New Rams

[theamazingmaise]

A couple days ago I bought a pair of Germen Blue Rams and put them in my tank. Well its been a couple of days and they have a strip like pattern to them and not their usaul colorings. They also are moving their fins really fast. Are they going to be okay? I've tested my water and everything is fine but im still worried.

 

[Dude]

A couple days ago I bought a pair of Germen Blue Rams and put them in my tank. Well its been a couple of days and they have a strip like pattern to them and not their usaul colorings. They also are moving their fins really fast. Are they going to be okay? I've tested my water and everything is fine but im still worried.

my rams do the same thing

i dont think its bad

correct me if im wrong

and if i am i would be worried about my rams...

 

[theamazingmaise]

my rams do the same thing


Do their normaly colors come back?

 

[bleechme]

I think that is pretty normal, I've had mine for about 2-3 months, somedays he will lose colorfor a little while then they come back, sometimes his fins move fast too. But usually he is a normal happy Ram. BTW I just got him a wife today. FINALLY!!! They've already started cleaning a breeding spot. They breed SOOO fast! Last time I bought him a female, that one laid eggs in two days!!! But sadly she died a week later. T_T

 

[Spencer Pike]

My rams do the same thing its pretty noremal if it makes ya feel better.

 

[theamazingmaise]

Thanks guys the colors seem to come back when im not there. hopefully they will get used to me and my tank. THANKS!

 

[ThinIce]

As far as I know they're stress bars. My rams exhibit them when I stick the big yellow algae scraper in the tank, am fiddling about with the plants or when the small female chases the big male (if my fish shop got the sexing right).

As long as the fish look healthy and the bars are reasonably temporary, don't worry too much, however I'm finding that the bullying is going on for longer periods and if adding a couple more hidey holes doesn't work I may have to seperate them You might want to watch when the bars are most prevalent (ie if its when you do water changes, check the temperature, dechlorinator etc)

 

[theamazingmaise]

Thanks! another thing is that i might have two males. the guys at my lfs said one was male the other female, but one seems to bully the other a little. They also stay on different sides of the tank. This might be the cause of the lack of color.

 

[bleechme]

Yeah when buying Rams, Go with your own reserach and instints. The other day I went to go get female rams at a petstore about 30 min away from where I live, the store there has many rare speices and are pretty smart about what the fishes needs, but about the rams, I thought them something new about them. They told me that if I wanted female rams then I should get the really dull colored ones, (Those where very young males they had.) and the tank was full of mature females with bright red bellies. The lady that worked there told me I could net my own fish as she watched. after i caught three females with pinkish-red bellies she told me I caught three males because the males are more colorful than the females, true but I had to go through a little bit of explaining to them. And after that, they told me that they'd definatly buy baby rams from me when I breed them. They had eggs last night!

But for me, What I look for is the body shape, since more young Rams are sold more often then older ones, so the colors and dorsal fins are not an option for telling sexes for young rams. I look for the head shape. The ones with a thinner, pointy head are females, while the males have a rounder, fuller shaped head.

 

[theamazingmaise]

Yeah this is probaly the problem. Do you think it would be okay to get two females for the males in my 20gal. or will it be over stocked. (also have 5 tetras in the tank)

 

[bleechme]

do you have an extra tank? if you do then I would be great. The 20 gal tank should be good for two pairs IMO, but when they pair up and want to breed then thats when the problem come in with territory. so thats when you pull out that extra tank and let one of the pair breed in the extra tank. The extra tank should be around 10-15 gallon for a breeding pair. . Even if you are not trying to breed them, they will as long as there is a fish of the same kind and opposite sex. These fish are like little rabbits! but I heard the babies can be a hassle. But babies are not even the problem, trying to get eggs to hatch is hard enough.

 

[theamazingmaise]

Yeah i got a 12 gallon i might be able to use. How do you know when they want to breed?

 

[theamazingmaise]

could you maybe send some pics of males and females i think it would really help. Thanks.

 

[bleechme]

Here some pics I got from http/www.vergari.com/Acquariofilia/ramirezi.asp

I just added some wording to the pics. So credit goes to that site.

When the female is ready she will be fat like the one in the above pic (some will lay eggs even when they are skinny), also the female release thick white tube (forgot what it is called) around where the anal is. The Male and Female will be cleaning an area to lay their eggs, thats when you know that they are going to lay.

And if the place you buy it from sells only young ones, then both the male and female will look almost alike, there for, looking at the head shape will help the most in my opinion. Thats probably not how everyone tells them apart but thats how I tell them apart. GOOD LUCK!!! go with instincts, if your going to buy females at the same place you bought your first two since they messed you up the first time, or ask them that if the one's you buy don't turn out to be females, then ask if you can exchange them?

 

[theamazingmaise]

Hey thanks this will help me alot. hopefully they let me return one of my males and get a female. Also what do you feed your rams?