blue ram pics

[parker313]

They get to about 2" but I don't know how long it takes.

 

[Kittycat]

I've got new pics:

Parker, I agree with you, I have taken other pics and at least one of them consistently shows pink belly. The other one I'm not sure about. Problem is, their bodies are pinkish and my light is also pink, so I don't know...

 

[AmberC]

Males get to be 3 to 3.5 inches and females 2 to 2.5 inches.

It looks to ME like you have males. Your pictures are really fuzzy but on that first picture I can definitely see the extended rays on the dorsal. A females rays would be shorter and rounder. The males get long and flow more.

I see no pink bellies and the anal fin looks pointed. So from those pictures, it looks like you have males. They are still juvies tho so its harder to tell. Have you seen them chase eachother a lot (maybe one more than the other) or have they 'headbutted' they ram eachother and lock lips?

Remember that in certain lightings, the males will have a SLIGHT pink tinge to them as well. If its a female, it will be DARK pink. I think you've got a couple males.

 

[AmberC]

Here are some really good pictures of my pair so you can get a good comparison of what a male and female look like. Yours dont have all their colors yet, but you can still sex them by looking at the anal and dorsal fins.

ram pictures

 

[Kittycat]

Thanks, Amber. I see what you mean about the pink belly. You have lovely rams, BTW.

No, they haven't been chasing or fighting each other (like I see others do at the store), but I don't know if they're on normal behavior yet, as they are still very shy and hide when I'm around. Sometimes they hide in the same place, and nobody seems to have a problem with that...

I've been trying to teach them that human means food, and they have started to come out a little when they see food falling in, I think when one gathers up the courage to start for the food, the other one doesn't want to lose out and goes for the food, as well. Haha, they're wonderful characters.

 

[Kittycat]

Just one more question...What's a good number to keep for a 50 gallon tank?

Would 2 pairs be the maximum, and would 3 pairs help dispel or worsen aggression?

 

[snowflake311]

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.

I have 2 balloon rams. They are not at all delicate. In fact they are less picky about water then the German blues. Balloon rams have been bred in tanks only they are well adjusted to life in the tank. They also have been bred in different water like some in a ph of 6 and others in a ph of 7.5 they are able to adapt better then the German blues. My ph is 7.2 they are going great. My water quality is great no ammonia, nitrites, or nitrates. They don't need any special treatment just a clean tank all fish need.

 

[rammingspeed]

I actually put up a topic about this a month ago and despite all my research and the help from the members here I'm still unable to sex mine, though they're still just old juvies. Hopefully they'll mature in another month or so...

They keep having ''periods'' of aggression and times where they're perfectly peaceful.

My only hope is that the one that's slightly smaller and has a spike about a mm longer at the tip of his dorsal is the male. lol They also exhibit coloring on and off. Sometimes the ''male'' is much more colorful than the ''female'' and sometimes its vise versa.

This fish is so challenging to sex, I wish someone would just come out and say its like a kuhli loach and the only way to tell is to a) cut it open or b) just wait until they've been adult for like a year and realize you either have two males - OR two females, or they're just not a mating pair. lol At this point I'd almost rather do "a" if there was a way to do so without harming the fish. lol

On a good note I've seen what looked like courtship about 3 weeks ago. Either my eyes were deceiving me or the courtship was waaay premature.

The one I suspect is female is now pictured as my avatar...someone slap me if you think I'm dead wrong. lol