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Ellioti Cichlids

2K views 1 reply 2 participants last post by  papasmurf 
#1 ·
My knowledge will be minimal, I am sure, compared to most on this forum. I raised live bearers 50 years ago and then revisited my hobby in 2014 now raising cichlids. Some cichlids are of course easy to breed others maybe more taxing. Several months ago I bought two Elliotis - they were both about 8 cms long and appeared to be "matureish". On researching the web it appeared both were males. No spots on the dorsals, both long flowing red tipped dorsals and body shape similar. The more I researched the more I was certain they were males. In fact I asked a fish shop to watch out for two females.
They were extremely attractive so I moved them to a smaller tank on their own. I tried to include all aspects in the aquarium as was advised to me as I read. Maybe a week ago one of the fish looked as if it had been attacked by the second yet there did not appear to be any animosity between them. One fish has completely lost its long flowing pointed red tipped dorsal and has also spots on the same fin. The fin is now beautifully rounded. "Her" body appeared to be deeper. Yesterday morning I awoke to find maybe 80 fertilised eggs on a leaf now moved to a piece of bogwood - 4/5 unfertilised eggs I think. Both fish are fanning the eggs and I have the tank covered. To cut the long story short - can Ellioti cichlids change sex ? Thanks for any help you may proffer - I find the scenario very interesting.
 
#2 ·
The spots you mentioned are not a reliable way to determine the sex of the fish...females will tend to be smaller and probably a bit shorter bodied than males with a slightly lighter build overall. It is possible that the fish may have been hormone fed which would explain the really long fins of both fish initially...I have had similar instances with hormone fed african cichlids in the past where the fins will "atrophy" without the presence of the hormoned food. It is a bit uncommon for CA cichlids to be hormone fed so it may have just been a female with well developed finnage. Females can have extensive fin development but not to the same extent as an old, mature, male.
 
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