Questions About Blue Rams.

[ey2006]

I got a pair of blue rams today, have been looking for them for a while now and finally some, along with gold rams!

I was wondering how many rams should I get in order for them to feel safe and healthy? Are they schooling fish or is it okay to have 2?

Also, how do I sex them? Are the male rams more aggressive than the females?

The tank is 300L, would i be able to fit more rams in?

Do the males have brighter colours than females? Noticed with most of the pics of blue rams I've seen on the net, including on the profile page here, they have lots blue spot/markings on their body, dorsal, anal and caudal fins - the 2 new rams I got today didn't have as many blue markings, will this change as they get bigger or is it simply a colour variance

 

[kimmers318]

I don't have a lot of ram experience but here is what I have found with my 3, 2 females, 1 male. My male is extremely aggressive to both females, they were removed from tank. Neither female showed any aggression to any other fish. My male also showed aggression to my dwarf gourami, and has on occasion showed aggression to my bristlenose pleco, who just swims away. He looks yellowish sometimes, and then at other times he is extremely blue and absolutely gorgeous! The females have pink bellies, the males don't, and alot of the time the males have an extended dorsal fin, although it is not uncommon for females to have it also. My female, Baby, does have a larger than expected black dorsal point, but still not as prominent as Demon's, my male. Here are pics of Demon and Baby, although you can't see her pointed dorsal fin well, you can see pink belly.

These are the only rams I have kept, I have since lost both females to an internal bacterial infection, and now Demon acts kinda lonely so I may try another female if I can find a mature healthy looking one in the future.

If I remember correctly they are best kept in groups of 1 male with 1 or 2 females, but occasionally the 2nd female will just get picked on too much if the others pair off.