1. Welcome to Aquarium Space! We are a friendly online community for aquarium owners all over the world who love their tanks including their fish, reefs, corals, invertebrates and their aquatic livestock. If you haven't joined yet, we invite you to register and join our community!

German Blue Rams

Discussion in 'Cichlids' started by LemonDiscus, Feb 11, 2009.

Page 1 of 3
  1. LemonDiscus

    LemonDiscus Thread Starter Active Member

    Messages:
    3,588
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    36
    I just got two today, and made a crapshoot for a guess in sexing them (I had absolutely no idea) and I think I wound up with a pair of females....

    The issue is that I bought them BEFORE they were ever acclimated to the Pet Stores tanks! They quite literally just were shipped in. They have ABSOLUTELY no color. They now look white with black spots....

    They are quite young too only half the size of the adults..... Oh well 2 females means I have to find a male or two but now I know how to identify them (dorsal fin, yellow belly, no black on the pelvic fins for males)

    Maybe 1 is a male.... I still cant really tell with no color to either fish.... the anal fin and dorsal fin on one of the 2 though carries back REALLY far though and on that fish it does look like it has a slightly larger 2/3rd dorsal spike..... so really, I have no idea....
     
    LemonDiscus, Feb 11, 2009
    #1
  2. Guidoman888

    Guidoman888 New Member

    Messages:
    1,444
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    Aint german rams really hard to keep alive?,, Still the're really pretty they'll gain the normal color once the're used to your tank? At least I think they will :)
     
    Guidoman888, Feb 11, 2009
    #2
  3. LemonDiscus

    LemonDiscus Thread Starter Active Member

    Messages:
    3,588
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    36
    Actually.... Discus, Otos, Angelfish, Cardinal Tetras and Rams all are hard to keep alive..... ironicly enough they all require the exact same water parameters.... so if you can keep Discus alive, you should be able to keep Rams alive.... so I have read!

    I like to keep the hard-to-keep fish :D
     
    LemonDiscus, Feb 11, 2009
    #3
  4. Guidoman888

    Guidoman888 New Member

    Messages:
    1,444
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    True I know discus and Angels are hard to keep alive,, I have no doubt you will succeed with the rams :)
     
    Guidoman888, Feb 11, 2009
    #4
  5. LemonDiscus

    LemonDiscus Thread Starter Active Member

    Messages:
    3,588
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    36
    Hey, something new!
     
    LemonDiscus, Feb 11, 2009
    #5
  6. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

    Messages:
    5,728
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    38
    I've always heard Ottos are hard to keep alive. I've never had a problem with them though. German/Blue Rams though, I will not attempt again.
     
    Anthony, Feb 11, 2009
    #6
  7. LemonDiscus

    LemonDiscus Thread Starter Active Member

    Messages:
    3,588
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    36
    Well, you do have hard water.... I am at PH 5 now with soft water! So that is an ideal for them.... The acclimation was horrible (like almost an hour!)

    I am going to add pics of them on this thread, not really showing them off, but so it is understood what I meant and maybe someone can sex them....
     
    LemonDiscus, Feb 11, 2009
    #7
  8. LemonDiscus

    LemonDiscus Thread Starter Active Member

    Messages:
    3,588
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    36
    LemonDiscus, Feb 11, 2009
    #8
  9. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

    Messages:
    5,728
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    38
    Top female, bottom male ?
     
    Anthony, Feb 11, 2009
    #9
  10. LemonDiscus

    LemonDiscus Thread Starter Active Member

    Messages:
    3,588
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    36
    I kind of thought that too.... but I still really dont know.... It may be 2 females.... or it could be 2 males (doubt it though)
     
    LemonDiscus, Feb 11, 2009
    #10
  11. Anonymous

    Anonymous Guest

    Top Poster Of Month

    someone doesnt know about the cichlid section we have here at theexoticfish.com :LOL:

    as to sexing the males have more black in the top fin and are more colorful bodywise. The are pretty easy to tell the difference when mature, so if they look the same chances are they are two females or two males. The females are pretty drab in comparison to the males.
     
    Anonymous, Feb 11, 2009
    #11
  12. NoctuVide

    NoctuVide Member

    Messages:
    504
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    16
    wow, well at least I know from experience they will color up nicely! lol Mine wasn't quite as dull as that when I got him, but he didn't have the coloration he has now. As for sexing...I'm really not to good at that. I have heard that females are much duller in coloration than males so I'm not sure if you'll be able to tell until they color up. I'll poke around on the net a bit and see if I can find any info.
     
    NoctuVide, Feb 11, 2009
    #12
  13. stevenrox

    stevenrox New Member

    Messages:
    1,310
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    wait wtf angels and cardinals, otos are hard to keep alive their so easy for me so if i can keep them alive can i keep discus?
     
    stevenrox, Feb 11, 2009
    #13
  14. LemonDiscus

    LemonDiscus Thread Starter Active Member

    Messages:
    3,588
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    36
    Quite possibly! They all require the same water conditions!
     
    LemonDiscus, Feb 12, 2009
    #14
  15. LemonDiscus

    LemonDiscus Thread Starter Active Member

    Messages:
    3,588
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    36
    And Nelson... I actually were not sure if they are Cichlids or not.... kind of thought they were and kind of thought they were not...

    Thanks NoctuVide
     
    LemonDiscus, Feb 12, 2009
    #15
  16. Ryanstech

    Ryanstech New Member

    Messages:
    78
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    0
    seems like 2 females to me judging on body shape/size. hard to say without color. my GBRs are very obvious in sexes not just by color but mostly body shape and size. Good luck with them, hope you end up getting a pair and they breed as prolifically as mine!
     
    Ryanstech, Feb 12, 2009
    #16
  17. LemonDiscus

    LemonDiscus Thread Starter Active Member

    Messages:
    3,588
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    36
    Another question kind of related..... upon looking at the development of GBR fry, I am guessing that mine are 2-3 months old because they do not have color yet...

    The question is at what age do the males grow the longer dorsal spikes? Again, the one with the extra black in it has 2 spikes that are just slightly longer than the rest.... I do mean slightly! The dorsal and anal fins on that one are also a bit different than the other. Its dorsal and anal fins go back into the caudal fin region whereas the lighter colored one's end right at the caudal tail.
     
    LemonDiscus, Feb 13, 2009
    #17
  18. LemonDiscus

    LemonDiscus Thread Starter Active Member

    Messages:
    3,588
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    36
    They have a bit of color now... the coloring makes me think the one with the extra black on it is a male.... but the finage makes me think it is a female!

    They both behave different too... the one that has the extra black is pretty aggressive and beat up on the corys. The other one is pretty passive and just cruises around the tank.

    Here are some colorful pictures of my German Blue Rams in my aquarium .... nice to see some color in them now.
     
    LemonDiscus, Feb 14, 2009
    #18
  19. Anthony

    Anthony Active Member

    Messages:
    5,728
    Likes Received:
    2
    Trophy Points:
    38
    The top one colored up nicely already.
     
    Anthony, Feb 14, 2009
    #19
  20. LemonDiscus

    LemonDiscus Thread Starter Active Member

    Messages:
    3,588
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    36
    It did a little bit.... still more to go though. Sexing these things is driving me nuts. I want to know if I need to go get a few more.... and still cant get an answer!
     
    LemonDiscus, Feb 14, 2009
    #20
Page 1 of 3