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i currently have only 1 ram and i am thinking about getting him a friend, but what if they both turn out to be males? would they fight or get along? could my ram just live alone? is there any way to tell a male and female apart?

zachf92,

What size tank do you have. A freind of mine has 5 or 6 rams in a fairly heavely planted tank that turned out to be all males. His tank is a 120 gallon though so there is lots of room for them to run away from each other.

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

its a 35g well-planted tank with plenty of hiding places.

I think that you may run into problems introducing another ram. First of all, your current ram is used to having a tank by itself. Another Bolivian ram would be competition, a new face. Chances are that the first one would resent a second ram, especially if it is smaller (likely, because the one you have has had time to grow). I tried this same thing a few months back- I added a male Bolivian to a tank which had a female in it. She had been in there for two months, and was one cm larger. The female made life hell for the male ram for a long while, until the male grew and turned the tables. Now they get along a little better, but the male is still a bit of a jerk. If rams aren't added at the same time, this same situation can easily happen. Your ram will be able to do just fine without another one.

As for sexing, males generally grow a little larger and have brighter coloration. There are exceptions however, so sexing is best accomplished through venting. Females have vents which are larger in diameter. The male vent has a more pointed tip.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Brooks,

The female made life hell for the male ram for a long while

Are we talking about fish or life?

__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

Sigh... you broke my secret code. I guess I wasn't being as covert as I thought.

But seriously though, that's the way it was for a good while. Those two fish still just don't seem to get along.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

It's really hit or miss. I had one bolivian ram for about 18 months in my 72g and I introduced a new smaller one not really knowing if it was male or female. They started to really color up and within a few months they spawned.

Bovilians are fairly even tempered compared to many others. Here's a pic of the two following each other around.




tetratech attached this image:


My Scapes

I saw your 72g log tetratech and that is why i was thinking about getting another ram.

thank you all for your suggestions. I think ill just stick with one ram.

Last edited by zachf92 at 03-Jan-2006 20:39

last week l went and got myself 2 bolivian rams.. one male other female.

I have to say the female annoys the male a lot. Everywhere the male goes the female follows. the male snaps back once in a while but besides that they seem to be enjoying the new tank. the tank is a 4' with a few plants and hiding spots.

I keep 5 bolivian rams together in my 75g tank.
I would say they definetly appreciate the company,
and a little squabbling doesnt hurt them and is
fun to watch. They are such great fish.


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