# Green Terror: Male or Female? :[



## Jameskim827 (Mar 4, 2013)

Hey guys, my name is James. I am new to fish keeping. I have decided to purchase a green terror, parrot cichlid, and a pleco for my first fishies. At the moment I have a 30 gallon fish tank . I am very curious about my GT's sex. I took some pictures to show you guys. My GT's name is Rona :3 He/she is currently 2 inches long. If anybody can give this beginner some advice, that would be GRAND! thanks!


----------



## Tejay (Jan 22, 2013)

Female, the dorsal fin is short and I think you can see her breading tube as well.


----------



## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

It's difficult to say (for me) at that size, but if I had to guess, just from the finnage and early color, I would guess male.

The best advice I can give you is to get a bigger tank! They don't call them green 'terrors' for nothing! And the parrot fish doesn't have much in the way of defense, and it won't take the gt long to start showing out in a 30G tank.

Definitely don't add anymore fish until you have a larger tank!


----------



## Jameskim827 (Mar 4, 2013)

Yeah I have been reading a lot and noticed the GTs require a bigger tank. I will save up more money try to upgrade to a 55 in the following month. Thank you. Well, from the mixed opinions, I am guessing time is my best bet. I will wait longer and try to take more pictures as Rona gets bigger.


----------



## CMN (Mar 24, 2011)

As Cichlidaholic mentioned you need a larger tank. Bare minimum for the fish you already have would probably be a 55g but I'd feel much better putting them in a 75g.

As for the sex it looks female to me at this stage, however it's too small and stressed to tell for certain. I had a small little GT years back that I thought was female for the longest time, until it hit 4" in my SA/CA mix tank and turned out to be male. Late bloomer.


----------



## Jameskim827 (Mar 4, 2013)

Would my GT be okay by himself in a 55?


----------



## CMN (Mar 24, 2011)

If it's a female then a 55g for life would work out. Males get a bit larger and the 13" width on the 55g makes it rather narrow for one.


----------



## Jameskim827 (Mar 4, 2013)

Oh okay so i guess my best bet is to just keep my GT by itself and upgrade to a 55 asap. And the best way to determine the sex is with the breeding tube and fins?


----------



## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

Jameskim827 said:


> Oh okay so i guess my best bet is to just keep my GT by itself and upgrade to a 55 asap. And the best way to determine the sex is with the breeding tube and fins?


Usually...When you only have one, there is no one to show off for, so coloration can be tricky. But I had one a few years back that everyone was certain was a male due to fin shape, and it wasn't.

I did not notice enough of a 'breeding tube' to make a female call on it.

The best way to find out when buying fish is to buy from someone who is able to vent them and tell you right on the spot. But I have been keeping fish on and off for 40 years and haven't got venting down pat yet!


----------



## Jameskim827 (Mar 4, 2013)

Thanks for the help! I will just wait it out i guess and maybe get another one so i can have a pair. I will surely post pics soon to show development. So if my GT is alone, it might become slightly discolored?


----------



## CMN (Mar 24, 2011)

Not discolored, many keep males in their own tank and they display fantastic colors. The females are a tad drag with no male around, but I had a beautiful young female once upon a time - intense teal green spangles and a bright orange fins. She was a looker and was easier to keep in community setups then most males.


----------



## Jameskim827 (Mar 4, 2013)

Alrighty thanks for the help. Hopefully Rona, my GT, can one day be as beautiful as you described, whether a male.or female. Ill have an update soon. Thanks again


----------



## CMN (Mar 24, 2011)

I found two pics on my photobucket of her.

2 Disclaimers though - (1.) Both were taken with a phone so quality of the picture itself is lacking (2.) One is a bit blurry but shows the body better...she always danced for me when I came close to the tank cause she wanted to be fed.


----------



## Jameskim827 (Mar 4, 2013)

That is a very beautiful fish. How old and big was she when you took.these pictures?


----------



## CMN (Mar 24, 2011)

Right around 4" give or take. She started breeding really early - I picked up two Saums looking for a male and ended up with a Male/Female that started to breed around the 2.5" mark. The male was a stunning young dude himself, however I lost him when I put them in their own larger tank (No real good reason as to why he kicked the bucket, I'm guessing it was just the stress of the move). I then went and picked up another small Saum and hoped for a male but thought it was a female for the longest time as it stayed drab in coloration until one day he popped his colors.


----------



## Tejay (Jan 22, 2013)

I am quite sure if you take a photo similar to the first and zoom in a bit (maybe take the photo from beneath the fish a little as well) it might give everyone a better view to see if it is a breading tube or not.

Having been through a similar issue recently and mine having recently bred, I think I can quite clearly see the breading tube in your first pic.

It should be a very small white looking bubble.


----------



## Jameskim827 (Mar 4, 2013)

Alright I will try to post the pics up soon when I get some more time. Thankss!


----------



## sabrina1488trunk (May 3, 2020)

so ur fish was a female then and not a male? these dates wee posted a day after how did u find out so quickly and how did the fish get that bigger in a day?


----------

