# Is this Red Empress juvi a boy or girl?



## cbryan1976 (Mar 2, 2007)

Hi, can anyone help? Is this a boy? Was sold as such by an honest gent, but no colouring showing yet. Sorry if pic isn't the best, new to this lark....


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## sgwn73 (Jan 1, 2010)

Until the fish gets larger there may be no way to tell for most juveniles without venting. Wait to see if it develops some color as it gets older. One way to guarantee a male (if not 2-3) is to buy at least 4-5 of the unsexed juveniles and see what you get out of it. If space is an issue (tank size) then thats understandable....and you can always re-home the ones you dont want!

Sean


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## cbryan1976 (Mar 2, 2007)

Thanks for that sgwn73, I appreciate the advise. I am already considering going down to his next week and picking up a few more, he's a private breeder selling them for little more than the price of a bottle of milk so can't loose..

I did think that maybe the colour appearing at the tips of the dorsal may give a clue, but I've read contradicting things.


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## sgwn73 (Jan 1, 2010)

Not sure how big your fish but I have seen Red Empress almost 2" and not showing any color...so it may be awhile!


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## sevmeera (Aug 8, 2009)

you could try venting it yourself, it's not too hard once you get the eye for it. The male will have more of a fleshy "bump, whereas the female will have a wider flatter area between the anus and anal fin. It's actually kinda fun and a great skill to have if you are serious about keeping cichlids. Good luck!


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## cbryan1976 (Mar 2, 2007)

Thanks for that, I'll read up on it and maybe give it a go!


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## kkbward (Jan 1, 2007)

in my experience, empress are tough to guess even with the method from sevmeera. i have kept them a few times and my group i have now was supposedly a vented quad (1m, 3f). They are considerably bigger than yours - around 5". sure enough one of the females - isnt. his color was just being supressed by the dom male. he darkened up quick though as he tried to do the dance with one of the females....


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## cbryan1976 (Mar 2, 2007)

So I may never know! I am considering taking a best guess, then getting another empress of the supposed opposite sex. As soon as I see some kind of difference/reaction between them that defines who is what then I'll give one back to the breeder... Maybe the only way I'll find out is by letting the fish tell me! :lol:


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

These are harem breeders so you will want multiple females for your male.


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## kkbward (Jan 1, 2007)

yeah - i think you are better off leaving this one by itself. in my experience, having one is bettter than having two of a species. if they end up m/f, the male hammers her around the tank and likely eventually kills her. m/m can work but it can be an even bigger bloodbath. finally f/f means you have two silver fish.

if you can find 4-6 more, do that for sure and then you will get a nice quad or trio out of it and trade/sell/give away the rest.


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## cbryan1976 (Mar 2, 2007)

I'll probably stick with this guy solo then. I'm revisiting the breeder at the weekend for other stock, if he has one of these guys more coloured up then I'll do a swap.

Does the fact that he's settled into the male hap heirarchy (spelling??) give any clue to "his" gender? He's slotted in above the Dragon's Blood Peacock and below the larger Red Rubin's Peacock.

Would a female behave the same way?

Would the peacocks still bother sorting out who's boss with the Red Empress if "he" was a "she


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