are rams monogamous?

[Kittycat]

I feel like Cruella De Ville.

I have two blue rams in my 50 gallon tank which I'm 98% certain are both boys, so today I went shopping for girlfriends for them. I found a girl I liked. I noticed she was hanging out a lot by a spot near driftwood, and was pecking at the area with her mouth. Turned out she and a male were apparently getting ready to spawn because they were both driving other fishes away from their "spot." I was seriously considering getting them both as a pair although I certainly did not need another boy, as they had already paired off and I felt bad about separating them. However, when the clerk dipped her clumsy net into the tank, everybody scattered and I could no longer identify which one the boy was, so I got only the girl. I just want to know, will she be okay? Will she realize there are "other fishes in the oceean" (so to speak ) and eventually pair with one of my boys, hopefully, or was I really horrible to break her and her husband up? Are there any bad effects from separating rams that have already paired off?

 

[Tempestuousfury]

Those fish that pair off in lfs tanks don't necessarily remain pairs when moved, so maybe it was for the best.

And these fish, like all cichlids that I know of, are monogomous. You'll probably have a lot of confrontations with 2 males and a female or even 2 females to 2 males, what with their territorial behavior when breeding and raising fry.

 

[Kittycat]

Thanks! So, while they're monogamous, they don't necessarily mate for life. I found a site that said even if they paired off in the store, once moved they might not anymore get along, so I feel so much better. The boys are courting her now, I think. They follow her around, and one tries to chase the other away...I'll be getting another girl, then that's it. I have only one other spare tank to separate a couple in case there are real problems.

 

[Dragonscales]

Not all cichlids are monogomous, for example alot of cacatoides are harem breeders, one male with several females.

Rams are however and will form very strong bonds when breeding, which can last a lifetime. I would be careful about having more than one pair per tank unless you have a bit of room as one pair will become dominant and bully the other, the submissive female may even drop the submissive male and try to allure the dominant one, something which doesn't tend to go down too well with the dominant female, fights will occur in most cases.

Provide enough room, most say 2 feet each pair, and plenty of cover in the form of driftwood and/or plants and this should alieviate most problems.

 

[canarsie11]

I have 3 rams. 1 female and 2 males.

She spawned twice with 1 male, then actually had fry with other. I guess he stole her away.

 

[AmberC]

I wouldn't suggest 1 female to two males. I wouldn't suggest two males or two females either. I would suggest a large group of females to the two males or bringing back one male and just going with 1 male 1 female


Rams are NOT monogomous. A male will constantly leave his mate for a better female if given the option. Same with the female.

 

[Dragonscales]

True, as I said above, submissives will try to allure dominants, but when given no better option rams can and will form strong bonds and remain monogomous.

My pair is one such example. I have kept quite a few other rams with them at various times and they never once paired with any others. I have actually had to move the others due to my breeding pair bullying the heck out of every ram in the tank with them. I have kept both males and females in the tank and the pair I have have always refrained from picking another as a mate, even if advances were made. Because of this, I no longer keep other rams in the same tank with them, due to fighting and no others pairing.

 

[Kittycat]

How can you tell if they're starting to pair off?

I'm not sure about the sex of my previous 2 rams, but when I put the girl in, the previous 2 kept trying to get close to her and flared at her, but one of them would consistently chase the other away and keep following her.

Unfortunately, I don't have the option of returning any of what I have, which is why it's very crucial for me to figure out what sex my original two rams are, so I can get the right sex for the fourth ram to make 2 pairs. I have 1 extra tank to move a pair if things get really bad, but I'd rather avoid this if possible, as the extra tank is only 10 gallons.