Sexing Balloon Rams

slink · Jan 24, 2008

I just got a set of three for my tall, well planted and "caved" 16 gallon tank. They seem to be happy there and will move to larger if the time comes that it needs to happen. They are small fish and seem to be getting along quite well after initially have a few periods of play flaring. They are also content with the 3 cories and 2 otos in there and seems to be plenty of space for everyone.

That said, I chose the 3 smallest of the 6 rams they had there, and also the ones that seemed least aggressive. I was also hoping that I might get females since the males are usually larger and more into intimidation tactics with each other. However, I couldn't tell the difference between any of them and the usual ways to tell gender seem not to apply to Balloon Rams, e.g. light dots in the black spot, long front dorsal fins that extend to the back, pink spot on the belly. I've got a bunch of pictures that I've put up on my little page and will post them here and hopefully some ram experts can help me out here.

Woofy · Jan 24, 2008

on the last pic i would say female on the top male on the bottom. tough call though

slink · Jan 25, 2008

Woofy said:
on the last pic i would say female on the top male on the bottom. tough call though

Thanks for the help. I've also been having an impossible time and was hoping that if I got 3 from the store, at worst I could return one over the weekend so as not to crowd the 16 gallon tank. I thought the Blue Balloon Rams as they would exhibit the same characteristics as the regular German Blue Rams as they are supposed to be, for the most part, exactly the same. They are really well behaved and, oddly enough, they'll even swim together and hang out in the same together. Sure they challenge each other from time to time but it's not the bloodfest that others have been mentioning with regard to regular Blue Rams.

Can anyone else help out determine the gender of Blue Balloon Rams or give some insight into the process? I'd love to be able to make sure I have a pair or at least have the females which are the most likely not to be aggressive in the long run (and much harder to find.)

Star_Rider · Jan 25, 2008

pretty much they are sexed just like the 'normal' Blue ram.
the oragne /pink belly is a good sign.
it is possible these are still juveniles and may not have developed these traits. it would also help explain the fact that they hang out together.

boomerjr91 · Jan 25, 2008

I agree with woofy. female on top male on bottom.

slink · Jan 26, 2008

NEW PICTURES #1

OK - Let's try it this way. Here are super clear pictures of the most aggressive German Blue Balloon Ram in the tank. He was chasing the other two. First and third shots of side 1, second shot of side 2. So... what gender is he/she?

BALLOON RAM #1