# identify female and male BLUE RAMS...



## anchlo (Aug 4, 2009)

My LFS has a few Blue Rams in and I want to get a pair.... How do I tell the male from the female? Thanks Josh


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## zzyzx85 (Feb 13, 2008)

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/m_ramirezi.php

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/pfk/pages/show_article.php?article_id=751

http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum/showthread.php?t=17586&highlight=Mikrogeophagus+ramirezi

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/cichlid/germanblueram.php

http://www.aquahobby.com/board/viewtopic.php?t=26740&start=10

- males lack blue "spangling" throughout their black spot (can be completely black in the middle with spangling around). Females will have blue "spangling" through the spot. (least conclusive)
- in non-longfin variants, the dorsal and anal fin of females barely reach base of caudal (tail) fin. (most accurate)
- females have a red/pink belly when they are in the mood to spawn.

lots of information and ways of sexing by searching "sexing blue ram" or "sexing mikrogeophagus ramirezi" on the web


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## Postal Penguin (Mar 30, 2009)

Another thing to consider: many rams are hormone injected to brighten their colors. Ask your LFS if their supplier does this. If they dont know you can usually tell because the fish have brilliant coloration despite being stressed by the LFS tanks. I purchased 3 rams from a very well kept LFS that were hormone injected and all 3 were dead within a month despite perfect water conditions. I purchased two from a breeder and they are alive and healthy to this day. 

Also if you are looking for a pair, try and see which ones in the LFS are paired off. Just buying a male and female will not mean they pair off.


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## zzyzx85 (Feb 13, 2008)

Good point, Penguin. Just having a male and female does not guarantee they will pair off. 

It's better to buy a group of juveniles to raise up and hopefully get pairs or buy established pairs.


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## Green Leaf Aquariums (Feb 26, 2007)

My Female Ram, raised from another pair










Notice the pink belly


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## anchlo (Aug 4, 2009)

SO here are the two I got... It was hard to tell at my LFS, between male and female as they did not have much color... Im pretty sure their male and female... what do you think?


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## anchlo (Aug 4, 2009)

They are following each other everywhere... Dont know if that means they will pair off though...


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## zzyzx85 (Feb 13, 2008)

from what I can see (photos are a bit blurry), you do have a male and female. a better photo would help greatly.


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## anchlo (Aug 4, 2009)

zzyzx85 said:


> from what I can see (photos are a bit blurry), you do have a male and female. a better photo would help greatly.


Yeah photos suck.... If they do pair up, how easy are they to breed?

josh


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Male and female. Middle photo is clear enough to tell. You can see the pink belly on the smaller female, and the larger in the bottom photo is clearly a male.


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## Bugman (Jan 7, 2008)

Looks like a male and female to me. Evertime I have put a male and female together they have almost always paired. Looks like you have them in a community tank. If so, unless you plan to remove the eggs there isn't much of a chance of ending up with fry.


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