Question about german blue rams

[HeatherW]

Are these the same fish???
Papilochromis ramirezi (found on live aquaria.com)
Microgeophagus ramirezi (found on pet solutions)

What is the difference? They both are called German blue rams

 

[BHead707]

ive always seen rams referred to as Microgeophagus ramirezi, but they look like the same fish on live aquaria to me

 

[bs6749]

Same exact fish, but Microgeophagus is the new genus and Papilochromis is the old genus. You may also see them called Mikrogeophagus ramirezi because some clowns in Europe thought it looked better with a "k". Microgeophagus is the correct genus however.

 

[HeatherW]

thanks guys!!! I am placing my order now!!! can't wait!!

 

[BHead707]

Same exact fish, but Microgeophagus is the new genus and Papilochromis is the old genus. You may also see them called Mikrogeophagus ramirezi because some clowns in Europe thought it looked better with a "k". Microgeophagus is the correct genus however.

thank you, im going to call you MR. Ram from now on

 

[bs6749]

HA! Soon I might be starting up with breeding them again and offering individual fish, pairs, etc. We'll see how it goes though.

 

[BHead707]

HA! Soon I might be starting up with breeding them again and offering individual fish, pairs, etc. We'll see how it goes though.

nice! ive always wanted to but don't have the ample space and number of tanks, the 2 females i have now are a pain enough to keep happy

 

[Andysol]

HA! Soon I might be starting up with breeding them again and offering individual fish, pairs, etc. We'll see how it goes though.

I'd hurt someone you dislike if you can get me a mated Bolivian pair.

German blues are awesome- your stock sounds awesome (in other thread). Please take pics

 

[HeatherW]

My fish came in... Can you tell if I got a girl and a boy? I know one is definitely bigger than the other

 

[Andysol]

They are pretty tough to sex. Get them in the tank and acclimated for a couple weeks then retake a couple good pictures.

Even if they are one make and one female, they might not pair.

 

[rotorhead22]

From the pics it looks like the smaller Ram is a male. He should have the first 3 rays of the Dorsal Fin elongated and black. The spot on his side should be very black.

The female will have a rounder Dorsal Fin, the black spot will not be as prominent and have a blue sheen, and her belly will be more pink.

Hope this helps

-rotorhead22

 

[HeatherW]

Here is a better pic of the larger one - boy or girl?

 

[rotorhead22]

It looks like a female, which makes the male more juvenile based on its size.

-rotorhead22

 

[HeatherW]

I am still trying to see what you are talking about, but I get the "rounder dorsal fin" part - I just don't see it.

I found a site that showed the pelvic fins - girls have black and boys do not. is this a good guid to go by? if this is the case the big one (I am thinking is a boy) definitely does NOT have black on the pelvic fins and the smaller one does - pretty sure (still kinda hiding)

the good thing is the two of them are definitely hanging out together - they are alway together

 

[kdpuffer]

There are different things to look for in sexing rams and you can't go by just one typically. Due to these fish being bred in captivity in an attempt to make them as colorful as possible they are hard to sex. Males typically have a pointer tip to their dorsal fin as well as a significantly longer second ray in their dorsal, they also tend to have a yellow gill plate with the color extending into the belly area. The males also typically have a red mouth/face and also have a larger black dot that doesn't have the metallic blue sheen to it. Females typically have a pink/red belly and metallic blue sheen in their black dot, also females tend to be more lean and makes tend to grow more round. The females often have an extended second ray in their dorsal fin it's just slightly longer than the other rays but significantly shorter than that of a male.

 

[Andysol]

There are different things to look for in sexing rams and you can't go by just one typically. Due to these fish being bred in captivity in an attempt to make them as colorful as possible they are hard to sex. Males typically have a pointer tip to their dorsal fin as well as a significantly longer second ray in their dorsal, they also tend to have a yellow gill plate with the color extending into the belly area. The males also typically have a red mouth/face and also have a larger black dot that doesn't have the metallic blue sheen to it. Females typically have a pink/red belly and metallic blue sheen in their black dot, also females tend to be more lean and makes tend to grow more round. The females often have an extended second ray in their dorsal fin it's just slightly longer than the other rays but significantly shorter than that of a male.

Great info. Bookmarked.

 

[siva]

They are actually really simple to sex. If there's a blue sheen on the black spot, then it's a female. The other indicators can fool you from time to time but this one has always worked for me.

 

[kdpuffer]

So here are some pics of my wild caught blue rams. The first two are of the female and as you can see her dorsal ray is extended but not as much as the male which is the last pic. You can also see her black dot has the blue sheen on it where the males doesn't. The last indicator is the pink belly, it's hard to tell on the female but she does have the pink belly and the male doesn't. Being wild caught they aren't inbred and such so they stay true to the male/female traits. These rams are still tiny so they aren't fully colored up but they are really colorful considering they are 3/4 of an inch long.

 

[bs6749]

I'd hurt someone you dislike if you can get me a mated Bolivian pair.

German blues are awesome- your stock sounds awesome (in other thread). Please take pics

There aren't many people that I dislike, and I'm a pretty big guy and can handle 90% of people out there on my own LOL.

 

[bs6749]

My fish came in... Can you tell if I got a girl and a boy? I know one is definitely bigger than the other

From those pics (although they are obviously stressed from shipping), and from much experience with rams, I can tell you with 100% certainty that you have a female (smaller fish) and male pair. I can also tell from those pictures that they are nice stock. You should be very pleased with what you received and I hope they work out for you.