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Was that some sarcaism I detect there lol joking lol. I just boil mine.

Yea i have 2 bolivian rams about an inch and a half displaying a paired behavior. Not sure if its a pair or not though since they are to young to sex.

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Male?
[link=http://www.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=18964863/PictureID=410295017/t_=18704690]http://www.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=18964863/PictureID=410295017/t_=18704690" style="COLOR: #00C000[/link]

Female?
[link=http://www.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=18964863/PictureID=410295006/t_=18704690]http://www.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=18964863/PictureID=410295006/t_=18704690" style="COLOR: #00C000[/link]
[link=http://www.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=18964863/PictureID=410294999/t_=18704690]http://www.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=18964863/PictureID=410294999/t_=18704690" style="COLOR: #00C000[/link]

I finally was able to get some pictures...they are not that great. But anybody have any idea male, female or whatever?

Male?
http://www.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=18964863/PictureID=410295017/t_=18704690

Female?
http://www.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=18964863/PictureID=410295006/t_=18704690
http://www.snapfish.com/slideshow/AlbumID=18964863/PictureID=410294999/t_=18704690

Sorry the pictures are not that great!

Thanks again for your fast replies and awesome info! I think i will just wait it out, add a piece of slate, and see how they act!

i am not sure if that is normal or not. i know rams are small fysh though, usually they only grow to about 4 inches. here is some info i found..

'Blue rams' can be sexed using a variety of caracteristics. The males are generally larger (most prominent in adults), have slightly longer
fins (dorsal) and lack the blue spangles in the black mid-lateral spot
found in the females. Wild fish are very easy to distingush, but the
cultured varieties may be a little harder, assuming both sexes are
present. If I were asked for one reliable difference, I would say the
blue spangles within the black mid-lateral blotch is the best method (it
also works on young fish and the cultured varieties).

As for the Bolivian rams, the differences are more subtle. Males
generally have longer extensions on the upper and lower rays of the
caudal fin, however, this works only for adults and some of the cultured
stock may sport these extensions in both sexes. Perhaps the most
reliable way of getting both sexes, is to pick out shorter, more
'stocky' fish as well as some more elongate ones. The short and stocky
ones would be the females. Extra fish are relatively easy to surplus.
(Lee Newman-thekrib.com)

females always have a pink belly so it really sounds like u have a male and a female...in my opinion either a flower pot or rock would be ok...these fish are actually not that hard to get to mate...i only had a few flower pots and some sand in my aquarium a few years back and my rams did indeed reproduce...so good luck

Thanx torey! My rams are really only like and inch and a half, but they are showing breeding behavior. Is that abnormal? Should they be older? Well i think it is supposed to warm up this week so hopefully i will be able to do some searching, or i might just make a trip to the fish store.

i have 4 small rams, they are only about 1 inch long right now. i have heard and read the same about the pink on the belly for the females. i am not sure yet as mine are still quite small which are females. i have slate, i got mine from L Fysh Aquatics. you should be able to get some at your local fysh store. depending on where you live you may be able to find some around outside after the snow malts lol. or buy a large pot and take a hammer to it. you should be able to get a lage flat piece from the base of the pot. good luck!

Hey pinkconvict where do you get your slate?

I have rams and mine always prefer to spawn on flat rocks and slate instead of flower pots. They have all sizes of flowerpots and slate so they can pick and they always pick the slate and rocks.

I have been looking around at different sites and some say slate and some say little flowerpots. Anybody had rams spawn? Did they ever spawn in flower pots?

I bought a few rams a couple weeks ago and i was told they were a male and a female. They look basically the same except one of them has colors which are a little lighter and has a pinker belly. Today, for the first time, i was observing the rams and the male was almost nibbling at the side of the female, i would call it nipping except it didn't look aggressive. The female did not really swim away when he did this. I am not 100% sure that they are a male and a female, but i am having trouble taking pictures of them. Could it be mating behavior or aggressive behavior between two males?

When the 12" of snow melts, i will look around for a pretty flat shaped rock. What should i do to sanitize it?

Get rock from outside.

chrism-
the thing is even my ram with a pinkish belly has the first few dorsal spines black. So i dont know if it is possible for a female to have those marking too!

BTW...where can i buy slate? Would it be better to buy it at a fish store, another place, or online?

Last edited by Hooktor at 07-Jan-2005 16:37

Well they will breed on what you have there, its possible if you put in a piece of slate now that it might interuped their breeding. But they usually dont get it right the first time so you can put it in after the eggs are gone.

i believe slate works well, rams will dig holes, mine is digging one at the moment,

also the male's front few dorsal spines will be (might be, so hard to tell because of colour varients) black. also they have longer filaments on tail fins.

I have two little rock strutues that are covered in java moss and a larger piece of driftwood with java fern attatced to it.