# best way to sex a jack dempsey?



## centrino787

I am wondering what the best way of sexing a jd is apart from venting. I am wanting to get another jd for my 70gallon but i dont know how to sex it at the lfs. please help.


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## dsouthworth

It's by the color pattern kn the body

Male:









Female:









Notice hPw te male has more color on the body, whereas the female's is duller. Also the females ten to have the jewels on the gill plate behind their jaw.

With smaller fish it is very hard to do this.


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## montellp

haha thats my female jd shes a bully my male paired with my other female so i got a small male to grow out for her


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## Deceev

How soon (approx) can you start seeing these identifying makrings?


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## montellp

with her i got her she was 3 inches i could tell it was female my males at 1.5 inches i could tell they where males the females dont have alot of color on there body


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## bluejack23

I use the gill plate coloring to sex as well. Some females are more colorful than others. This is one of my females.


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## montellp

i have a female tht looks kinda like urs shes in her breeeng dress right now


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## bluejack23

This one is protecting her fry now  and shes black.


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## montellp

sweet lol u got any tips on getting her to wanna spawn more


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## bluejack23

Try feed small amounts twice daily rather than one big feeding. If she knows food is always available she will know food will be available for the fry. I was told this a year ago and it seems to work. Also make sure she has a flat surface to lay eggs on (mine likes a one slate piece I have). Hope thar helps you!


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## montellp

thanks she has 4 flat rocks and caves i feed them 3 times a day if not 4


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## bluejack23

Try taping mirror to the tank in between spawns.


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## montellp

k ill try ir but my male dosnt attack it my little male goes crazy lol but he isnt big enough to mate with the female in the above pic


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## Pa6947638763

Hello.
Can anyone tell me if this is male?


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## Ichthys

Yes that's a male.

The mirror is counter-productive. It makes them think there is competition in their territory, which means danger to fry. They're more likely to breed if they know the tank is safe and they're on their own.


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## Clown88

dsouthworth said:


> It's by the color pattern kn the body
> 
> Male:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Female:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Notice hPw te male has more color on the body, whereas the female's is duller. Also the females ten to have the jewels on the gill plate behind their jaw.
> 
> With smaller fish it is very hard to do this.


it's beautiful


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## freshwaterhobby

Deceev said:


> How soon (approx) can you start seeing these identifying makrings?


My fry are about a year old (1"-2") and I can already see major differences in size, head shape, and even the gill / body coloration differences.


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## lbgargoyle

I have 2 Jack Demseys. I had to separate them because they started lip locking & got very aggressive about it. I originally put a divider in my 75gal tank but they would dig & bash at it & knock it down. So I now have them in different tanks. When they were together they did lay eggs but none since they have been separated. If they are male & female should I just let them hash it out or should I keep them separate?? It does not matter to me if they have babies or not. But I did like having more than 1 fish in my main tank  They both look like females to me but they are my first fresh water fish. Here is one of the fish if someone could tell me what sex it is? Thank You for any help.


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## lbgargoyle

here is my other JD can someone tell me what sex it is. Thanks


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## freshwaterhobby

lbgargoyle said:


> I have 2 Jack Demseys. I had to separate them because they started lip locking & got very aggressive about it. I originally put a divider in my 75gal tank but they would dig & bash at it & knock it down. So I now have them in different tanks. When they were together they did lay eggs but none since they have been separated. If they are male & female should I just let them hash it out or should I keep them separate?? It does not matter to me if they have babies or not. But I did like having more than 1 fish in my main tank  They both look like females to me but they are my first fresh water fish. Here is one of the fish if someone could tell me what sex it is? Thank You for any help.


This one looks like a female to me. All the color on the gill plate, the head shape, not as much color on the body...reminds me of my female.


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## freshwaterhobby

lbgargoyle said:


> here is my other JD can someone tell me what sex it is. Thanks


Harder to tell with the second one you posted. Shadow on the face obscures features. Has features of both - gill color and body color. Can you try another photo of the face?


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## lbgargoyle

Thanks for your help. Here are a couple more photos of my second JD. It runs every time I try to take a picture


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