here are a few ways to tell the gender of a flowerhorn:


#1 dorsal black spot:

flowerhorns are hybrids,therefore this method will not be 100%accurate.this method is usally use on pure bred cichlid
however the rest of the method we are going to talk about here will not apply to fries under 3 in therefore this one is included.

90%of fry with out dorsal spots,will be males.
60% of fry with dorsal spot will be females.


#2 body structure.

male flowerhorn often have more angular and muscular lines ,while females often have a rounder,smoother body line.

#3 Dorsal spine method.

look at the first 6 dorsal spines of your fh, males often have rounded and thick spines, while females have a more flatened and thiner look to the first 6 dorsal spines.

#4 pelvic fin and pelvic spine method.

female flowerhorn need to use their pelvic fin as a fan to fan the eggs while breeding,therefore when you touch the pelvic fin and pelvic spine of your fh,if it is soft,and the spine is not as hard that will make you bleed,your fish is highly possible to be a female.


#5 chest line(chin line) method.

if you view your fish from the side,behind the gill jucture and before the pelvic fin,right under the petoral fin,this is the chest of your fish,if your fish have a bulkier chest,the it is more possible to be male,females often have a smaller,and smoother chest(unlike human)...lol


#6 anal venting method.

hold your fish upsidedown,look at the anal vent,males have a V shape and females have a U shape.
now look from the side,males should have their tube pointed toward the back ,while females have straight tubes.

male

This post has been edited by ilubtaimei: Apr 1 2008, 06:07 AM

female

This post has been edited by ilubtaimei: Apr 1 2008, 06:13 AM

Nice write up bro. Thanks.

Excellent post! Pinned! I will move it to the articles section once everyone gets a look at this... VERY informative and the pics are definitely key

this is nice...
when I look at male and female vents, notice thefemale ven kinda HOOKs forward (towards the mouth) and the males is just straight backwards (towards the tail) :)

I NEVER REALLY QUITE GOT WHAT IS MEANT BY U SHAPE FOR FEMALES AnD V SHAPE FOR MALES SOMEONE CARE TO EXPLAIN OR SHOW IN PICS?LOL

Very nice article. Thanks.

here...