do males and females grow at the same rate?

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tirzo13
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do males and females grow at the same rate?

Post by tirzo13 »

OK, i'm a african cichlid guy, been into frontosa for years, not too long with zebras.
anyway, with frontosa fry, usually the males will outgrow the females.
at 1 year old, my males will be 4-5 inches long, and the females will be 3-4 inches.
it is rare, but sometimes the females will outgrow the males and be more aggressive, and nicer in coloration, bigger hump on head etc, but again, its rare.
so i'm just wondering with zebras at say 1 year, will there be much of a difference with males and females?
smithrc
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Post by smithrc »

At a year it is unlikely that you will be able to sex them. They wont be much bigger than 1".

I personally can comment on my own fry as they are only 1 month old :D

I'm sure others will add their observations...
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tirzo13
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Post by tirzo13 »

thanks, i guess i mean is there a time when one sex will outgrow the other, 18 months, 24 months etc?
does one sex usually outgrow the other, like in cichlids such as my frontosa, and others i have bred.
or do they grow in length and shape at the same exact rate for a few years, with just changes in head shape, fin curvature, and odontodes?
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McEve
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Post by McEve »

it seems to me that it's more an individual thing rather than gender, how fast they grow. As a genereal rule howver, I'd say there's now difference on how fast a female grow compared to a male.

You'll find that the mature male (3 years old) would be much broader seen from above, especially the head, but exactly when this happens is hard to say. Probably around the time of sexual maturity (about 2 years old) :wink:

Generally speaking they grow slowly enough, and in spurts, to make this question very difficult to answer accurately.

For me anyway
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