Does it have spots above the lateral line?View attachment 221513
it's only 3-3.5" so I'm not sure if it's even big enough to tell by venting yet. but thought it'd be worth a shot
it's still to small to sex ....post another pic of him when he's around 4"last night i noticed a few very faint irridecent spots that have shown up under its eyes and cheeks too, if that helps at all?
the bottom one is male for sure. i would guess female on the top one
how big are they?
I tend to want to agree with that but until a Dovii reaches about 4" males and females pretty much look identical and venting is not particularly effective at that size since they aren't sexually mature. Beta-males of any cichlid species can "pass under the radar" when kept with another alpha-male by retaining female characteristics to avoid conflictthe bottom one is male for sure. i would guess female on the top one
This is pretty typical of the species however females will occasionally turn psychotic as well. The Dovii is probably the most aggressive cichlid on Earth and a VERY large tank is needed to quell their aggression or they will kill everything in sight. It would be in your best interest to keep a divider in the tank due to the fact that when it comes to cichlids when a male wants to spawn with a female that isn't ready he will often kill her, EVEN IF THEY HAVE ALREADY SPAWNED BEFORE.The bottom one is very skittish but a brute. Kills everything put with him except the "female" above.
Female is much more outgoing. Always swimming the tank.