Longfin German Blue Rams

[D01]

Hello all,

I purchased these Longfin German Blue Rams a couple of weeks ago and asked for a pair, but I'm not actually sure if one of them is a female.
Please find images attached and let me know your thoughts

Many thanks

 

[MacZ]

You can basically only sex this breed by behaviour. Fins and colouration have been bred to a state where they camouflage the usual attributes.

 

[D01]

Hi,

Thanks for your reply
What behaviours should I be looking out for?

 

[anewbie]

The orange belly of the first might be a female but it is hard to tell if it is just a colour varation or orange tummy.

The 2nd one is a totally different morph that is mostly electric blue - If the fishes pair up and you see two different type of breeding tubes you have a pair otherwise you don't.

I wouldn't breed them anyway given their oddness but that is just me.

 

[MacZ]

As @anewbie mentioned: Courtship behaviour is one possibility, aggression is the other. If one becomes dominant and constantly chases the other, the one chasing is very surely a male. the other one still has to be determined, but if it keeps going on it's likely also a male.

 

[KenL]

I agree with what has been said already. However, my guess is that the first picture could be a female and the second is probably a male.

For me, rams are about the most difficult fish in the hobby to keep healthy in the long term.

 

[MacZ]

For me, rams are about the most difficult fish in the hobby to keep healthy in the long term.

Absolutely. One of the species that has been bread so much, the fish look barely like the wild original anymore. Additionally there are little to no wild caught specimens available anymore. I know people that have chased wild M. ramirezi for years, ordering many times and always getting domestic breeds instead.

 

[anewbie]

Absolutely. One of the species that has been bread so much, the fish look barely like the wild original anymore. Additionally there are little to no wild caught specimens available anymore. I know people that have chased wild M. ramirezi for years, ordering many times and always getting domestic breeds instead.

In the usa you can picked up wild caught blue rams. I've seen them available a couple of times from reliable sellers the past 3 years - i have one that is 3 years old now. They of course lack the strong colours of their domestic breed .... This presume the exporter is actually selling specimens that were wild caught and not from some sort of holding tank.

Having said that the past 12 to 18 months have been pretty crappy on exports. Not sure what is going on - politics or something else but i've seen a lot more imported west africans then south american species then just a few years ago.

 

[MacZ]

Having said that the past 12 to 18 months have been pretty crappy on exports. Not sure what is going on - politics or something else but i've seen a lot more imported west africans then south american species then just a few years ago.

At least for M. ramirezi it's definitely politics. Main range in the wild: Colombia and Venezuela. What to expect?