pregnant or bloated?

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i know females are mouthbrooders, no eggs in mouth or anything. VERY aggressive fish in 75 gallon tank, with approximately 15 african cichlids. has been eating, and swimming around (not staying in one area, or digging that ive seen) just wondering if maybe this fish is pregnant? im not sure how to even tell if its male or female, i know usually by the spots on the anal fin, but this particular fish is only about 2" so still juvenile, any advice appreciated!

It's not "pregnant" ... unless it's eggbound. Do you see an egg tube or any swelling in that area? If it's still active and eating, behaving normally, it probably isn't Malawi bloat either. Have you noticed if it's still pooping and if that looks normal? Is it eating more than its share? What do you feed?

Egg spots are not a reliable indicator of sex because females can have them as well as the males. Young Melanochromis auratus have the same coloring that your fish has, but males will become darker, almost black as they mature, although subdominant males might not change color and on occasion, females will take on male coloration. In other words, it's hard to sex auratus without seeing them holding or to take them out and vent them.

i see no tube, i see slight swelling, but dont really notice any change in the mouth area (since they usually expand to hold eggs) i have two auratus, the other is much smaller (purchased at the same time from same store) has no belly at all and is MUCH more docile, almost always hides because it gets chased/bullied by the one pictured above. maybe just a fat fish? does seem to be the most dominant of the tank (even though its not the biggest!)

Has there been any color changes in the fish. Normally when they go into spawning mode they get darker or express more vibrant colors.

How many other fish are in the tank with this one? You might want to move it to an hospital tank for closer observation.

This will make it easier as stated to see the fishes poop color is and get a better idea as to what is going on.

also keep in my that hungry mbuna are happy mbuna. they want to eat ALL DAY every day. just be a bit more stingy with them at feeding time. u should see how excited all my africans get any time they notice somebody, my GF cant sneak down the hallway cuz they all give her away. its hilarious to watch

as i said earlier about 15 other cichlids, also two lace catfish. it did get VERY colorful, beautiful really, i have been watching and it is pooping normally (per say) light brown in color, very long strands hang occasionally (gross i know lol) overall it seems very happy, just chases around fish quite a bit, its not staying in a certain area and defending it, its almost as if it feels the whole tank belongs to him/her. i do have a 45 gallon "sick" tank, but i currently have a flowerhorn with ich in there that i adopted from petsmart (for free ) i have a fluval canister and aqueon heater in the tank, plenty of places for all my fish to hide. (drift wood, plenty of plants, hiding rocks, fake plants/real plants) i LOVE my tank, i sit by it hours on end haha. i began seeing the belly approximately 2 weeks ago, and it has been getting a little bigger as days progress. but its not acting lathargic AT ALL. its probably the most active fish in the tank. im puzzled.

Your auratus is doing what auratus do...being aggressive and owning the tank. I owned a group of these fish when I first started with my cichlids. I rehomed them after they started killing each other off. I loved them but if you have more than one of them, management of them can be tricky.

I see two possiblities here...one is he is eating way too much food (the long brown poos and big belly make me think that) or two he is developing bloat (from your descriptions of him I don't think that but I never discount it as it is one of the most common illnesses for cichlids).

As Anthraxx shared a hungry fish is a happy fish. I would stop feeding it daily and space your feedings out to just a little every other day or every third day and see if the belly starts to shrink. When you feed, if he is dominating the feeding area, spread out your feeding area (I feed across my tank not just in one area so as to make sure that everyone gets their fair share). You could also try dosing some Epsom salt to the tank...I don't recall the dosage but that can be another digestive help.

In the meantime, watch for other signs that might indicate that it is something more serious like bloat...those being stringy white poo, eating and spitting food out, not eating at all, lethergy and hiding. If you see any of those you will need to remove him/her to a quarantine tank and treat accordingly.

Good luck.

Can you tell us what you are feeding the fish and how much? Enough that they are finished in 30 seconds, 2 minutes, etc.?

finished in about 30-45 seconds omega one cichlid flakes and pellets, and wafers every 3 days for catfish. NO other fish has a belly or seems "fat". i often fear im not feeding enough being as i do not put a large amount in the least, especially flakes, a pinch (sometimes 2) worth in between thumb and pointer finger, and i do spread across entire tank.