Venting cichlids

Venting
by J. McCann

Venting

The only positive way to determine the sex of sexually monomorphic species (males and females look similar) is by examination of the vent, commonly referred to as venting.

The vent or genital papillae is the opening between the anus and the anal fin where the fish will excrete either eggs or sperm. The genital papillae of all male and female cichlids differ in appearance. Although to be able to spot these differences you will probably need a magnifying glass, or similar device.

General rules
Here are a few pointers that will help you. In males the vent is usually smaller or the same size as the anus, where as the females vent will be larger than the anus.

Mouthbrooders
Female mouthbrooders lay a small number of eggs that are much larger in diameter than their substrate egg-laying counterparts. Therefore the diameter of the vent is also much larger and easier to distinguish.

Substrate egg layers
The eggs of substrate egg layers are much smaller than a mouthbrooder of the same size. This means there vents are smaller, making the difference between male and female more difficult to distinguish. This means there is very little difference in vent size and will require a little more experience to determine males from females.

How to vent them
The task of venting your cichlids will be easier if you have the following items.

Magnifying device
At least 3 buckets (4 would be better)
Nets
A good source of light
Another set of hands would be helpful
A lot of patience
First task is to partially fill your buckets with water from the tank. Do not fill them too high, because the fish can leap out of the buckets. To speed the process up I would suggest catching all of the fish you want to vent and place them in 1 bucket. Buckets 2,3 and 4 are going to be used for males, females, and unsure.

Now you are ready to start venting, this is where the second set of hands comes in handy as they can hold the light source and also have the magnifying device ready to hand to you.

Take the first fish out of the bucket with a net. Take hold of the fish firmly in the damp folds of the net. Covering their eyes helps keep the fish from wriggling, making the task easier. Make your inspection, and a decision on what you think you have. Place this in bucket 2,3 or 4 depending on your decision, try to keep the amount of time you have the fish out of water to a minimum. Now you can repeat the process for the rest.

If all has gone well you should have just 2 buckets. One containing males the other females, if bucket 3 contains any you are unsure about you can of course give them a further inspection.

Now all of the fish can be place back in the tank, in the male/female ratios you require.

You may experiences problems the first few times you do this, but it does get easier.