blue ram pics

[Kittycat]

Can someone please share with me pics showing the difference in the dorsal fins of male and female blue rams? I read about the longer fin in males, but don't quite trust myself to be able to really tell.

I bought a couple in a store, and the clerk wasn't too sure about sexing, either, (we couldn't see any pink bellies) and now I'm afraid I might have ended up with two males. I doubt I'll be able to return or exchange them, and I'm afraid one would abuse the other. We thought one did not have any black dorsal fin extensions, but when I got home, I noticed that both had, although one was shorter than the other's (apparently it had just been swept back at the store).

Also, does anybody know anything about balloon rams? I can't find much info on the net, saw them at the store and they were 3 times more expensive than the blue...

 

[G_Sharky]

If they are still baby rams then it's almost impossible to sex them and yes they would fight for territory when they mature. If you go to the members aquarium pics there's a bunch of pics in there. I have pics but i don't know how to post it here....

 

[CathyG]

Scroll down the page a little, the female is on the left, the male on the right:

Here

 

[Kittycat]

If they are still baby rams then it's almost impossible to sex them and yes they would fight for territory when they mature. If you go to the members aquarium pics there's a bunch of pics in there. I have pics but i don't know how to post it here....

Thanks, Sharky, I'm not sure how old they are but they're already about 2 inches...I'll go through the members pics.

Cathy, I looked at the site, but the female's black front portion of the dorsal is not too clear because of the dark background--is it possible for females to have some extensions there at all, or are the first 3 rays even with the rest of the dorsal?

I read about sparkles in the black spot of the females, but neither of mine seem to have any clear black spot. I think the fishes were recently delivered to the LFS, maybe their color hadn't fully come back from the stress when I got them (mistake on my part, should have waited).

I'll try to post some pics once my two have gained back their color and stop hiding.

 

[luxum]

It is the rear of the dorsal which is easiest to use to sex juvenile rams ime. In females it is sort of rounded off, in males it is pointed. It is hard to get a photo of it because they have to have their fins fully extended and be viewed from the side to really see it. If you can't see a difference in your fish, you might want to go look at a tank full of them if possible to learn to distinguish it.

 

[StrontiumDog]

Kittycat hi,

I got myself a blue ram yesterday and am also having problems sexing it, mine is about an inch long and doesnt have much colour to it yet. Have search www and all the fish pics are very distictive.

I think luxum has given the best info, so im just going to look at the dorsal fin brb

well im still puzzled think mines a female it has pink on the belly. Hey hows about we swop fish

 

[Kittycat]

Oops, I think I exaggerated the sizes a bit. I think they're nearer to 1-1.5 inch.
So I'm thinking I've got juvies...Does this mean they may still color some more as they get older? They are still rather pale looking at this point. I'm beginning to get paranoid and starting to think maybe they're not blue rams as unlike most I see in the net, they have neither blue nor yellow on them.

Thanks for the tip on the dorsal, luxam. I've been staring at the two of them a lot today, and I think one is indeed more rounded off while another pointed (or is it just wishful thinking?), so I'm hoping...

Hey hows about we swop fish

Haha, I wish! I'm all the way here in the Philippines!

 

[CathyG]

Cathy, I looked at the site, but the female's black front portion of the dorsal is not too clear because of the dark background--is it possible for females to have some extensions there at all, or are the first 3 rays even with the rest of the dorsal?

I read about sparkles in the black spot of the females, but neither of mine seem to have any clear black spot. I think the fishes were recently delivered to the LFS, maybe their color hadn't fully come back from the stress when I got them (mistake on my part, should have waited).

I'll try to post some pics once my two have gained back their color and stop hiding.

My female has some extension to the black dorsal, but it is not as pronounced as the male. My female also has a shorter dorsal fin, whereas the male's extends into almost a sail at the rear (mine look like the two in the link I posted)

It would be good to see photos of your two! Unfortunately I am waiting for my digital camera to be replaced, so I can't post pics of mine yet

 

[StrontiumDog]

Here is my pic kittycat

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=57880

 

[CathyG]

StrontiumDog - my guess is that your fish is a male going by the shape of the dorsal fin, are you sure it is developing a pink belly?

 

[StrontiumDog]

Kittycat i am not trying to hijack your post i just think we have the same intrests at heart here.

CathyG: Looking at my ram with out a flash obscuring the true colour sometimes it looks like theres a tint of pink to the belly.

Semper Fi gave me this to look at hope it helps u to Kittycat

http/www.fishhead.com/articles/ventsex.htm

the female vent is oval in shape.

 

[parker313]

Balloon rams are a man made variation of the regular ram for their odd shape. As delicate as rams are, balloons are even more so. No way would I spend the extra money for a balloon ram b/c they're so much more delicate.

Sexing - the pink tummy is the clue that I found easiest to spot. Also, on my male, proportionately, the pelvic fin is MUCH bigger than on the female. My female has the pronounced black spot with the blue spangles but my male doesn't have much of a spot at all. My old male that I had didn't have very extended dorsal rays, but my new one does.

It really is easiest to look at a whole tank of rams and you can see the differences much more clearly.

 

[Kittycat]

StrontiumDog, no problem (we're in the same boat ) and thanks for the pics and the link. I think I'm afraid to handle my fishes like that as they are still very shy...
Your ram is a cutie, though, and what a coincidence, I have a bumblebee goby, too! Actually, they were two, but one just kept getting thinner and thinner and yesterday was very weak so I finally euthanized it.

Parker, thanks for the info re: balloons. The little info in the net I could find mention that they tend to die, so I'm definitely staying away from those. I'm not a very experienced fishkeeper, I'm worried enough about keeping the blue ones happy. Sides, I don't really see much difference, I'm after colors rather than body shape.

OK, I finally got some pics, but my camera got problems (card error), so was only able to save a few (bad ones at that).

This is how they usually look like (in terms of color--pinkish fins, but greyish body with a dark horizontal line in the middle):

These two are what they look like in rarer moments (more like other ram pics I see in the net):

I found this site below, it has a different method of sexing which I've never read anywhere else before. Wonder if it's true, as the author says that all rams have pink bellies (huh?). He was also very particular about the markings which I usually see in most pics, but not in my rams.
http/www.mongabay.com/fish/apistogramma.htm

 

[parker313]

Based on that 2nd to last pic, yours both look like females to me.

 

[samthefishman]

i got 4, and they are soooo tiny!!!
how big do they get? and in how much time?