Sexing German Blue Rams

[Mondego]

how do i tell the difference. it is not explained in the pinned thread above.

i have one with noticibly higher dorsal spikes, but the other is not more round at all. here they are in more detail (sorry no pics)

German Blue Ram 1
appears older (slighly larger)
has a very large and defined black dot inside one of his middle tiger stripes behind his gills
has a very high front dorsal spikes
is more round (more full)
is more aggressive, at times (only to number 2, not to any other fish)

German Blue Ram 2
appears younger (slightly smaller)
has no dot at all in any of his middle tiger stripes
front dorsal spikes just barely taller than rest of dorsal fin
looks skinnier, eats less (sometimes seems depressed)
is less aggressive

besides the past few days, they are rarely seem more than 6 inches apart from each other, and enjoy one anothers company. German Blue Ram 1 especially enjoys the company of number 2

if it is totally necessary i'll try to get pics.

 

[pseud]

Certainly sounds like a male and female pair.
Does number 2 have more of a pink belly than number 1?

 

[Katchan]

Size - Male are usually larger than females of the same age

Colouration - Most fish will lose some->alot of their colouring when stressed, my guess is thats what your seeing with the smaller fish.

If you do have a male/female pair what you may need maybe a dither/target fish for them to share their aggression on (thats what happened with my pair), therby uniting the pair. Choose a fish of same type or a small dwarf cichlid of another type (juvie krib, female apisto) the original pair will likely team up in effort against the intruder.


Katchan

 

[Mondego]

sometimes both of them will flair their blue color (tons of those tiny blue dots all over their body). it can look pretty intense, but that's the only part that will flair.

just today i've noticed number 2 finally started developing the green hue in his face. number 1 developed that probably over a month ago, but number 1 always had way more black on him, including the strip that runs up and down his eye, and the few stripes directly behind that one.

Certainly sounds like a male and female pair.
Does number 2 have more of a pink belly than number 1?

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neither has a pink belly.

 

[pseud]

neither has a pink belly.

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That's ok, my female just lost it's pink belly for no apparent reason. The pink means that they're ready and willing to breed, so she just could not be ready for him yet.

 

[pseud]

sometimes both of them will flair their blue color (tons of those tiny blue dots all over their body). it can look pretty intense, but that's the only part that will flair.

just today i've noticed number 2 finally started developing the green hue in his face. number 1 developed that probably over a month ago, but number 1 always had way more black on him, including the strip that runs up and down his eye, and the few stripes directly behind that one.

I don't think they flare, I think it's more the way the light falls on them. My male has alot more blue than my female, but I don't know if that's typical of the male.

Also, what are you feeding them?

 

[abstract]

it partly has to do with the way the light shines on them...but the better they are breeding-condition wise, the brighter their colors will be (especially the iridescent blue/green)

 

[Mondego]

it partly has to do with the way the light shines on them...but the better they are breeding-condition wise, the brighter their colors will be (especially the iridescent blue/green)

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both of them are often bright blue. i know that they flair it because the don't even move when suddenly they turn bright blue.

i am feeding them brine shrimp.