# How can I tell the sex of juvenile Dovii, about 4 inches???



## kenlperry

Hey folks! One of my local fish stores has about 12 - 15 dovii in that are about 4 inches... I was wondering if there is a definitive way to tell the difference between the males and the females at this point. Right now they are all pretty light in color. Some have slightly pointier shaped head/face areas though.. Any thoughts?? Thanks!


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## kenlperry

Here is a small video of my 2 current Dovii.. You will see that the larger one is quite aggressive and has the greenish/blue coloring around the face, but I think it's a female though. Check them out and tell me what you think.. Are they both females or what???


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## kenlperry

Well it looks like my attempts to attach an .avi video were unsuccessful. I am going to try to attach 2 pictures to see if that works, but the pic quality is not as good as the video. In the meantime I'm going to try to get some better pics taken too.. If someone can tell me how to post the video that would be cool and appreciated.. Thanks!!
The 1st pic is the smaller one, and 2nd pic is the larger one which I think is a female. Not too sure though!

View attachment 118299


View attachment 118300


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## oscar119

Actually I think your larger one is the male. my .02.. kinda blurry though.


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## The Mean Machine

the larger one is yor female and the smaller one is your male, iv had a pair of these fish and that is what they are, your male should get spots right down its face n body while your female should just get a blotch of black lines through its body.......

heres a few pics of my pair of doviis
Male 4.5"
Female 4.5"

View attachment 118308


View attachment 118309


First pics is the male is the top one and female the bottom one, and the second pics is just the female

hope this helps


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## oscar119

Very right, didn't know what to call them but a male should have the black spots above the lateral line down the side and that line should fade.

I still say no way the larger is the female as I've never seen a female color up like that. But mean machines photos are right if it helps.


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## kenlperry

Thanks for the feedback guys.. I think Mean Machine is right, after seeing his pics.. My larger fish looks just like the female in his pics, but mine just has a little bit more color..... I thought the males had less thick black spots than females, kinda like with managuenses... So I do hope my smaller one is a male. They seem to get along ok in a 55g, so we'll see. I'm in the process of getting a 135g though, so they'll have alot more room to grow....



Mean Machine said:


> the larger one is yor female and the smaller one is your male, iv had a pair of these fish and that is what they are, your male should get spots right down its face n body while your female should just get a blotch of black lines through its body.......
> 
> heres a few pics of my pair of doviis
> Male 4.5"
> Female 4.5"
> 
> View attachment 118308
> 
> 
> View attachment 118309
> 
> 
> First pics is the male is the top one and female the bottom one, and the second pics is just the female
> 
> hope this helps


Hey Mean Machine, is that male pictured with the female the same one you have pictured as your profile pic?? How big were your pair in that pic?? And why was the male looking so light there but that male pictured in your profile pic looks much darker? If it's the same one, is that after it matured more or what?? Thanks!


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## The Mean Machine

No its not the same one my pair are 4.5" and the profile pic was off my 18" male that i sold a while back now, But the male above i dont know y its looking light as its got all its blue fins and bits off purple on its face...... the female gets greenish fins and and on its face

this was a 8" Female for sale on aquarist classified look at the colours on it to yours they look near anuf the same thats y iam 100% sure your big one is a female

View attachment 118385


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## Zappa

Piranhas and Cichlids said:


> Well it looks like my attempts to attach an .avi video were unsuccessful. I am going to try to attach 2 pictures to see if that works, but the pic quality is not as good as the video. In the meantime I'm going to try to get some better pics taken too.. If someone can tell me how to post the video that would be cool and appreciated.. Thanks!!
> The 1st pic is the smaller one, and 2nd pic is the larger one which I think is a female. Not too sure though!
> 
> View attachment 118299
> 
> 
> View attachment 118300


the bottom one is a male


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## The Mean Machine

Trust me i know that they bottom one is FEMALE, cuz iv had them b4 at this size and the male has SPOTS all over its body and the Female has black Blotchy lines accross its body with GREEN on its face and fins

HERES some pics to prove its a female, these pics are from JEFF RAPPS SITE who has wild doviis in stock all the time and heres a pic of his Male and Female doviis

FEMALE DOVII
View attachment 118393


MALE DOVII
View attachment 118394


I REST MY CASE


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## kenlperry

Once again, I agree with Mean Machine.. Plus it was sold to me as a female by a knowledgeable fish store owner. I just wanted to make sure...... Thanks for the reassurances. How big was your 18 incher when you first got him? And how long did it take him to look that good?


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## The Mean Machine

to be honest mate i bought him when he was about 16" andhe has most of his colour then, but a lot of water changes 1-2 every week and feed him hikari GOLD Pellets it Brings out the best colour in your Cichlid(in your case your dovii) and the odd time i would give him frozen white bate,goldfish,bloodworm,Beef Heart......... hope you enjoy it when your doviis are fully grown or half grown as it will make you proud to say YOU got them to that size Unlike me mate, iam going to try tho with my Male n Female(4.5"'s)


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## kenlperry

Yeah, mine won't eat the pellets or cichlid sticks too much yet. I've put frozen bloodworms in and sometimes they'll eat that. So I've had to resort to goldfish for now. My female hides all the time too, even though she bites at the glass when she does finally come out. I hope her confidence increases some time soon...


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## lewis

mean machine did you sell your male on the same site.


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## The Mean Machine

which site?? i sold it on aquarist classified a while ago like y??


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