Electric/german Blue Ram Sex?

[thezodiac]

today i purchased a electric blue ram at my local fish store . (thats what it was labelled)

it may be a german blue ram, im not sure

anwyays heres a short video of it, i belive it may be female but am unsure

(i think its female beecause of the black on its lower fin like this thread says
http/www.aquaticcommunity.com/aquariumforum/showthread.php?t=21082)

can anyone help confirm if its male or female? thanks

(also will electric/german blue breed with gold ram? what color would the babies be?)

http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-mKnQ723Ps

 

[Randomitity]

Hate to say it but I don't follow that since I have a male and a female and both have the black fins on the bottom and the black dot has blue sheen on both of them the pink belly I found it the only 100% way to tell if some are female but yours looks like a male since his dorsal fin has one spike higher then the others which is how I was told to sex them

 

[thezodiac]

i think theres a pretty decent chances the electrics a girl, after acclimating i introduced it into the tank.

the blue and electric gold are following eachother around, no aggression, and they look like they are looking for food together now

Hate to say it but I don't follow that since I have a male and a female and both have the black fins on the bottom and the black dot has blue sheen on both of them the pink belly I found it the only 100% way to tell if some are female but yours looks like a male since his dorsal fin has one spike higher then the others which is how I was told to sex them

yeah thats pretty strange, i wonder why they arent being aggressive (ive heard 2 males typically will be)


edit: just wanted to add the gold ram is acting defensive of the electric blue. if any other fish gets really close to it the gold charges them and goes back to following hte blue lol

 

[thezodiac]

im not sure if the gold ram just think the blue is female or if it knows somehow lol

 

[GShorty1981]

Female standard German Blue Ram (not electric, i hope you didn't pay much for it....if you did, demand your money back)

 

[Proxo]

Female standard German Blue Ram (not electric, i hope you didn't pay much for it....if you did, demand your money back)

Pause at 10sec, looks electric to me - just a little stressed, i could be wrong though i'm a noobie

 

[thezodiac]

Female standard German Blue Ram (not electric, i hope you didn't pay much for it....if you did, demand your money back)

i paid 20 or 25 bucks, but to be honest i dont really mind that because of the fact that i cant find them anywhere. and i think it is an electric ( i looked at my local petco and they sell german blue rams, the coloring on this one is far more intense and widespread)

im wondering if the two will breed


edit: what else can i do to reduce stress? i have a good amount of plants in my tank and a cave? (live and fake plants )

also wanted to add that video was taken while i was adjusting it to the water conditions of the new tank ( it was still in the bag and everything) so that explains the stress then.

 

[thezodiac]

Female standard German Blue Ram (not electric, i hope you didn't pay much for it....if you did, demand your money back)

Pause at 10sec, looks electric to me - just a little stressed, i could be wrong though i'm a noobie

yeah it looks justl ike the one in this picture
http/www.aquascapeonline.com/ProdImages/Fish_Cichlids_SA/Electric_Blue_Ram_3.jpg
so i think its electric

and i just wanted to add your tank looks great ! =) (ill have to take an updated picture of mine)

 

[Better-German-Blues]

It's an electric as there aren't any black spots on the side. Even the young german blue rams will have some sort of black/gray markings on their sides, as this one is just sheen and iridescent blue = electric blue. It isn't a really young ram either as the black on the fins are very pronounced, and the youngsters haven't produced enough testosterone to display them as dark as the one in the video - since their black markings will be jet black when they are being dominant.

As for it being male or female, looks more male as the male's bellies are not as round as a female... looking at the silhouette of the belly at the bottom of him is more curved than just round... very uneven which is more male than female.

I know what you mean in the video about the black fins at the bottom. As I have heard that info as well, but even my male rams in my breeding tanks have the black and not grayish color like the juveniles have. It is difficult to tell from the video, but you can also tell the gender by the formation of their anal fins. The males have more jagged and spikey look to their anal fins compared to females where they are not nearly as jagged as compared to rounded if that makes sense.

 

[thezodiac]

It's an electric as there aren't any black spots on the side. Even the young german blue rams will have some sort of black/gray markings on their sides, as this one is just sheen and iridescent blue = electric blue. It isn't a really young ram either as the black on the fins are very pronounced, and the youngsters haven't produced enough testosterone to display them as dark as the one in the video - since their black markings will be jet black when they are being dominant.

As for it being male or female, looks more male as the male's bellies are not as round as a female... looking at the silhouette of the belly at the bottom of him is more curved than just round... very uneven which is more male than female.

The fist shape I made is more of a female belly looking at it from the side, as it is round but not curved or uneven.

\ /
\ /
- - - -
The second shape is more of a male where they have more of an "athletic" shape to them

\ /
\ _ -
- - /

I know what you mean in the video about the black fins at the bottom. As I have heard that info as well, but even my male rams in my breeding tanks have the black and not grayish color like the juveniles have. It is difficult to tell from the video, but you can also tell the gender by the formation of their anal fins. The males have more jagged and spikey look to their anal fins compared to females where they are not nearly as jagged as compared to rounded if that makes sense.

hmn yeah thats interesting. what would your behavior lead you to believe? do you think that the gold ram just mistakes it for a female?

(also isnt it typical that males will chase off other fish to demonstrate/show off to female rams? )

thanks!!


edit: also here are some pics of my gold ram (large) so u may be able to determine if its male / female

 

[Better-German-Blues]

Sorry about the poor "illustration" not showing up well as it did when I had written the reply lol.

The males never have sparring between other males per say other than when you add new ones that will end up establishing where they are in the tank in regards to hierarchy.
When they have enough territory space that all ram pairs (and even some unpaired rams will start to create territory) they leave each other alone and just stay on guard in their area of the tank.

The gold ram doesn't mistake it... are you sure the Gold ram is a male? Didn't see the gold ram - maybe didn't upload?. At one point when I had some young females in my show tank, they had the behavior as a pair... but they both had pink bellies, they eventually went and paired off when they got older, but Rams are very social and could have the aspect of a "friend" or b"buddy" in the tank.

Rams don't go after other fish to show off to the females, with my experience, I have seen rams pair up instantly after adding them to the tank and swirl around each other... It is more color similarities than anything else. Some rams will have (in regards to blue rams in this instance) what I call the "uni-brow" marking between their eyes/forehead, and they are the much more dominant pairs that have ended up in my tanks. The rams that have the "uni-brow" will pair up together as compared to a ram with a uni-brow pairing with a ram that doesn't. So based on that, I would guess it is all based on the color and health of the rams. As with any animal their goal is to pass on their genetics, and to do so they have to be healthy... have you seen an unhealthy fish that is very colorful? So as color comes into play it also plays out the longevity of their genetics.

Better German Blues

This is my website that I just added some photos to better sex rams in general and not just germans.

 

[thezodiac]

Sorry about the poor "illustration" not showing up well as it did when I had written the reply lol.

The males never have sparring between other males per say other than when you add new ones that will end up establishing where they are in the tank in regards to hierarchy.
When they have enough territory space that all ram pairs (and even some unpaired rams will start to create territory) they leave each other alone and just stay on guard in their area of the tank.

The gold ram doesn't mistake it... are you sure the Gold ram is a male? Didn't see the gold ram - maybe didn't upload?. At one point when I had some young females in my show tank, they had the behavior as a pair... but they both had pink bellies, they eventually went and paired off when they got older, but Rams are very social and could have the aspect of a "friend" or b"buddy" in the tank.

Rams don't go after other fish to show off to the females, with my experience, I have seen rams pair up instantly after adding them to the tank and swirl around each other... It is more color similarities than anything else. Some rams will have (in regards to blue rams in this instance) what I call the "uni-brow" marking between their eyes/forehead, and they are the much more dominant pairs that have ended up in my tanks. The rams that have the "uni-brow" will pair up together as compared to a ram with a uni-brow pairing with a ram that doesn't. So based on that, I would guess it is all based on the color and health of the rams. As with any animal their goal is to pass on their genetics, and to do so they have to be healthy... have you seen an unhealthy fish that is very colorful? So as color comes into play it also plays out the longevity of their genetics.

Better German Blues

This is my website that I just added some photos to better sex rams in general and not just germans.

here is the direct link to my gold ram pics
http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?/topic/363900-bluegold-ram-questions/page__view__findpost__p__3035993

im not sure if its male or female but i think the 2 have paired instantly. i had the gold ram in the tank for about a week or two first, and never saw any aggression with it, put in my electric blue and they always swim together, and the gold gets defensive

 

[Better-German-Blues]

The gold is definitely a male... in the video of the electric ram it is a bit harder to tell as it is stressed to some degree and young. You would have to look, but if they have paired and the electric is a female, she should have a small little white tube sticking out of her underbelly, and that's how she will lay eggs. I played and replayed the video to look for that. If the electric blue has that tube, that will be the dead giveaway that it is a female. She is underweight though if it is a female and not a male, you will want to get some foods that are a bit more fatty for her and a little less protein as the protein will cause their metabolism to be more active and cause weight loss although it is necessary for their diet. Also, if her tube is visible, you should be able to have them spawn. If you hope for them to spawn, keep them in a tank on their own with a Ph level between 6.2 - 6.6 and a temp of at least 80 F. If you need help lowering the Ph, add lemon juice to the tank and keep testing the Ph until you get it where you want it. My Rams actually become much more active when I readjust the Ph levels after water evaporation and water changes. For instance, while setting up a ten gallon tank I had for rams, the Ph level was 7.4, I used about 1/3 of a bottle of lemon juice in the tank to get it down to 6.8 When getting lemon juice Only get the ones that are shaped like a lemon from your grocery store, those aren't concentrated mixtures that other stores have in a regular cylinder style bottle. You can also use Lime juice too, but Lime juice has more pieces of the fruit in it than the lemon juice I have noticed. The lemon juice will have more electrolytes in it naturally than lime juice, so your fish will get some better color. Just be sure to go slow with the lemon/lime juice as it instantly changes the Ph levels. My fish will try to eat the clouds of lemon juice I put in as they really love the ph level as lemon juice has a ph level of 2.

 

[thezodiac]

The gold is definitely a male... in the video of the electric ram it is a bit harder to tell as it is stressed to some degree and young. You would have to look, but if they have paired and the electric is a female, she should have a small little white tube sticking out of her underbelly, and that's how she will lay eggs. I played and replayed the video to look for that. If the electric blue has that tube, that will be the dead giveaway that it is a female. She is underweight though if it is a female and not a male, you will want to get some foods that are a bit more fatty for her and a little less protein as the protein will cause their metabolism to be more active and cause weight loss although it is necessary for their diet. Also, if her tube is visible, you should be able to have them spawn. If you hope for them to spawn, keep them in a tank on their own with a Ph level between 6.2 - 6.6 and a temp of at least 80 F. If you need help lowering the Ph, add lemon juice to the tank and keep testing the Ph until you get it where you want it. My Rams actually become much more active when I readjust the Ph levels after water evaporation and water changes. For instance, while setting up a ten gallon tank I had for rams, the Ph level was 7.4, I used about 1/3 of a bottle of lemon juice in the tank to get it down to 6.8 When getting lemon juice Only get the ones that are shaped like a lemon from your grocery store, those aren't concentrated mixtures that other stores have in a regular cylinder style bottle. You can also use Lime juice too, but Lime juice has more pieces of the fruit in it than the lemon juice I have noticed. The lemon juice will have more electrolytes in it naturally than lime juice, so your fish will get some better color. Just be sure to go slow with the lemon/lime juice as it instantly changes the Ph levels. My fish will try to eat the clouds of lemon juice I put in as they really love the ph level as lemon juice has a ph level of 2.

alright well i have news. i check and my electric yellow appears to have a tube hanging from her, it doesnt point straight down but you can see it. so i think i have a matched pair.
if they breed will the youngings be gold or blue or a mix or ? thanks!