Are There Different Kinds Of Rams?

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fishnovice

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My ram is relatively colourless compared to other people's ram photos so I was wondering if it's a different species.Are there various types of ram apart from German and Bolivian (mine doesn't look like either)?

I was told that mine was a Bolivian ram when I got him/her (how do you sex them?)Didn't have much colour to begin with but I thought it was due to having been in a tank with poor water for months before I got it plus the stress of chasing/netting , transport to my home and settling into a new tank.It now after 2 months has the typical ram vertical stripe through the eye and a black line at the front of its dorsal fin but not much colour -definitely no red outlines on any of its fins which are colourless and no red/orange belly either. It has a faint grey smudge on its body and sometimes shows a faint yellow on lower abdomen depending on light. It's in with corries and paradise fish who stick to top of tank mostly so there is no one there to bully it or stress it out. Tank is fairly peaceful with no chases or bullying. Clean water wirh 40% water change weekly. Feed mixture of food so diet should be OK.
 
How odd that I find your post..I was looking up that exact same question :lol:

Heres one site I found that was some what helpful : http://www.brc.moonfruit.com/#/sexing-guide/4528902946

I think so far the most helpful factor is looking at the dorsal fin, and seeing if its kinda spiky or rounded

Good Luck :good:
 
yes there are german blue rams , gold rams , and bolivian rams

these are my gold rams

ram1.jpg


goldrams.jpg


1 of my bolivian rams
bram.jpg


and i havent got german blue so this is curtesy of google

http://www.tropicalf...hagus-ramirezi/
 
do you know what type of ram you have? maybe you could post a pic of it. bolivian rams are as you can see from the pics by far the least colourful of the 3 , but golds and german blues lose a hell of a lot of colour when they are stressed. what was it sold to you as?
 
Definitely not German,they're much more colourful. Could mine be a golden x Bolivian cross? Hasn't got any yellow on body but all fins are colourless apart from black at front of dorsal fin and the Bolivian's characteristicvertical black stripe through the eye.
 
Sounds like a Bolivian ram they will color up well once adjusted.
 
No, Bolivian rams and ramirezi can't interbreed.

I have no idea why your Bolivian is so colourless; it could just be a late maturing one.

Also, a lot of the very colourful rams you see in shops, both Bolivians and ramirezi, have been hormone treated to get them to colour up at a smaller size; yours might be one of the lucky ones that hasn't had this.

How big is your ram? It might need a slightly higher temperature too; around 78/80F (26C); I've heard this can help Bolivians colour up, though I don't keep them myself, so can't actually confirm that's true.
 
No, Bolivian rams and ramirezi can't interbreed.

I have no idea why your Bolivian is so colourless; it could just be a late maturing one.

Also, a lot of the very colourful rams you see in shops, both Bolivians and ramirezi, have been hormone treated to get them to colour up at a smaller size; yours might be one of the lucky ones that hasn't had this.

How big is your ram? It might need a slightly higher temperature too; around 78/80F (26C); I've heard this can help Bolivians colour up, though I don't keep them myself, so can't actually confirm that's true.
Ram's been there for 3 months now so had enough time to settle. Tank is clean, well oxygenated with regular weekly water changes. Ram is not stressed as tankmates are peaceful and it has coconut shell and plants for shelter. Ram is sharing with corries, weatherloach and paradise fish who all prefer cooler water so can;t raise temp to26C.Don't have any other tank suitable for ram but it's always lived with corries in previus owner's tank.
 
Could be too cold for it at a guess, we get pale in the cold when the blood retreats from the surface, maybe the same is happening here and stopping any major colouration?? Totally a guess but seems plausible...what temp is the tank, is it much lower than 26C?
edit: sorry, just seem your comment fluttermoth, what temp is the tank then fishnovice?
 
agreed with kaivalagi . could be that your temp is too low. altho having said that from your description im inclined to think you may have bolivian rams which dont need the higher temps that gbr and gold do. a pic would help .
 
A pic might indeed help.
You do get the occasional fish that doesn't ever look quite 'right'; if you're confident that your water quality is good and that its not stressed, I wouldn't be worried just because it hasn't coloured up.
 

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