# JD male or female? fighting with ebjd?



## Brother Anthony (Mar 16, 2009)

Guys, I got the JD today and asked for a female...I think it is fighting with my electirc Blue Jack Dempsey, which is a little bigger than him.

I have been told they sorta fight when they are looking at mating also.


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## Comic Sans (Apr 21, 2009)

Nice fish!

Not sure about the sex, but cichlids often fight and spar to test the strength of potential mates. Watch out for body shaking and tail slapping as more clues.


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## Brother Anthony (Mar 16, 2009)

Thank you very much! they did tail slapping nor sure what you mean by body shakin.


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## Riceburner (Sep 3, 2008)

body shaking...like they are having a seizure


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

Nice new female you got there... and it looks like your male Blue Dempsey really likes her...

Good luck with the babies...


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## SinisterKisses (Feb 24, 2004)

I'm never going to get this whole JD sexing thing...why is it a female? I would have thought male. I thought the gill plates on a male were less spangly?


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## jack lover (Aug 12, 2008)

Cant def. Tell by the pics cause the fish looks kinda stressed got anymore pics? The pics dont see acurate for the gill plate sexing so ya can we have some more pics?


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## Comic Sans (Apr 21, 2009)

Well my understanding of jacks is females generally have more solid blue around the gills, but the tips of the dorsal and anal fins of your fish are pretty characteristically rounded, which is a good indicator of female.


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## SinisterKisses (Feb 24, 2004)

Rounded or not-rounded fins are actually a terrible indicator of sex. Not reliable at all.


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## Toby_H (Apr 15, 2005)

I gave my opinion (female) based on the gill plates... The very edge of the gill plate does have bits of blue...

Males can have Blue "spangles" on the middle/upper gill plate... but females have blue "splotches"... the female's blue is also more translucent where the males is more refractive...

These are all subtle differences that are easily misinterpretedâ€¦ I canâ€™t guarantee my interpretation but Iâ€™m still confident it is a femaleâ€¦

I do not think the female is ready to breed (totally lacks breeding colors) but the Blue (assumed male) seems to be testing her out as if he is interested in matingâ€¦

PS - I completely agree with SinisterKisses that fin shape does not indicate gender in Dempseys in any wayâ€¦


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## Comic Sans (Apr 21, 2009)

well, i stand corrected. thanks folks!


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## SinisterKisses (Feb 24, 2004)

Mmm I'm never going to be able to find a female for Sampson because I can't tell the difference, lol. I'll have to start studying pics of each sex I think.


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## Riceburner (Sep 3, 2008)

I thought it looked like a male.

This is my post in another thread...
for the most part the female has more spangles on the gill plates and lower jaw. The male has more body colour.

one of my females...









one of my males...


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## Comic Sans (Apr 21, 2009)

That's a good comparison thanks! It illustrates perfectly the blue under and around the gills, which was the only solid criteria i knew!


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## Big Vine (Feb 26, 2007)

Excellent comparison shots, Riceburner. :thumb: 
BV


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## bigcatsrus (Apr 15, 2009)

I have just looked at my bf's JD's, it seems to me that the dorsal fin on the male is longer than the females.

Looking at the splotches on the females coinsides with our females but the dorsal fin is longer on the male (well our ones they certainly are). I could be wrong.

The bottom one is a male


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## SinisterKisses (Feb 24, 2004)

Top one looks male too? Maybe it's the angle, I dunno.

Either way, even if it IS female, check out those fins - very lengthy and pointy, only a very minute difference between the fish below. If you didn't have something else to compare it to, you'd never know the difference. So as I said, not a reliable way to sex a fish.


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## bigcatsrus (Apr 15, 2009)

Its bow fronted so that may not help. The bottom one is the dad, mum has the "splotches", mum's dorsal fin is not as long as the dads. I'll try and get a pic when its darker.


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## illy-d (Nov 6, 2005)

but still without that male to compare the females dorsal fin to it looks long & pointy to me... If that female was by itself I wouldn't look at the dorsal and think it was short & blunt... I think that's what SK is alluding to - the spangles on the gill plates is a more reliable way to sex JD's - although both of these fish appear to have them...


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## bigcatsrus (Apr 15, 2009)

Onthe EBJD's how can you tell if it is female with the "splotches" are already "splotches". To me that just doesn't make sense for the EBJD's. Yeah ok it does on the JD's which are female but as I have said the males in my bf's tank show that their dorsal fins are longer or the other word enlongated.

I understand what SK is saying totally.

I'm trying to get a decent shot of the JD's but like always they think their going to get food and won't keep still, I'll keep trying though


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## illy-d (Nov 6, 2005)

I have no idea how you would sex an EBJD for the exact reasons you mentioned...


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## illy-d (Nov 6, 2005)

People often talk about venting but I've never done that - unless by venting they mean waiting for the cichlids to spawn and when the females ovipositor is swollen and protruding you are able to tell which is which... In which case I have 'done' that...

It's funny how easy it is to spot the sexual differences in otherwise hard to sex fish when you have a proven pair to look at... When I had 2 pairs of Keyholes I could tell you which was which from across the room even though both sexes were within 1/4" in size of each other... If I go into a pet store and look at a tank full of keyholes I have no idea how tell them a part or spot any differences whatsoever... I imagine it is kind of like that with EBJD's and Firemouths etc...


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## bigcatsrus (Apr 15, 2009)

We have a breeding pair and like you say its easy once you know which is which.

I had to ask just because these "splotches" are always on the EBJD, well with every picture that I have seen. Not seen them in person as I'm not sure in my area that they do them but it was worth asking. If anyone can answer then that would help me out.


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