Getting Blue Rams to 'Color Up'

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GobyGuy5

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Nov 28, 2002
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I've had a pair of Blue Rams since last winter, and when I purchased them they were not very colorful, however, I figured they'd 'color up' once they had settled into my tank, as fish don't often show their best colors in dealer's tanks. However, this hasn't been the case, and I'm anxious to see the beautiful colors these fish are capable off in my tank. I was wondering what I could do to color these guys up?

Their diet consists of Spirulna Plus, Wardley Shrimp Pellets, Wardley Tropical Crumbles. I have also fed them Frozen Brine Shrimp and Frozen Bloodworms in the past, but there was no visible improvement in coloration, etc. During that time, so I discontinued this. Is their diet lacking something that would encourage them to 'color up' for me?

Their water conditions should be great, I give them and their tank mates weekly twenty percent water changes (although I don't have testing kits to double check this, ordering soon...)

What measures could I take to see some nicer coloration from them?
 
what do they look like now? do they have any blue? females have any pink?I got a pair of rams a few months ago and they were only 1". They already had full color, the male had nice blue speckles and the female had pink on her belly. I don't know what you can do other then keeping the right water(clean, low ph,kh) and the food you are givign them seems fine.

It could be that the batch you got it from was poorly bred and won't get as colorful, but that is just guessing.
 
What they look like...

One of the fish, the dominant one of the two, has a yellow-goldish throat, and his body has grey with black stripes and spots where they typically are for the species. His pelvic fins are almost all red with bright blue highlights, his dorsal fin his red on the top, and his claudal fin has two red streaks one on the top and bottom. When I look at him normally he appears to have little blue on him, but when I turn off the lights, or look at him at an angle, I can tell he has some. Also, when he is in a rather good mood (like he just got a big piece of food or something) he'll color up the best I've seen, with a noticable greenish color around his gill and some blue spots faintly visible on his anal fin and on the black spots on his sides. The other one, has a very similar patern, with the exception that up and down it's sides it has rows of small black spots, this one, which I assume is the female, has a very small amount of pink coloration around 'her' gills...

Hope that helps you ;)
 
Are you certain they're "Blue" Rams? There are many variations out there which aren't as colorful. Just a thought.

Is your tank well planted? They should color up in a well-planted tank. I LOVE Blue Rams. :)
 
I seldomly see faint-colored Rams in my circles. My own will perk up after water changes, during breeding, or after a meal. I feed my own lots of live food throughout the year so I have never had the problem of pale colored Rams, lucky me. I have also noticed how some will flare up when I add some competition - they then naturally try to perk themselves up in order to look more attractive to their mates, though general size and feistiness will also play a part in choosing mates. Just an idea.
What are your water parameters?
 
by your description they sound pretty colorful. They don't always show their best colors all the time. What do you find "wrong" with their colors? Maybe you don't have Blue rams, maybe yours are some other variation.

my female usually shows a less colorful version of her breeding colors, more black/grey strips. Are you sure you don't have 2 females?

females usually have pink on their bellies, males have no blue in the black spot on their side. Also males have extended dorsal rays(first couple rays). if you do a search on the web their are site taht show the difference.

What kind of tank are you keeping them in?tankmates, water, plants?
 
It's possible I suppose, that I have two females based on your description of females having black stripes, one of the fish almost always has these, the other never does. Also, for certain, the fish I thought was a male does have some blue on the spots on his side (there are actually two of them when 'she' colors up...). They are both very faintly colored, the predomanant color I see when I look at them is Gray...I have to look hard to see any blue at all, not something usual of a blue ram, right?

I've entertained the Idea I have bolivians, but I'm not certain this is the case, as they still have some faintly evident blue specks on their fins on a good day...

Tank Specs:

15 Gallon tank

Decor: Natural Gravel, Rocks, Driftwood

Plants: Two Java Ferns, One Banana Plant (Planning on adding, Hygro, Vallisneria, a Ozelot Sword and Dwarf Sagg. shortly)

Fish: 3 Platies, 1 Ottocinclus, 1 Upside Down Swimming Catfish, 2 'Blue Rams', and 1 Clown Loach (I plan on trading in the Clown Loach shortly, since he'd do better with more of his kind, and getting three marbled hatchets to top off the tank...)
 
Ouch, the jokes on me I guess, heh heh

My fish are indeed bolivian rams, this would explain the coloration
The site didn't have any pics on it, so I had to do a search...
Guess I was dupped by the lfs...

Now I have to figure out if I want to keep them or trade them in for what a wanted in the first place!

Well, thanks all for your help...I guess these two fish look a little too much alike, sorry about the confusion
 
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