# buccochromis nototaenia questions



## ravencrow06 (Dec 11, 2012)

I've got 6 of these in a 6ft tank most around 2" from an online vendor. i hoped they'd be able to sex them at 1:5, but they all seem to have blue on their gills and i'm wondering if this would indicate they're all males or do females display some of those colors as well.
Can i reliably vent these fish at this size as i don't like terrorizing them all with nets too often. I'm almost certain i have at least two males just by their behaviours. 
Thanks for any help and additional info on this species


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

You won't be able to tell anything by vent at 2", or by any colour clues. You should start to see some signs between 5-8". Don't forget, this is a BIG fish.


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## ravencrow06 (Dec 11, 2012)

thanks fogelhund for the reply... is this a fish i will be able to keep long term in a 6ft 135 aquarium? or did i overstep my bounds


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## ravencrow06 (Dec 11, 2012)

And an off topic question:9
When you buy full grown fish, shipped online... is there a greater posssibility for disease to creep up on them? i've purchased a few larger (6-8") fish and each one continually arrives with bloat... is this typical for adult fish and thus should i shy away from them... or just bad luck? i've nursed one back to health(i've got the meds for bloat and a quarantine tank) but the others arrived so weak that it almost seemed like a lost cause. Thanks again everyone


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## Fogelhund (Dec 3, 2002)

I've never had an issue with bringing in larger fish, so I wouldn't say it is typical.

As far as the tank size... it certainly will be tight, depends on how aggressive the males are.


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## papasmurf (May 21, 2003)

These will not show any noticeable color till about 5". I have what I think is a male (probably got it from the same online site you did :wink: ) that is about a year and a half old that is about 5" and is just starting to show hints of color and developing egg spots. They are not terribly aggressive fish but will of course, readily eat smaller fish as they get larger and they do get large as I have seen some in a LFS that were easily 12-14". It may take them quite a while to get this size but a 125 would probably be on the small side if/when they approach this size.


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