New Gbr

[tom_os]

got my female GBR today after a bit of an ordeal. shes in the tank now and has settled in well.

do they eat plants because the first thing she did was go for my java moss?

and how much current do they like? i have a very powerful spraybar which i dont know how to reduce the power of.

thanks

 

[tom_os]

heres a pic

 

[Truck]

hate to brake it to you but that is a male.

they may peck at plants. and 10X flow will be fine (i had mine at 17x) so spray bars shouldnt bother them. the vital thing is the temp, 28oC as i previously explained in an earlier post.

 

[tom_os]

thought it might be a male

the guy in the shop even said he would give me a female to make it easier

is this going to be a huge problem, that hes a male?

 

[Truck]

thought it might be a male

the guy in the shop even said he would give me a female to make it easier

is this going to be a huge problem, that hes a male?

you may well get aggression issues. take him back and get a female

 

[tom_os]

thought it might be a male

the guy in the shop even said he would give me a female to make it easier

is this going to be a huge problem, that hes a male?

you may well get aggression issues. take him back and get a female

and if taking him back isnt possible?

 

[Truck]

thought it might be a male

the guy in the shop even said he would give me a female to make it easier

is this going to be a huge problem, that hes a male?

you may well get aggression issues. take him back and get a female

and if taking him back isnt possible?

well you may get aggression issues where he will attack other tank mates or bully them

 

[mancin]

I just got some of these myself. I've read that they don't like a lot of current, but I have an adjustable powerhead in my tank and it doesn't seem to bother them. They don't avoid it like the plague or anything at least! The females should have a nice pink belly, so it does look like you have a male.

 

[TigerIssey]

Hold fire on that sex. Truck I am going to disagree, I believe it is an immature female. If you look at the anal fin, it is rounded and does not pass the junction between the tail and body. This is a female trait, a male would have a pointed anal fin and would pass the junction between the tail and body. The spots and anterior dorsal fin can be unreliable ways to sex these fish however the anal fin has always worked for me unless you are dealing with hormone injected fish.

 

[Truck]

yeah i noticed the anal fin which got me confused. but the colouration is pretty intense and i thought it would have shown up by now (pink belly). the dorsal fin also is elongated. (not the most accurate way but its a tell tale sign)

also taking a second look, the belly is quite round as well.

i would stick it out for a few months and see if it develops any pink. the chances are it could be stressed so the pink faded and it will come back within the next few days with lots of good food.

 

[minxfishy]

How many other rams do you have in the tank and what size is it, from your sig I only see you have the 1 ram, therefore Im not sure why male or female would be a problem, enlighten me please?

I agree to hang on to find out the sex, once settled in the colours will show up more, its hard to say for sure.


Edit: Just seen your other thread tom, re: already having a male. Even if this one also turns out to be male, you may just get away with it in a 20g tank, so long as you have enough space for territories, plants to break up the tank, caves, rocks etc, without a female, they dont have much to argue about cept the territory and well planned out tanks you may be ok.

 

[tom_os]

i have 1 female, it was a bit of an effort to get him/her home so he/she is probably quite stressed, plus as some will know i have had many troubles with the tank with many dead fish so i can understand why he/she might not be showing full colours

plus the guy in the shop said he would get me a female and i could see that it was in the shop

i will take a pic in a few weeks and see then

 

[TigerIssey]

Does no harm at all to keep the fish a few weeks, if it had a pink belly in the shop that is a very good sign it will be female.

Posterior dorsal fin looks quite rounded too, if it was pointed and tall I would worry. Anterior dorsal fin rays can very unreliable in juvenile specimens. As long as the third ray ends up longer on the mature specimen it will be female still. The first two rays can often grow first in males and females which is why I say it can be unreliable. Colours probably a bit bright truck cause of the change in water, this tank may well be better.

Can you clarify tom_os, have you already got a male or is this your only GBR.

 

[Truck]

Does no harm at all to keep the fish a few weeks, if it had a pink belly in the shop that is a very good sign it will be female.

Posterior dorsal fin looks quite rounded too, if it was pointed and tall I would worry. Anterior dorsal fin rays can very unreliable in juvenile specimens. As long as the third ray ends up longer on the mature specimen it will be female still. The first two rays can often grow first in males and females which is why I say it can be unreliable. Colours probably a bit bright truck cause of the change in water, this tank may well be better.

Can you clarify tom_os, have you already got a male or is this your only GBR.

its his only one so shouldnt make much of a difference, but ive found males can be arsey sometimes

 

[TigerIssey]

Yes they certainly can, mine were when there were 4 of them before adding any females. To be honest the two males are still quite arsy with each other if either moves in to the others territory.