hi there, i just got waht i belive to be a female german blue ram, i think its a lady cuz the dorsal fin doesnt have that front spike, and its not as colorful. would it be an ok idea to get a normal blue ram? and should i get female ot male?
Rams!
- Thread starter Hans
- Start date
Hey, Rams are one of my favs. Cichlids are fairly social fish, and Rams are no different. Since you have a female, I would get a male. I find Rams do best in pairs. I always thought Blue Rams and German Rams are one in the same species, just different common names. Please correct me if I am wrong. If you want to breed them, however, the pair may not form a bond since Rams are a little fussy about their mates.
Hans, I've used the same rule that you are applying for sexing rams before, and got it wrong... 
One of my "ugly" ram which I hoped it would turn out into a female ended up being a male... The only sure way (as far a I know so far) to tell a female is by looking at a near-mature one's belly. If it looks pink, it's a female. Unfortunatly, this doesn't show when they are young.
I'm still hoping the uglier one shows the pink belly someday, but my hope is getting less over time for obvious reason. I think she/he has pretty much reached the full size now...
Grrr... Back to female ram hunting time!!
One of my "ugly" ram which I hoped it would turn out into a female ended up being a male... The only sure way (as far a I know so far) to tell a female is by looking at a near-mature one's belly. If it looks pink, it's a female. Unfortunatly, this doesn't show when they are young.
I'm still hoping the uglier one shows the pink belly someday, but my hope is getting less over time for obvious reason. I think she/he has pretty much reached the full size now...
Grrr... Back to female ram hunting time!!
Check the black spot along the lateral line on each side of the fish. If it has blues dots / spangles in the spot, it is a female. if not, male.
Again, I've heard some people getting counter-examples of this one as well. This is a relatively good indicator but not a 100% sure one, unfortunately... Grrrr...
I would also generally agree with Z man though I have seen many examples where it does not hold true (predominantly Northern European morphs).
The only reason I mentioned the small sparkles is that if there is a tank full of Rams I'm sure you would be able to find some with & without those dots. I have found that they appear when the fish is less than 1".