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About Ron Coleman
Expertise
I am an expert on cichlid fishes, particularly New World cichlids. My broader expertise includes the behavior, ecology and reproduction of fishes in general. (I am NOT an expert on Goldfish). Please do not use abbreviations, such as "my GT has a swollen eye" because I don't know what a "GT" is. The more clearly you can explain your question, the better chance I have of understanding what it is that you seek. I keep fishes both as a scientist and as a hobbyist and I currently maintain about 140 aquariums.

Experience
I am an Assistant Professor at the California State University, Sacramento in the Department of Biological Sciences, and I run a website, called the Cichlid Research Home Page . I also write for many popular aquarist magazines, and I am editor of Cichlid News magazine. I am a scientist and I spend my time teaching fish biology, ecology, behavior and evolution and doing research on the reproductive biology of fishes, particularly cichlids. I do research in the laboratory and in Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Mexico. My main interest is understanding the evolution of parental care in fishes. I am interested in encouraging greater public awareness, understanding and participation in science.

Publications
Cichlid News, Tropical Fish Hobbyist, Freshwater and Marine Aquarium, Science, Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology, Copeia, Canadian Journal of Zoology, Trends in Ecology and Evolution, AUK, Environmental Biology of Fishes

Education/Credentials
PhD (Toronto, 1993) MSc (Simon Fraser, 1986) BSc (British Columbia, 1983)

You are here: Experts > Animals/Pets > Pet Fish > Fish > are my jack gona make babys?or do I have 2 boys?

Fish - are my jack gona make babys?or do I have 2 boys?

Expert: Ron Coleman - 10/31/2009

Question
my jack dempsey fish fight and fill the tank with sperm for the last 4 weeks. before this they have been together over a year with no fighting each other. I recently put them alone 2 and half months ago in a 29 gal smaller tank...I have seen any eggs.
The one I just knew was a girl is getting torn up her face is white now do to losing finns around her mouth. the one I have been sure was a boy has visible teeth.....they fight for 15 minutes then they huddle together at the bottom I just knew I was going to get babys ..But have never seen eggs.... I'm worried I have two boys now....five minutes ago I moved the girl to another tank cause I'm worried he can bite threw her face now that she has lost so much fins around her mouth....My wife says I just blew my chance at babys....
what they look like: he has a smoth chin with no brite blue on it
she has blue lines on her chin... I read some where that was how you sex them . have also read the cant be sexed with out picing them up and looking in vent before anus..have not done this...She is 4 or 5 years old he is 1/2 inch longer and puchased this size a 1 1/2 ago

Answer
Hi Jeff,
The lines on the chin do not indicate sex in Jack Dempseys. You can look at the vent (just in front of the anus) but you have to know what to look for and you need quite a bit of experience.
It is not simple to tell the sex of a Jack Dempsey. The biggest difference is in the overall body shape and how they carry their weight. Males are longer and have a straighter, more rectangular profile, while a female carries her weight more in the belly and is more roundish in profile. Unfortunately you have to have seen a lot of fish before this is obvious.

As long as they are fighting face to face, then things are okay, even though it can get very rough. The problems come if one fish gives up and the other keeps chasing it. If that happens, you absolutely need to separate the fish or one of them will soon be killed.

-- Ron
rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>

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