jolliolli Posted September 25, 2008 Report Share Posted September 25, 2008 Right, i've decided to give breeding blue rams another go. I've had a male for the last six months or so and seeing as i'm closing down my main FW tank i've setup an AR3880 which i'm going to have as a planted tank with a pair of blue rams. Picked up a female ram a week ago and decided to add the male to the tank tonight. So fingers crossed they might 'get jiggy with it' and i'll have some blue ram fry to raise. Here are some pics of the introduction tonight, tank still needs some planting so its a bit bare at the moment. Male Blue Ram Male and Female Introduction Male and Female Together Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JK Posted September 25, 2008 Report Share Posted September 25, 2008 Nice one. Great looking fish eh! I introduced a female to my male about 3 weeks ago and they took a real interest in each other straight away. Have had eggs laid every couple of days since but since they are in a community tank they seem to dissappear just as quickly. Would love to just set up a tank for them breeding like you ahve. Good luck with it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tracytrout Posted September 25, 2008 Report Share Posted September 25, 2008 Awwwww they are sooo georgous.....GOOD LUCK and keep us posted!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolliolli Posted September 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2008 thanks , will be posting updates as they happen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted September 25, 2008 Report Share Posted September 25, 2008 Wow, that's a nice looking male. The female's colours should come out in a few days too. I got home tonight to find my rams had dug themselves a hole in the substrate, and their colours are really dark, so I'm going to empty the angels out of the tank tomorrow and see if they lay eggs. Good luck, and keep us updated with pics! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billaney Posted September 25, 2008 Report Share Posted September 25, 2008 you say take 2 , have you bred with these Rams before ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolliolli Posted September 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2008 no, take 2 as in a previous pair of blue rams before but i didn't get the eggs out in time, so im hoping this time something might happen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billaney Posted September 26, 2008 Report Share Posted September 26, 2008 I can't be 100% sure but I'm 90% sure you have 2 females Have a look at one of my pairs here , see how the males "spike" is so much longer than the females....... then check out your "male" ...uummm not sure but i'd say two females Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted September 26, 2008 Report Share Posted September 26, 2008 thats what i was thinking too. also there are blue flashes in the black spot, which only females have Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malawiman Posted September 26, 2008 Report Share Posted September 26, 2008 Think you got it right Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted September 26, 2008 Report Share Posted September 26, 2008 His tummy isn't pink though, it's pretty dull coloured when the rest of his colours are bright. In saying that, you're right about the spike... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolliolli Posted September 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2008 hmm you could be right Billaney I usually go by the flashes of blue in the black spot. The photo below makes it appear like there is a lot of blue speckling in the black dot, but when i look at the fish in the flesh, the black dot appears quite matte without the reflective quality the smaller female exhibits. The previous male i had never had a very long dorsal spike so i haven't really used that to sex them before. Is there usually any other sexual dimorphism between the sexes? I notice that the 'unknown' sexed one is much larger and the behaviour is much more territorial than the smaller one. Oh well guess I can only wait and see . BTW love your pair in the photo below Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billaney Posted September 26, 2008 Report Share Posted September 26, 2008 when breeding they are easy to sex but when not I've always gone by the "spike" method Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolliolli Posted September 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2008 hmm that's interesting about your thoughts on the dorsal spike, he's a pic of my previous pair. I witnessed this pair spawning, but the female unfortunately ate the eggs First the male And the female A couple of things i thought were interesting comparing these pics to Billaney's and my above unknown pair: Billaney's male has a large dorsal spike, my male in the pic above demonstrates a large dorsal spike but my female's spike in the above pic actually appears larger in proportion to the other dorsal rays. My unknown male which i'm going to call X from now on has a very sport spike. My male in the first pic has a black matte spot, with slight blue flecking on the outside, X is similar, Billaney's male i can't tell due to the angle of the shot Billaney's male, my male and X have longer pelvic rays, the females in all three pics have blunt pelvic rays shorter in length. All three females demonstrate a pinkish hue behind the pectoral fin, this isn't evident in Billaney's male, my male and X Billaney's female, and my female show a small black smudge behind the main black dot which isn't shown in either pics of the known males. X shows this black smudge in one photo but not the other?? So just some observations, I'm still pretty unsure on the what sex X is, maybe it's a transgender fish :lol: or a hemaphrodite! I thought this would be any interesting discussion so if anyone else has pics of their known sexed pairs please post them up so we can compare Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted September 26, 2008 Report Share Posted September 26, 2008 My breeding pair (laid eggs, but not raised): Sorry about the crappy pic quality Male: Female: Both the male and female (sorry, can't see it in pics) have the dorsal spike, the male has a much more prominent spike. The male's dot is muted, with no blue spots in it, the females is brighter, with blue speckles. The male has the black smudge behind the black dot, and the female has one, but much more muted. The female has a pink tummy, the male does not. The female's pelvic fin is shorter and blunter than the male's. Ok, so that doesn't really help out here. I don't think the black smudge is a particularly defining feature; my last male had a black smudge too. I think the dorsal spike (much larger and more prominent on males) is an indicator, as well as the pelvic fin, pink pigmentation and black dot (blue spots or not) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolliolli Posted September 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2008 Thanks for the pics lmsmith, i agree i don't think that second black smudge behind the black dot has anything to do with it.. but i'm still not sure about my fish. Does anyone know if two female blue rams will pair up and lay eggs together, or is it strictly a male/female affair? Also are two females likely to fight or remain placid together? I haven't noticed any mating behaviour yet between the two, i think i remember X fighting with what i thought were other males in the fish shop though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billaney Posted September 26, 2008 Report Share Posted September 26, 2008 I know two female angels will lay eggs etc and act like a pair , not sure if the same is true for Rams but both are cichlids so maybe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolliolli Posted September 26, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2008 yes thats why i was thinking with angels, i haven't ever heard it with rams though. Oh well i will just keep watching and see Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted September 27, 2008 Report Share Posted September 27, 2008 Don't you wish they all came with f or m's on their side to help out? Maybe it's going to be best to buy a few more to get a pair? I was wondering about displaying breedig behavior too; mine show definate mating signs - chasing, digging pits and defending territories, but maybe not all pairs will do that, especially if they have no one to defend from. It will be good to find out what sex yours actually are, and if anyone else could add their observations. I'd also like to know about female rams laying together - hopefully I do have two girls!x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted October 18, 2008 Report Share Posted October 18, 2008 jolliolli, how'd the breeding go? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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