Sexing GBR's

SilverDollarMan

SilverDollarMan

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Feb 11, 2009
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i bought one blue ram yesterday, and an idea just popped into my head that i want to breed rams, how do I tell the male from the female?

mine is currently in my 29g, but if i decide to go ahaid and get a breeding pair ill set up my old 20g long.
 
Females generally have a rosy coloration to their body and the large black spot on the body has some speckling whereas the male has no speckling.
 
Males-

higher dorsal extension
black spot completely black

Females-

blue speckles within black spot
pinkish belly, especially evident during breeding

But one think to keep in mind is that a lot of store bought rams will look exactly the same. Breeders use hormones to make the colors more appealing, so females may look exactly like males at a young age.
 
In addition (these are all tendancies rather than absolutes) deep black spot on dorsal fin corresponding to the spot on the fish's side on the male, absent or faint on female. Blue speckling on body (except the spot) more vivid on male.

Overall, the pink belly spot is the most distinctive feature. Subjectively, the males' colourations always seem a bit more distinct than the females'.
 
yep, my lady has a lovely rosy pink belly. I love my GBR's Looks like managed to pick up a pair on the 1st go at the lfs. I picked the male that was the most dominant in the tank and the female that he kept going back to. :D
 
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