# Please Help Me Sex My 2 New German Blue Rams!



## PlatinumSM (Dec 17, 2010)

When I observed these two at the pet store, they were defending a corner of the tank like a mated pair. However, after a night in my tank, they both look like pink-bellied females!!!

Please let me know what sex(es) you think these little guys/gals are 

Thanks!

GBR 1 Top & 2 Bottom:









GBR 1 Closeup:









GBR 2 Closeup:


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## ebjdftw (Aug 24, 2010)

with the pink on the underbelly i would say both are female


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## mlancaster (Jul 24, 2009)

Hi *PlatinumSM*,

I am of no help when it comes to sexing Rams; but, I did want to comment on the great photos; well done.

Thanks,
Matt


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## ebjdftw (Aug 24, 2010)

and also, males usually do not have blue scales over that big black spot on their body, from your photos it looks as though both of yours have it, indicating female. Also the spikes on their head isn't as long as a males would be. Again I'd go with both being female. I was really lucky when I picked mine out at my LFS, the guy helping me knew a lot about GBR and picked out a male and 2 females for me.


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## flashbang (Jun 23, 2010)

They look Females-also look like the long fin variety to me-good pic's though, i wish i had a decent digital camera


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## Knight7 (Dec 30, 2009)

The first one is a male. I'm not positive on the second one, but would say 80% sure it's female. Easiest way to tell with rams is the males have an taller 2nd spine on their dorsal; it is easy to spot in the first photo.

Richard


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## PlatinumSM (Dec 17, 2010)

I took the more submissive one back to the store and exchanged it for the largest Ram in the tank.

No one at the store was any help sexing them, and they were being kept with a bunch of Tetras so their colors were almost totally absent and they were not displaying their dorsals at all, so I had very little to go on other than size and presence/absence of a pink belly...

What do you guys think? Is it a male?


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## RayQ (Sep 26, 2007)

You have to be careful with GBR's, they don't always follow the same rules when it comes to sexing. After many generations of selective breeding, the traits start to show up in both sexes, the best way to tell is by venting, it really is the only way to know for sure. :thumb:

Ray


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## PlatinumSM (Dec 17, 2010)

Ugh - the male died in the night! So, I guess I'll do it properly next time and buy a group, then return anyone who doesn't pair up...


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## xWingman48 (Apr 8, 2008)

If you google sexing blue rams, you can find some really good articles on how to sex them. The dorsal spine trick isn't all that reliable in young fish. I typically look for three or four good signs before calling it one or the other.

My guess was the first one you had was a female (I've never seen a male with a pink belly), and the second was a male, but it's hard to tell without actually seeing them.

Here are the main points I use:

1) Pink Belly -- Almost sure indicator of female

2) Dorsal / Anal Fins -- Rounded and shorter for females. For males, it's a little more pointed and extends past the beginning of the tail fin

3) Spangling on the black spot -- A female will have really pronounced blue spots in the black spot that look different from the spangling that covers their body. For males, the spot will either be entirely black or have small spangling that's similar to the rest of the body.

4) Dorsal spine -- Like was said above, the second dorsal spine gets really pronounced in males, but in my experience, it doesn't do so until they're older

5) Pelvic Fins -- The females will have black on their two pelvic fins, the males will not

Keep in mind, however, that buying a single male and female doesn't guarantee a pair:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/view ... 9bbd49f71a

You may want a couple of females to start out with. You can take back the one(s) that start getting exiled.


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## hbbyhorse (Oct 15, 2010)

RayQ said:


> the best way to tell is by venting, it really is the only way to know for sure.


What is venting? 
thx


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## PlatinumSM (Dec 17, 2010)

Thanks, Wingman!

After my little pink-bellied *female* stressed the male to death, I have decided to let her rule the 10-G tank all by herself, since she has enough personality to fill at least twice that space 

If my favorite fish store ever gets any Electric Blue Rams in, I might get a group of 4 or 5 and see if she wants to pair with any of them. Otherwise, she will share the 10-G with a bristlenose pleco and I will give up on pairing her off!

P.S. "Venting" is examining a fish or reptile's vent (reproductive opening) for characteristic male or female traits.


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## hbbyhorse (Oct 15, 2010)

PlatinumSM said:


> P.S. "Venting" is examining a fish or reptile's vent (reproductive opening) for characteristic male or female traits.


LOL, allrightythen . . . oh the images in my head now, I can't unsee that, LMAO


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