What Sex Are My Blue Rams?

[Bozza]

Hey everyone, Im sure u probably get alot of posts about sexing different cichlids. I have 2 blue rams. Originally bought as a pair. I believe now that they have grown that they are both males. I was wondering if you guys good confirm this. I have a picture of the 2 together but its pretty bad. One of them is really nice but the other is less colourful and thats where im confused about their gender. Thanks in advance.


Torrens

 

[Katchan]

As you said its not the best of pictures, but as far as I can tell from it they are both females...

1-from the pic they both appear to have pink/rosy tummy blotches - the main way to tell male from female blue rams
2-the first two or three spines on the dorsal are not particulary long - as a general rule males are extended, females are not, this rule can be broken either way
3-the fish on the left at least appears to have spangles (shiny scales) on her black spot, again while not a hard it rule it is a good indicator

HTH

Andrew

 

[Bozza]

So you think they are both females? Wat i thought was the one on the left is a female and the one on the right is a male. Can anyone else shine some light on this? Thanks in advance.

 

[Dave1]

if u can get a clearer picture it would be very helpful, i tried a few different computer programs and couldnt get it that clear.

 

[thegnu]

i agree with Katchan, they are both female

 

[Nevergone815]

Lookign at these again, i feel the same way. If the pink belly is really there and not a play with the poor image, then that is a very clear indicator for female genders.

 

[Bozza]

So everyone thinks they are both females? If thats the case, then they rival the prettiest males. Every female i have seen in LFS are very plain. These 2 have colours that are better then some males. Yes they both have pink bellys. But they also have 2 black fins on the tops of their heads. Will they be able to live in there together without fighting and be aggressive to the other? Thanks




Torrens

 

[kelp]

I'm just curious, I'm pretty sure that I have two females, too (I'm going to upload images later once they are more mature), but can you keep two females with one male? Or will a pair form, and the other female be left alone? Also, can you tell when two Rams are paired up? Will they follow each other all around the tank? Sorry if I'm stealing your thread, Bozza.

 

[Bozza]

Thats ok Kelp. I know that its not good to have 2 males and 1 female because the males will fight alot against eachother. I think u would be able to keep 1 male and 2 females together, but would have to get a second opinion on that sorry. Cichlids arnt my thing

 

[Katchan]

Rams do not do well in trios, like most NW cichlids. The pair will keep picking on the other fish be it male or female. If its a large enough tank this would not be a problem as a mated pair are more likely to stay in their territory and not chase a single fish at the other end of large enough tank. Eg you might get 3 rams in a 3'/90cm tank but you could get 2 pairs into a 2'/60cm tank as its 2vs 2 on aggro not 2v1.

As for seeing females in the shop as dull, males more colourful, males are mostley bigger, females smaller, bigger displays colour try for territory, smaller get dominated, has less colour. When in a good tank enviro with no stress females can have just as much colours as males.

Once a pair has formed as stated above they tend to stick more to their territory, but they will move out depending on the mood of the tank and other tank mates

HTH Bozza and kelp

Andrew

 

[Bozza]

Thanks Katchan that info does help. I suppose wat u said about females being smaller does make sense. Ive had these 2 rams for maybe 6wks or so and they dont show any size difference since i got them. The one on the left in the photo is always alot less colourful then the other. What colour tummy do the males have? The one on the right has a purpleish tummy. Oh well watever they are they are really nice and are doin well with my cory only tank.

 

[KathyM]

I don't see ovipositors on either of those, although the picture is blurry. If they both have visible ovipositors, they're both female. Colouring and dorsal fin is not reliable.

 

[thegnu]

egg ovipositors are only "grown" by the fish when they are about to spawn so this shouldn't be used as a way to sex fish (unless of course they ARE about to spawn AND have clearly got them, in which case in some species its the ONLY way to tell the sexes apart) all the rest of the time they (the fish) wont have them

 

[KathyM]

I was advised by people far more experienced than me that females always have a visible ovipositor, and that was certainly the case in my experience, mine had never bred and it was very eay to sex them, although mine were maybe halfway to adult by the time I bought them, so I'm not sure if it's as easy with tiny babies (as you often seen blue rams sold as).

 

[Katchan]

I hate to break it to you kathy thegnu is definetly right

below is a picture my female ram, 4 months old + whatever she was before I purchased her (I guess 2-3months) easily old enough for a ram to breed, I admit its a crap picture but not sign of her ovipositer (while pink belly is there), also if you check here there are many pics of females with no ovipositer visable

Andrew