Firemouth Cichlids

[Kyle]

Today I bought two firemouth cichlids. I have some questions about how to tell if they are male or female though. I let one out, and he/she when to the front of the tank and sat for awhile. I let the other one out, and he/she went directly to the cave in the tank.

The first one I let out, which is a bit smaller than the other one, has already started roaming the tank, and is looking very healthy and happy. The other one however is just sitting in the cave. The smaller one went up to the cave and went in a little bit, and the bigger one which was in the cave immediattly started flaring up his/her gills, and then the smaller one started doing it.

So my question is does that type of behavior mean anything?

The larger one has alot of red when he/she flares up and looks really big, while the smaller one doesn't have as much red, and doesn't flare up as much, but I am not sure if that is just cause of their size difference. Could any of this give me a clue as to whether I have a male-female, or two males.


Thanks

 

[Convoy676]

Kyle, I'd have to say that the bigger one from my point of view is a male, seeing that it is the more curious one and a more vibrant colour and larger size. I'd also say that the smaller one is a female from the way you say it hides and is less colourful. From my experience most of my cichlids are the males are very curious and the females arent. Another way you could tell is if the bigger one starts fighting the smaller one and the smaller one doesn't fight back (this is a big give away). I would say u most likely got a pair(male+female) or if not 2 males, just one younger and less developed. Maybe some picture could help???