MJ-Apache Posted September 12, 2013 Report Share Posted September 12, 2013 Hi all, Does anyone know at what size you can start to reliably sex Mbuna cichlids by venting? The species I am looking to do are Electric Yellows, Blue Pindanis and Rustys, and the fish I have at the moment are about 3-6cm long. Also, at what size do they become sexually mature and may start to breed? Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mclovin Posted September 12, 2013 Report Share Posted September 12, 2013 My mbuna usually start to breed at the 6cm mark depends on the type of fish ofcourse. It is easier to vent sex a female fish after it has bred. Hth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFishkeeper Posted September 12, 2013 Report Share Posted September 12, 2013 My mbuna usually start to breed at the 6cm mark depends on the type of fish ofcourse. It is easier to vent sex a female fish after it has bred. Hth I agree, many mbuna will start breeding at around 6cm or so and are much easier to vent sex at that size, particularly after they have bred at least once, as laying eggs swells the vent a little and makes females more obvious from then on. Cheers, Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJ-Apache Posted September 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2013 Thanks for the advice guys. I haven't vented cichlids before so anything that will make it easier (e.g. previous spawning) will be appreciated. My tank is currently over-stocked with the three species listed above in anticipation of culling each down to a 1M:4F ratio. I'll try and wait until all fish are at least 6cm. Hopefully some will have spawned by this stage and venting will be easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael_M Posted September 18, 2013 Report Share Posted September 18, 2013 You can also work on the ratio without venting. If you have a spare tank you can observe the dominant males usually pretty early on, catch them and put them into the spare tank. From there won't be long till another male assumes the role of top dog. You can repeat this to ween down the number of males, another nifty benefit is it allows you to see each male dominant and displaying its potential. This allows you keep the best male for your breeding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJ-Apache Posted September 19, 2013 Author Report Share Posted September 19, 2013 That's not a bad idea Michael. I've already seen two male Pindani's fighting it out so I imagine it wouldn't take too long to sort out the M from the F. I guess the only limiting factor at the moment is that some fish are still quite small (3-4 cm) and might not be mature yet - but this would also be a problem with venting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
