# Male or female electric yellow?



## Russo

Hey guys, i want to have a male and female EY in my tank and i have this one at the moment so could you please tell me what this is so i can work out what to buy? Thanks heaps!

This is the one i have!


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## Reeyia

I could be wrong but it looks like a male. I believe the females have very little black on the dorsal. Hope someone with more experience then I do will confirm or correct me.


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## bma57

That's a taller order than I think you realize. Labs are EXTREMELY difficult to sex. Venting (which takes a well trained eye and a fairly mature fish) is the only way to tell other than watching a spawn or seeing a female holding. There are some very smart, experienced cichlid keepers in this forum, and I'm afraid none of them are going to be able to sex your fish from that pic.

Also, you may want to think about increasing your number beyond two. Yellow labs, like all mbuna, are harem breeders, not pairing fish.


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## dielikemoviestars

Yeah, there's no way to tell until they're quite mature and you know how to vent. Just get 6 and you're sure to get some fry.


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## css virginia

...judging "only" from the 1-picture .... I would say it appears to be a male from the darker back portion of the Dorsal Fin....but couldn't be certain of it....might very well be the opposite 8)


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## Russo

Cool, thanks everyone for your help! I wil go buy about another 5 and add them too my tank to make sure i have at least one female in there, i hope...


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## 24Tropheus

You really want just one male and five females for a best mix. Or at least 4 males out numbered by females.


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## Russo

24Tropheus said:


> You really want just one male and five females for a best mix. Or at least 4 males out numbered by females.


Oh ok but if it is so hard to determine the sex, what should i go by in order to make sure that i have some females? Is it the lighter the top fin is, it is female or that is not a good scale to go by?


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## Malawidolphin

That fish looks exactly like my females. My males have very black anal & pec. fins. I had a sub-dominant male look like that as well. I have had real nice females with black fins all around too. I only know what they are when they reach sexual maturity and spawn or how they behave around other mature Labs.


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## bma57

24Tropheus said:


> You really want just one male and five females for a best mix. Or at least 4 males out numbered by females.


Ideally this is true, but labs are on the calm, peaceful end of the mbuna personality spectrum. M/F ratio is less critical with labs than with a lot of other species. Unless you wind up, by pure chance, with a ratio that is extremely male heavy, I don't think you'll have too much drama. Good luck.


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## hollyfish2000

One of my labs looks exactly like this photo and she's successfully held twice, so . . . A girl!


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## Joea

hollyfish2000 said:


> One of my labs looks exactly like this photo and she's successfully held twice, so . . . A girl!


As already stated, there are no visual traits that determine a male or female L. caeruleus. Body shape, colour, amount of black and various other physical characteristics can vary between both sexes.

Other than witnessing this fish holding, there is no way of knowing for sure whether this fish is a male or female unless you vent it.


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## Reeyia

Thanks from me for all the input everyone! I'm learning!


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## LadyMyst

I have just bred some EY and I can tell the difference between the males and females by their bottom fins. The males are black like their top fin and the females bottom fins are not black. Yours, from the pic, looks like a female to me.


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## Joea

LadyMyst said:


> I have just bred some EY and I can tell the difference between the males and females by their bottom fins. The males are black like their top fin and the females bottom fins are not black.


Sorry, but this is not true. I have bred several hundred _L. caeruleus_ over the years and I have seen numerous females with black pelvic and anal fins and numerous males without.

Here's one of my F1 females.


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## danielratti

The only way to sex a yellow lab sucessfully is to vent them joea is right about the black part on the dorsal or anal fin.

Another way to sex fish in to look at the dorsal and anal fins if there pointed there males and if round females but i don't beleave that applys to yellow labs.

Its getting harder to even getting harder with ruby red peacocks because they have those females that look like the males i happen to have one in my tank and just the other day i found out he is a she and has eggs in her mouth.


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## Xenomorph

Males would show more intense black then females, but as previously stated the most certain way to sex them is to vent them. :thumb:


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## Russo

I know everyone is saying how hard it is to sex EY but the guy i bought these three off said that they are all male so i thought i would see what others opinions are on these fish! Thanks once again everyone!


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## dielikemoviestars

You.
Need.
To.
Vent.
Them.

End of thread.


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## Russo

dielikemoviestars said:


> You.
> Need.
> To.
> Vent.
> Them.
> 
> End of thread.


Could you tell me what that means please?


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## danielratti

You catch the fish with a net, you might need a light and maginifing glass you hold the fish upside down with its head still in the water then you look at the anal fin the above that will be the vent and anus if it looks like this OO Male oO Female...

You can't go by what people in LFS say because half the time they don't even know how to vent fish. Also with labs that was said 100's of times on this thread alone you can't go by the black on the fishes fins.


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