# jewle cichlid male or female



## billijaywest (Oct 13, 2008)

*** asked on other forums but am awaiting a reply still
please can some one help me sex my jewle cichlids
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3046/292 ... 2a.jpg?v=0
and
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3052/292 ... 97.jpg?v=0

Please help


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## billijaywest (Oct 13, 2008)

my pictures
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected] ... otostream/


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## billijaywest (Oct 13, 2008)

doesnt anybody reply


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## KMNL (Sep 4, 2008)

You can't really tell by your photographs, but males are slightly larger and more colorful. Females are small and stout. Hopefully that helps you out  See, I replied. LOL.


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## billijaywest (Oct 13, 2008)

both the samer sort of size ones really reddish while other is paler


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## KMNL (Sep 4, 2008)

If one is paler than the other, than that would be the female.


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## billijaywest (Oct 13, 2008)

you rekon because one is fiery red the other (smaller pale) they dont seem to be mating, when i introduced them to each other they starting biting eachothers lips, now they seem fine red one is all ways hiding (allways has done) whilst paler one is frequent swimmer around tank they do occaussionaly follow eachother around but no fighting, the red one is really red


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## oldwheat (Dec 24, 2007)

Female HEMICHROMIS generally are a brighter red than males, which tend to be darker. If the larger & darker one is the major aggressor, then the bright red one is most likely the female & vice-versa . If by chance they were of the same sex then more aggressive of the two would likely be the brighter colored one. If I were to stick my neck out, I would say that the fish in the second picture is a male.


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## billijaywest (Oct 13, 2008)

oldwheat said:


> Female HEMICHROMIS generally are a brighter red than males, which tend to be darker. If the larger & darker one is the major aggressor, then the bright red one is most likely the female & vice-versa . If by chance they were of the same sex then more aggressive of the two would likely be the brighter colored one. If I were to stick my neck out, I would say that the fish in the second picture is a male.


the pale one is the smaller of the two, whereas the more vibrant red one is the larger of the two and he/she seems to be in charge


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## oldwheat (Dec 24, 2007)

Very tough call here. As I said before, the second pic that you posted is almost surely a male. Could be that the other fish is male also. Could you post a pic ( as closeup as possible) of the sub-dominant fish.. If you are looking for a breeding pair, I would try to pick up 3 or 4 more 'turquoise' jewels & allow a pairing to occur then find a home for the remainingg jewels. Or even better  , pick up a half dozen 'jewels' of a pure strain ( I highly recommend HEMICHROMIS Sp. 'Bangui') & allow them to pair off.
I just took another peek @ your pics & will stick out my neck & say that the first pic looks like a male also.


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## billijaywest (Oct 13, 2008)

i would have though if they are both male surely they would fight a lot, 
silly question can jewle 's breed with malawi like cross breed


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## oldwheat (Dec 24, 2007)

If they were evenly matched size & aggression wise, they would fight until one came out on top then he would proceed to make life miserable for the underdog. No, Jewels will not cross with Malawi cichlids but probably every cichlid in the lake of haplochromine lineage will do so with impunity :lol: ..


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## bernie comeau (Feb 19, 2007)

Difficult to sex jewels from a picture. First one, not too sure, but looks more like a male. Second one, based on body shape, I am almost certain that it is a male.


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