Blue Rams

[Bman024]

I was able to get a pair of Blue Rams Sunday. Or what I am hoping is a pair, they are pretty young as of yet. I know they are hard to sex and have heard different things. But what we went off is the blue spots over the black. Which one definitely has more as the other has none. The question I am having is the black stripes on the pelvic fins? They seem to both have them and that is supposedly a trait of female?

*Don't mind the fern that is being eaten by something...

 

[bettaowner]

It's hard to tell so it would be best to buy rams in bulk.

 

[Andy Sager]

also, Male Rams have more elongated 2nd through 4th dorsal rays. Using this, the fish in pic #3 would be a female ( unless it's a juv. male). Time will tell. When looking to purchase pairs, try to get the ones with elongated dorsals for your males then look for more rounded fish which will probably be females carrying eggs.

Hope this helps

 

[Scoot35]

I seen a guy on YouTube saying he sexed them by the blue spots and pink belly which would be females

 

[Scoot35]

So that's how I purchased mine 1 male and 3 females if he's correct

 

[Andy Sager]

I seen a guy on YouTube saying he sexed them by the blue spots and pink belly which would be females

This is where you need to know if you are buying wild fish or tank raised fish. The tank raised fish can, over time, change their color patterns based on what the breeder chose to breed. You can see this with a lot of tank bred African cichlids. Many females now have eggspots or more eggspots that used to only be seen on males. In nature, the fish chooses the mate that shows the best characteristics( which is usually color, pattern, behavior, etc.) so the color pattern method would be effective if these are wild fish (I know, it's confusing .) This is why I back up my selection with fin structure. It's the same on both wild and tank bred fish.
Fully gravid female rams will have the pink belly and the straight dorsal fin. They will also, when viewed from above, be more rounded in the abdomen then a male will be. The Male should have that "rooster" look when mature.

The other choice is to get a dozen, put them in a tank and let them figure out if they want to be males or females. You just enjoy the ride.

Hope this helps

 

[Bman024]

Thanks for the help guys.

It's hard to tell so it would be best to buy rams in bulk.

I only have a 29 gallon tank that is pretty well stocked and not enough room for bulk rams.. Just trying to get lucky with a pair as I don't want to have two males in the same 29G.

also, Male Rams have more elongated 2nd through 4th dorsal rays. Using this, the fish in pic #3 would be a female ( unless it's a juv. male). Time will tell. When looking to purchase pairs, try to get the ones with elongated dorsals for your males then look for more rounded fish which will probably be females carrying eggs.

Hope this helps

They are Juv. fish so it is hard to tell. I cannot get matured fish and highly doubtful I'd ever find a female carrying...

I seen a guy on YouTube saying he sexed them by the blue spots and pink belly which would be females

They both have pink-ish bellies but one has more blue spots than the other.

This is where you need to know if you are buying wild fish or tank raised fish. The tank raised fish can, over time, change their color patterns based on what the breeder chose to breed. You can see this with a lot of tank bred African cichlids. Many females now have eggspots or more eggspots that used to only be seen on males. In nature, the fish chooses the mate that shows the best characteristics( which is usually color, pattern, behavior, etc.) so the color pattern method would be effective if these are wild fish (I know, it's confusing .) This is why I back up my selection with fin structure. It's the same on both wild and tank bred fish.
Fully gravid female rams will have the pink belly and the straight dorsal fin. They will also, when viewed from above, be more rounded in the abdomen then a male will be. The Male should have that "rooster" look when mature.

The other choice is to get a dozen, put them in a tank and let them figure out if they want to be males or females. You just enjoy the ride.

Hope this helps

These are tank raised fish I bought from my LFS (not a chain) and it was very hard to tell when they were in the pet store. One does look more rounded from uptop but their dorsal fins almost look the same.

 

[Bman024]

I took more pictures last night and even got this great video! Would you say this is either two males/two females duking it out or a male and female flirting?
Really hoping for the latter..

The guy at the fish store is ordering more that will come next week and is very nice and has been helping me to get a nice pair. He said if they both turn out to be males I can exchange one for what he hopes to have a female in the next batch.

In the video what I think is the male would be on the left with the non perfect fin and female on the right...

 

[Bman024]

So the first picture is what I think is the male

Second picture is what I think is the female.

Third picture male left, female right.

Fourth picture male left, female right.

Thanks for any of your help!

 

[Bman024]

Anyone with any help? Or anyone at least want to comment on the cute video?!? LOL I am leaning more towards a pair as it seemed more playful and like the male was wanting attention rather than two males fighting for territory..

PLEASE???

 

[Andy Sager]

Anyone with any help? Or anyone at least want to comment on the cute video?!? LOL I am leaning more towards a pair as it seemed more playful and like the male was wanting attention rather than two males fighting for territory..

PLEASE???

From my perspective, since these are juvenile fish, there is no rush or need to speculate on their genders. Enjoy the fish in your tank and if you do have a pair, they will let you know. If you do not have a pair, then you can change one.
A tank of all females will not "fight" for a mate that doesn't exist and a tank of all males will only "fight" for territory which is much less harmful than fighting for a mate. I think you have a no lose situation just by waiting it out.

 

[phishfriend]

ok, the very first pic you posted in the thread is a definitely a female she has a pink belly which is a true sign of a female. Now, in the first 4 pics which is of the other ram?

 

[Bman024]

I took those 4 new pictures to better determine the two apart. If you look at their tails one has a perfect tail and the other has slightly jagged that is growing back. In all of these pictures the perfect tail would be on the right.

What the fish guy and I thought was the perfect tail was female and jagged male.
They seem to both have pink belly's, and black stipes on their pelvic fins. Which is common for female.
So maybe it's just too early to tell and only time will..?

 

[phishfriend]

I think from the photos you have two females.
They both seem to have that pink hue on the belly. It's faded because of the new home and because there are no males present. That is how I have learned to identify females. If you go back to the LFS and look for a large ram standing Its ground in the tank and flaring when others get close. It's most likely a male. They don't have any red tint on the belly.

Here is a pic of one of my pairs in between spawns. Female is smaller/ Male larger. It's a good pic that showed the belly color. See how the male has a golden belly with no hint of pink. When stressed males tend to fade gray in that area but females will still show a lite pinkish tint or hue even when faded and stressed.


Hope this helps!