Sexing L144

[pest control]

Hi, I have 4 L144 that I would like to know the sex of, as I plan on keeping 2 breeding pairs in my 210l 4ft mbuna tank.

I have 7 altogether, but 3 of them I know are definitely male (they have big bristles that branch off into 2).

Here are the ones that I'd like to know the sex of:

I think this one is a female, as it is the roundest of them all. It is about 2 - 2.5":



Here are 2 next to each other. They are bout the same size as the first one. I think the top one is male as it has a red dot on its head, but I'm not sure about the bottom one:



And this is the last one (with one of the bigger males in front:



Also, does this one look very healthy? It is one of the definite males:



cheers,
Ben

[MatsP]

First one looks like a female, as it's quite fat around the middle. The rest are male.

This type of fish, if it's got bristles, it's a male, unless they are fully mature and quite old (and even then "bearded ladies" are quite rare).

Not sure breeding these in an mbuna tank is a good plan - they will most likely eat the fry...

[And being pedantic, they are not

Ancistrus sp(L144)

, but

Ancistrus sp(4)

- it's probably impossible to find a true L144 these days, where sp(4) isn't particularly difficult to get in the UK at least.]

--
Mats

[pest control]

Thanks for the info, I'm a bit disappointed that out of 7 fish I only have 1 female. I think I'll grow them all on to full size and then sell the excess males and buy 1 more adult female. I've been told that I can sell them for £15 when they are fully grown, does that sound reasonable?

Also, one of the largest males has a small brown patch of about 1-2mm diameter between its mouth and bristles on its nose. How much would I be able to sell that one for do you think?

I meant to put Ancistrus sp.(4), but I've got into the habit of saying L144, as that's what most people call them. When I selll them I'll label them as Ancistrus sp.(4)

Edit: I forgot to add that I will remove the fry (and dad if necessary) into my shrimp tank. That is assuming that they won't eat the shrimp? If they'll eat the shrimp I can put them into a planted community tank.

cheers,
Ben

[MatsP]

I have no idea how much they sell for around where you live - prices vary hugely based on availability and demand...

They won't eat shrimp, I'm 99.9% sure.

And yes, I know everyone calling them L144. That doesn't make it right...

--
Mats

[pest control]

Thanks. I got into the habit of calling them L144 as on another forum every time I wrote ancistrus sp(4) I had to explain what I meant.

I'll try to remember to call them by their proper name.