "happy"), but its really a long shot. The more likely would be a mix of something, though those bars are really very straight and even. Taking a closer look, the mouth seems kind of out of place for a peacock.

(PS. To the OP- very nice picture taking. It really makes a big difference if you want good answers)


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

I'm just "thinking out loud", MalawiLover! :thumb:

I keep peacocks, but you've got alot more experience with them than I do. I've never had one to lose colour that wasn't stressed enough to show it in other ways, too.

Are there any other male peacocks that look similar to the way this one initially looked in the tank?

Kim


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## rquy (Aug 6, 2007)

Hi, and thanks for the feedback. To the question 'are there any other similar peacocks in the tank?. Yes a male Sunshine Maleri who has had full colour for the last ten months.
It was my first tank and is a community tank there are several mubna and peacocks together and Tangs etc etc as i found it hard to say no when i first started in the hobby a year ago.
I'll definately post any changes if they happen. Thanks R


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

The sunshine could be making this one "colour down", but if the pic is an accurate portrayal of what he looks like as far as colour goes, I can't imagine him colouring down that much! And, at that size, even if it was a hormoned male when you first got it, he should be showing natural colour by now.

The body and facial shape just keep nagging at me...

Sorry we can't be of more help and give you a definitive answer! :-?

Kim


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