# Sexing Calvus



## CichlidWhisperer (Apr 12, 2008)

So I have my 7 inkfin calvus that I got almost 2 years ago as juvies... they are somewhere around 3 to 4 inches (I am a bad judge of size). My tank is now over stocked and I want to take some to an auction. Problem is I am not positive which are males and which male to keep. I figure the biggest and most territorial fish is the dominant male. But he seems a little aggressive towards all others including the ones I am thinking are female. So should I keep him or a different male? And then I wanted to keep the females, but not sure if I am making an accurate judgement. $ are about 1/2 bigger than the other three. I figure these are females? But then I saw two I thought were males that had some interesting interaction that seemed more mating than fighting. It was almost like the one wanted the other to brush up against his side.

I have read that males have taller bodies and more sloping heads, but not positive I see this in my fish. I have also read the males have longer fins. Well the one I think is the alpha male probably has the longest fins and the three I think are female by size probably have the shortest, but they correlate with the size of the fish, so I am a little uneasy about making this call as well...

My plan is to catch (need to take out most of the rocks to do this) the fish I intend to take to the auction (including calvus and 3 other species) the week before and put them in a separate tank for easy catch that day. But I need to know which to separate!

Any help would greatly be appreciated!!!!


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

Surely you want to let them get ready to breed to make sure they are a compatable pair before selling em? Thats is what I would want as a customer. Not just a male and a female taken from a mixed sex tank. Surely it is easier to let the fish tell you which ones are pairs by their behaviour?


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## CichlidWhisperer (Apr 12, 2008)

I am only getting rid males. I am keeping all my females and one male. I simply need help identifying the males and females and choosing which male to keep. Sorry if I did not convey that in the original post.


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## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

Oh sorry. Dunno. Only way I know to sex em reliably is look at thier bits, when they are old enough to tell. Far easier after they have spawned at least once.
http://www.fishhead.com/articles/ventsex.htm
Dunno which male will grow up to be the most peaceful, I guess your guess is as good as any.  

All the best James


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## kriskm (Dec 1, 2009)

I got a group of yellow calvus about 2 1/2 years ago. I guess in my case it was pretty easy. I had four fish who were much larger than the other two. And these four fought all the time. I also noticed more of a hook to the forehead of these guys than the smaller two, if that makes sense. Two of these guys were really big, and two were medium big. I sold one big and one medium big. The other medium big is sick in a hospital tank. So I have a really big guy and two little girls in my tank. They get along fine, but no breeding yet. I don't mind if they don't breed, just happy they all get along. The guy I sold the two males to tried keeping them in a 125 gal, and they had to be separated. They were indeed boys.


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## CichlidWhisperer (Apr 12, 2008)

OK.. so that fits with the larger 4 being male and the smaller 3 being female... I had actually noticed that hook on the forehead of the bigger ones too, just didn't realize it meant anything.

So out of the 4 larger ones, one is a little bigger and more aggressive and really really black (can't make out any striping on his head, just black with starry white spots. Of the other 3, one is almost the same, but with more striped head (very subtle) and seems a little less viscous. Which should I keep as my male????


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

He might only seem less vicious because he is sub-dominant.


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## chrispyweld (Dec 20, 2005)

I would keep the dominant one. He is dominant for a reason.


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## kriskm (Dec 1, 2009)

I don't think it matters which one you take out and which you keep. If you like the looks of one better, keep that one. If you take the dominant one out, another one will just step up and take his place.


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