# new texas



## simo1973 (Jul 22, 2007)

hi, 4 weeks ago i bought a texas cichlid from my lfs, nice littlr fish it is,
today i went back to the shop and the shop still had some left from the same batch.
but some was a lot bigger than mine,so i bought the largest of bunch.
now what im thinking is that i have a male and female, the largest does look a bit more colourful.
do you think im right, i always thought 9/10 that males grow faster.
how big do they have to be to breed?


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## Nathan43 (Jul 9, 2007)

Somewhere in the neighborhood of 4" they can start to breed. To sex them, look for a large black dot on the dorsal fin, it it has one, its' female, if not, it's male.


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## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

> Somewhere in the neighborhood of 4" they can start to breed


Nope they spawn around the 2 in mark. They are very easy to spawn just like convicts.

Yes, the big one you got sounds like a male and more than likely is. But like Nathan says females will get the black blotch on the dorsal fin.


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## simo1973 (Jul 22, 2007)

the small one has been kicking the ass of the larger one. il move things about in tank today.
do the tex all have a dark spot the the males disserpears with age ??


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

No, only females have the splotch on the DORSAL fin


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## simo1973 (Jul 22, 2007)

sorry for being dumb, but you mean at the base of the tail were the fin starts?? that is were the spot is!! might have 2 female.
the top fin on the large tex come to a point, thought the female was more rounded like the smaller one.? :thumb:


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## simo1973 (Jul 22, 2007)

larger tex, about 1.5 inch









smaller tex about an inch









cheers


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

The top fin _is_ the dorsal fin! I do not have time at the moment but if someone (If I don't get to it) could post up a picture of a female texas I'd appreciate it. Also to the op. Run to google really quick and type in fish anatomy  It will help you to diagnose things in the future


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## simo1973 (Jul 22, 2007)

thanks for that thefishguy, i have looked on the net for pics of male and female,all adults though. been back to lfs there is about 8 left and the only difference is the sizes!!


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## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

Here is a pic of my old Female









Do you see the black blotch?

Here is my favorite pic of my old pair










Here is a pic of a female Salvini which they also get the black blotch


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## simo1973 (Jul 22, 2007)

cheers for that mate! you learn something new every day. i will check out mine later to see if there is a black blotch, now i know were to look lol. :thumb:


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

Run your cursor over the fish 

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/e ... natomy.php


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## Hezett (Jan 19, 2009)

this is my female doing the mom thing 
she is only about 3 inches and bred with a 7 inch long male


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## simo1973 (Jul 22, 2007)

nice tex there mate. lovely breeding colour. :thumb:


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## simo1973 (Jul 22, 2007)

what size do they get the dark splotch on fin. cheers


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## CiChLiD LoVeR128 (Mar 22, 2006)

They well get the black blotch on the dorsal fin around the .5 - 1 in mark and usually around a month and half to 2 months of age. When they are young it is easy to spot the black blotch. When they get bigger it's harder I think because of the spangles and coloration and they kind of lose the black blotch as they get older. The Salvini always have it and is much easier to spot.


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

My breeding pair is around 3 inches and her spot is obvious


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## simo1973 (Jul 22, 2007)

well, bought another little tex today, after 30 min looking at 15 tex i think i may have a female, im sure it has a dark mark on dorsel fin, the fish is only about an inch long. the biggest in tank was maybe 2 inch . =D>


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

You'll know soon enough, they breed like convicts...


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## simo1973 (Jul 22, 2007)

well, it was defenatly a she, the blotch is easy to spot. 
the thing is it took a bit of a battering by the other smaller tex, which i spotted a blotch on its dorsel fin !!!!.
so i now have 1 male and 2 female. (3some)
i hope the new one survives. will 2 female get on ?


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## Beo (Jan 26, 2008)

> _To sex them, look for a large black dot on the dorsal fin, it it has one, its' female, if not, it's male._
> 
> The tip about sexing Texas Cichlids is very welcome and just goes to show that you never stop learning in this hobby; I have been keeping CA Cichlids for 25 years now, but have only once toyed with Texas Cihlids (until now). Having just bought 4 Hericthys carpintis I was wondering whether the tip holds true for them, too?


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## simo1973 (Jul 22, 2007)

i would think so, im no experts though lol :thumb:


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## TheFishGuy (Apr 21, 2005)

Beo said:


> > _To sex them, look for a large black dot on the dorsal fin, it it has one, its' female, if not, it's male._
> >
> > The tip about sexing Texas Cichlids is very welcome and just goes to show that you never stop learning in this hobby; I have been keeping CA Cichlids for 25 years now, but have only once toyed with Texas Cihlids (until now). Having just bought 4 Hericthys carpintis I was wondering whether the tip holds true for them, too?


Yes, it does. 

And no, a threesome will not get along. The pair will oust the odd female. You'll know when it happens, then promptly remove her from the tank...


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## simo1973 (Jul 22, 2007)

*** removed the 2, and left the one that was getting bullied in there to get used to the tank for a week or so then il add the 2 and see what happens,if it continues, which it prob will.like you said, i rehome one.
cheers


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