Need Help Deciding Which Rams To Have

[amy1994]

I am going to get 2 pairs to go in to my 80gallon, but i can't decide which 2 to pick
* Please vote for 2 *

Gold Ram

Electric Blue Ram

German Blue Ram

 

[StandbySetting]

Personally I'd go for non-xanthic strains, I prefer the natural look.

 

[fluttermoth]

I voted for the natural look too.

I think, even if (or maybe especially if!) you're going to go for more than one pair, you should stick to one morph and not mix; if they decide to interbreed and you've golds and electric blues, the fry would be neither and they'd probaby come out as, not very well marked or coloured, wild types anyway.

It's taken years of selective breeding to get those colours, it would be almost pointless to lose the genes.

 

[amy1994]

I voted for the natural look too.

I think, even if (or maybe especially if!) you're going to go for more than one pair, you should stick to one morph and not mix; if they decide to interbreed and you've golds and electric blues, the fry would be neither and they'd probaby come out as, not very well marked or coloured, wild types anyway.

It's taken years of selective breeding to get those colours, it would be almost pointless to lose the genes.

So then, maybe just 1 pair would be best
Still don't know which though, think it's between golds + german blues, as the german blues have more to them than the electric blues..

 

[minnnt]

I went with gold and GBR. But for me i would choose Bolivians as they would be more forgiving if i cocked up with tank conditions.

 

[fluttermoth]

I would have thought you would have plenty of space for two pairs; it's just that they wouldn't care which colour fish they're mating with, so the babies would be 'mongrels'.

 

[amy1994]

I would have thought you would have plenty of space for two pairs; it's just that they wouldn't care which colour fish they're mating with, so the babies would be 'mongrels'.

To be honest i do like them being crosses sometimes, i think that they can look quite nice
That said....i've never seen a cross ram before

 

[fluttermoth]

As I said, it would almost certainly come out looking like a poorly marked and coloured wild anyway; most of these colour morphs are based on a recessive gene.

 

[amy1994]

As I said, it would almost certainly come out looking like a poorly marked and coloured wild anyway; most of these colour morphs are based on a recessive gene.

Okay thanks
I will either get 1 pair then, or 2 pairs of the same type

 

[StandbySetting]

If two different colour morphs were to breed the result is generally a slightly poorer colour morph of either parent, it's only really noticeable after multiple generations of breeding, we had a Gold spawn with an Electric Blue Ram at work and the fry grew into what I mentioned previously.

 

[BigbruiserAl]

I regreat getting German Blue Ram, always seem to be poorly but i have ticked off everything from there care sheet

 

[matt_storey]

just go for bolivians lol

 

[amy1994]

I will be going to the LFS this weekend, and i know they have some really nice german blue rams at the moment
Hope they're still there....
How can i definetely tell the difference between male and female? I'm still not very sure on this still
As the ones they've got are pretty small...but i remember some had red bellies, are those the females?

 

[fluttermoth]

Bolivians are much easier; the GBRs, of any colour, are notoriously sensitive little fish.

Yes, the females are the ones with the pink/red bellies. The males are a bit harder to pick out; they'll have no blue spangles on the black spot, no black on the ventral fins and the rear part of the dorsal and anal fins will extend past the start of the tail and be slightly more pointed than the female's.

 

[StandbySetting]

Female:

Pink bellies, black on the ventral fins, generally the anal fin doesn't pass the base of the tail, a blue sheen on the black spot.

Male:

Stocky head, the first few dorsal spines are generally elongated, the anal fin generally passes the base of the tail, no black on the ventral fins, only grey and a solid black spot without a blue sheen.

If you can always get wild caught Rams, most tank bred individuals are poor quality.