[WarEagle1986]

hi. I have a 90 Gallon cichlid tank with 2 Ptyochromis sp. "salmon", 5 metriclima callianos, 4 Aulonocara Rubescens, and 5 "stuartgranti Maleri"(one died 2 weeks ago, so now 4). the one that died had no wounds. I bought all of them as juveniles. they are now an average of 2.5 to 3 inches long. my largest is an Aulonocara sp. stuartgranti maleri, i have thought he was a male as he was the largest and most colored up. 2 days ago i noticed "he" didnt come to eat and I did not see him for over a day. i found "him" and saw that it looked as if "he was "chewing", like a female when holding. he was also staying in hidden cave. it has now come out and is still chewing but is now bumping into rocks and plants. i thought maybe it was indeed a female holding but the bumping into things seems odd. does anyone have any insight here. thanks in advance.

He also seems easily pushed by current

 

[aznf0o]

I have had my dominant male peacock hold a few eggs before and "chewing". After about 2 days of him bumping into food and not eating/sifting sand, I decided to attempt to net him. He ended up spitting the eggs and ate normally after that.

If he gets hungry enough I'm sure he will swallow the eggs, or you can attempt to strip them. He may even spit it out if you attempt to net him.

 

[WarEagle1986]

update: he died 10 minutes after my post. i have no idea what happened. good to know that males will hold, i did not know that could happen.

 

[DJRansome]

Males don't hold.

 

[aznf0o]

Sorry about your loss.

My male did hold. I watched him spit out the eggs as I chased him. And witnessed him doing the mating dance with females after that.

Maybe he was one out of a million, or just plain retarded, bi-curious or confused.

 

[DJRansome]

Maybe he was a female?

 

[aznf0o]

I can guarantee you he isn't a female.

Heres a picture taken from phone, not the best quality.

http://a3.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos- ... 4221_n.jpg

I know it sounds ridiculous and impossible for a male to hold, but it did happen. I'm sure I won't witness it again. But if I do, I'll be sure to take pictures and document!

 

[DJRansome]

How big is the fish? Are you saying it's a male due to the color?

 

[aznf0o]

He's 2 1/2 inches right now.

I've had him since he was 1/2 inch juvenile with the usual drab color. I've watched him develop color throughout the months and today, he is the dominant fish in the tank. I have one other male in the tank who is the subdominant male. The subdominant attempts to spawn at times, but is promptly chased off by this male.

Finnage, color, behaviour, no hormones (bought from daves as juvies, NLS) all suggest he is a male.