Are my german rams spawning.

[fishboy123]

Hello,

So I got two german rams a few days ago and they settled in real fast and started eating a hour after they went in the tank!!. Today I notice them both in the corner of my tank and one looks like it is trying to lay eggs in the gravel and the other one is guarding and chases away any fish that gets to close. Is this normal breeding behaviour or are they up to something different?? The werd part is that they both look like females but not 100% shure

[coralbandit]

Sounds like breeding behavior...
Females will lay eggs without a male.

[stevenht]

I believe male rams have a "U" shaped dorsal fin meaning the front and back are both taller than the rest of their fin. They have more elongated bodies. Females bodies have the shape of a coin. Very round and not long. Because of this, only the front of their dorsal fin is taller than the rest.

[Brookster123]

Originally Posted by stevenht

I believe male rams have a "U" shaped dorsal fin meaning the front and back are both taller than the rest of their fin. They have more elongated bodies. Females bodies have the shape of a coin. Very round and not long. Because of this, only the front of their dorsal fin is taller than the rest.

I mean... when a female is clearly a female it's obvious, when a male isn't a female it's even more obvious. Males are more manly when cruising about the tanks while females seem a bit more feminine imho.
From my limited experience it's best to get them young, feed em, clean water em and observe. There is nothing more obvious than a happy male and female together. When it comes to the variants (long fin, color morphs) sexing becomes a little more tricky.
I digress... coralbandit has probably sexed 1000 more rams than I've ever seen in person.. whatever he says!

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