Lake Victoria Basin, West African, Madagascar & Asian Species • Kribensis male/female identification please

[Kipnlilo]

Hey all! Ok, goin* by the theory of female has complete yellow on top fin and not going all the way out, is my Krib with the really pink belly a female? Then is the other a male? His top fin is colored all the way back. These fish are hard to get pics of.

[Mr Chromedome]

If you look at the ventral fins, both fish have rounded ventrals. That makes both fish female, regardless of color. Males have long pointed ventrals because the first ray of the fin is the longest, while in females it is not. This characteristic is the reason the genus is named Pelvicachromis.

It is possible that the first fish is a very young male, but I've seen pretty small males that still had the characteristic pointed ventrals.

[Kipnlilo]

Thank you! Bought these at the LFS and they were pretty thin and beat up. They are looking better now. So, as far as females with no male, would this explain why they don’t particularly care for each other?

[Ichthys]

Yes. The one with the pink belly is coming into breeding condition, so she will want the other one out of the way in case a male swims by...

[Kipnlilo]

Ok, thanks. Tha makes sense.