# red terror, male or female?



## trjamieson (May 29, 2010)

Hi guys!

This is my red terror who is about 11 months. Im a little confused about his sex. I was always under the impression that he was a male due to the coloration, but recently i recently introduced a new tank mate, a pleco, and saw him/her turn the bright orange and black stripe that is seen on the females. *** also noticed that my fishy is probably a bit on the smaller size, only being about 6 inches atm, im not sure if that is average for his age? anyways i hope you can help!










also, what is everyones opinions on a new cichlid tank mate? my tank is just over 400lts and i only have the red terror and the pleco in there atm.


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## Chromedome52 (Jul 25, 2009)

Females do not lose the stripes at any time, I would say your fish is a male. Oddly, the males are more likely to change pattern with their moods in this species. I've had females with no males, and they simply stayed with the barred pattern all the time.

At six inches, your male is still a little fellow. In that tank, I don't think another cichlid is likely to survive when he gets fully grown.


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## bernie comeau (Feb 19, 2007)

Females will have dark coloration, usually black, on the 1st half of the dorsal fin. Of course there are always a few odd exceptions, though it is generally a reliable indicator of sex.

Your fish apears to be male. Pretty sure, though I can't be 100% certain. It apears to lack the black on the dorsal, lacks stripes which is more common on males, and apears to have a more male body shape.

Tankmates in a 100 gal. might not be too easy. From what I have seen on the internet, most people have success with tankmates when the RT are not the dominant fish, and a number of people have had some real problems, even RT wiping out all their tankmates in big tanks, when the RT is, or becomes the more dominant fish. My own experience with the fish is that they are not very tolerant of subordinates and pocess a real mean streak. Of course every individual and every situation a fish is put in, is different. If it were my fish, I might attempt to try and house it with a bunch of female cons, providing a lot of hiding places that the RT doesn't fit in. Aggessive mbuna would be another consideration, though a lot of people won't like that idea.


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## trjamieson (May 29, 2010)

thanks heaps for your advice, really helpful 

I guess I am going to have to be very careful if i decide to find a tank mate :S *** noticed that my RT seems to leave my pleco alone most of the time, but this morning the pleco swam past and accidentally bumped him, and he went completely off! So im not too sure how to judge his reaction to other fish...


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