sexing jags.plz help!!!

[ortho]

hello all
I have 1 pair of jags .the only thing that i know is that one of them is definitely a female because i saw her lying eggs.
I dont know if the other one is a male or a female!!!
he/she ressembles the female so much.
they formaed a couple 4 mounth ago. they laid eggs 3 times but no one of them hatched!
plz help me to identify my jags. difference between a male and female.
thanx

 

[rift-n-reef]

How big are the fish?? Could be you have a pair, but just not sexually mature yet. Other reasons for no eggs hatching.... Tank mates.. Most fish would just as soon eat their own eggs as let another fish do it. Infertile male, or bad eggs from the female. Poor water conditions. Two females.....ect ect, the list goes on. As for telling the sex of Jags, I'm no expert on them, but I'm pretty sure they are like most other larger cichlids in that the only way you can tell is by venting. And if you have never done that on a larger fish you are in for a real treat... When I say "venting" I mean the process where you take the fish out of the tank and take a close look at the spawning tube(vent). However, if your fish are activly spawning, it may not be necessary. If you look at the female when shes just about ready to lay eggs, you will see her vent sticking out.. Should be fairly short, and broad pointing straight down. If you look at the other fish and see nothing, the it could be one of two things. Its a male, but not ready to spawn, or its another female. If you see a vent on it, and it looks just like the females, then you have two females. If its a male, it should be longer, more narrow, and point slightly forward. My thought, give it some time...often the fist few go rounds don't go well. If after 6 or 7 times you still don't have any fry, then you may have a problem. HTH, and sorry so long winded, but theres a lot to cover on this subject...hehe.

"J"