It doesn't really matter that much since I don't want to breed anything, but I'm trying to keep all males as far as the cichlids go so nobody would even think of interbreeding between species.

Is there a way to tell if a pink convict is male or female? I know that on the normal coloured ones, the female tends to have orange on her belly, but how could I tell on a fish that is .. well only white?

Sorry, I'm really having problems taking photos anyway, plus this one is like 2" only and white, but for a chance anyone could recognize something, here it is:

another:

I used to have standard convicts and as you say the females have the orange on the belly, so i never really looked at anything else. Do the males and females have different lengths to the top fin? like firemouths. Cant remember. Maybe someone with standard convicts can have a look and post an answer

Female pink convicts also have the pink on they're belly...it's just a little harder to see.

Cheers,
Art

Oh cool, thanks you both!
I can't see anything pinkish on its belly at all yet, so I might just wait a bit still and then call it a male

delboybully, i beleive other then venting, the only way to sex convicts is by the belly/dorsal fin color.

artemis1 wrote:


I'm pretty sure that you can pick out a male by looking at it's dorsal fin. Males tend to have a dorsal fin that tapers away to a point, a lot of CA cichlids have this feature

Not that you can easily see...I've owned LOTS of convicts, and there was no significant difference other than the belly color.

Ok if your pink convicts have no belly colour then its just a wait and see game. If you have a male and a female you WILL have eggs, just gonna have to be there to watch them being laid to know which is which

Oh, I have only one, and for a reason!
It is a bit difficult to compare anything though with only one, hence I was asking. I would have liked a normal coloured one better originally, but this one's growing to me, always the first at the glass together with the Oscar, funny sight really. (I had to take one firemouth out again, so the convict went in there instead.)

Will see how it develops, just a bit afraid always a convict might try to breed with a different species, so I'm hoping for a male.

artemis1 wrote:


Well that's how I've always done it and never been wrong yet. I've either been very lucky or I have an eye for it. Either way it doesn't matter really, that's just how I pick out a male