help identifying male and female Jack Dempsey?

[mysticjeteye]

hey guys. anyone with JD knowledge, please help with these pics and let me know if this is 2 males or if it's a male and female. they've been locking lips and i'm not sure if they're getting ready to mate or trying to hurt each other. lol i just need to know if they're both males so that i will be able to get one of them out of there if need be. i don't want them to hurt or kill each other. any help would be greatly appreciated! thanks in advance, Suzette

[Cichlidnut]

The one on the left is definitely male. I'm fairly certain the one on the right is female.

[mysticjeteye]

thanks Cichlidnut. i appreciate it. i sure hope that they are male and female lol i was worried that they were both males and that they were gonna kill each other.

[Cichlidnut]

What size tank are they in?

[mysticjeteye]

75 gallon. i was told that i had 2 females and a male when i bought them. then to me, they started looking like 2 males and a female. so, then i started to worry. they acted crazy for a couple of days, chasing each other around and locking lips, but they've settled down again. so, i'm not sure.

[Cichlidnut]

75 gallon. i was told that i had 2 females and a male when i bought them. then to me, they started looking like 2 males and a female. so, then i started to worry. they acted crazy for a couple of days, chasing each other around and locking lips, but they've settled down again. so, i'm not sure.

That's pretty normal Cichlid behavior. Do you have 3 JD's? That increases the chance that two will pair off and pick on the third.

[mysticjeteye]

well, it's funny that you say that. because for the last 3 weeks or so, the one on the right in these pics was acting like it was pairing off with the smaller jd, which i'm sure is a female, and they would chase the guy on the left all over the tank. then all of a sudden, the 2 in the pic started acting kinda cozy and now they both chase the little female around. so, i'm going nuts trying to figure them out. i just don't want any of them to get hurt. but, mostly it's just a little chasing around. these 2 locked lips one time, but that's all of that i've seen. so, not sure which way they're leaning from day to day. so, just watching to make sure i can grab one if i need to and put it in another tank.