Parrot fish behavior

Question
I have four parrot fish Chiclids (3 gold and 1 white and black) in a 20 gallon tank .

Question 1: How do I determine the sex of the fish?

Question 2: They seem to be lip-locking each other. Does this represent fighting? pecking order? courtship?

Answer
Hi Dennis,
 The bad news is that you really can't determine the sex, or at least, it is very difficult.  Females will be slightly rounder in the belly region but you have to see a lot of them before you will be able to tell this.

 In cichlids, lip-locking serves several functions. It can be involved in fighting, e..g, two males trying to establish territories, but it is also common in courting, e.g., a male and female will lip-lock to determine how
strong their potential mate is.

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
  Cichlid Research Home Page <http://cichlidresearch.com>