Sexing baby Red Devil and Jags

[red devil 18]

Hey all,

I was just wondering if its possible to sex a Red Devil and or Jag's at about 1.5 to 2 inches... I usually by my cichlids at ages where i kno what they are but i decided to raise mine as babies... I'd prefer to have males(due to size and coloration) If anyone has any expirience with these specamins, all the help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[nate da fishman]

im not an expert but its really hard untill there about 3 inches
nate

 

[liv2padl]

aside from 'venting', there's no way to distinguish males from females when they're still juveniles.

There are two openings in front of the anal fin in all fish; one is the vent, one is the anus. The vent, often called the ovipositor in females, is the opening from which eggs or sperm are shed.

Both males and female have genital papillae which are different shapes in males and females - in general, males have pointed genital papillae, to facilitate the deposition of sperm over the eggs, and the female ovipositors are broad and flattened to facilitate egg laying. The opening closest to the anal fin is the vent ... in males the vent is roughly the same size as the anus and in females the vent looks larger than the anus.