Female German Blue Rams?

[Cael]

So I picked up three young rams a few days ago, hoping two would pair off, but I'm starting to think I might have 3 females. They have blue spots in the black when the light is just right, but have long, sharp fins and white bellies. I'm trying to attach a picture, but it doesn't seem to be working. Do they have to be a certain size in order to sex them? Mine are about 1 1/4 inches.92150

[Cael]

Oh, looks like the picture worked!

[jdhuyvetter]

My best guess is female, male, female

[XAnhLe]

They look like GBRxEBR cross. I'd say they're all male. 3rd could be a female.

[Stefanusgo]

Those are all males. The females have red spotting on the belly

[jmf3460]

bottom one looks female based on the bloated belly. is there any pink to the belly, I think it could be there but the glare makes the pink hard to see perhaps (3rd pic) top and middle look male. Middle is EBR not GBR

[Cael]

None of them have pink on their belly, but the bottom one has almost an orange-ish tinge occasionally. The middle one usually does not look that pale/blue, but it's afraid of the camera and lightens up and hides any time I try for a picture. The flash from the camera also seems to bring out the blue sheen on all of them, which isn't generally visible to that extent. But if I don't use the flash, they're pretty blurry. They don't really look like EBR without the camera flash, but they could totally be mixes.
Right now, none of them get along or have paired up. They are always chasing each other and their fins are getting a bit torn.

So if ending up with a pair is my goal, what would your advice be? Wait for these guys to be out of quarantine and into the main tank and then pop another three into quarantine? Surely out of 6 a pair would form...
Switch the 20-gallon quarantine out for a long rubbermaid bin and just add three more from the same source right away?

[fishguy456]

They look like GBRxEBR cross. I'd say they're all male. 3rd could be a female.
I agree Xanhle, in my prior experience with Rams they males tend to have the larger dorsal fins, and the females are larger around. These seem to be long and slimmer. Hope this helps

[ref0716]

They all look like males to me. They are large enough to sex, and long ventral fins and higher dorsal fins usually indicate males. If picking for females from a large group, look for shorter or stubby, thicker shape fish. Remember that too many males in too little territory can be an aggression issue. Good luck.

Richard

[Ryan]

These all scream male to me. The only one I'm not sure about is the top fish, but I'm thinking it's just a young male that hasn't completely filled out yet.

[bluelagoon]

It makes it more difficult to go by finnage when they are breed for their long fins.It appears to be quite a mix:regular blue rams/EBR and the long fin variety.The female when mature will show some pink altho it would not be evident in the EBR's genes.

[neontetra777]

all males

[Cael]

Well, based on what you all said, as well as their behaviour of late, I'm going with all males for sure. I came home from work on Friday to see that they'd had what appears to be a massive battle. Bloody wounds and ripped up fins. Two of them (the middle and bottom picture) were still at it when I walked in. I filled a 40 gallon long plastic bin, moved the sponge filter from my main tank it and put them in there. Due to their injuries I've been adding Melafix daily. Unfortunately the little one in the bottom picture developed fungus where his fin had been torn off so yesterday I started treating with API fungus cure. However this morning, he's still fuzzy and now looking rather dark. He is still eating though, which is hopeful. The other two have both healed up nicely with no fungal or bacterial infections. Assuming they are both still healthy next weekend, I'll move those into my main tank and they'll have plenty of room. Then I'll have to find some females...
Thanks for weighing in on the sexing question, everyone!

[GrayLadyPat]

Duplicate...oopsie

[GrayLadyPat]

Having regarlar broods of GBRs myself, I can say for certain that you do not have GBRs. You may have hybrids, and the middle one definitely shows his EBR heritage.

They all do look male, however agression isn't really the thing to go by when it comes to rams. My little females are just as agressive, if not more so than the males, especially when proddy, but only with their own kind until they have fry. If you are looking for females, here's a couple of pointers:

Females will have shorter spines, and yes, there will be random blue "spots" in the black spot, but they will also be shorter, less streamlined, and their two pelvic fins (the ones in front on the bottom) will have a black bar running down the front of them that is much more pronounced than the males, especially when ready to brood. Females will also have more yellowing on the belly, and be more rounded when you look at them from the nose. They are also smaller in general. Mine are about 3/4 the size of the males. One other thing to check is that their anal fins and dorsal fins will be rounded, even on "long fin" varieties. Males' will be more pointy.

Hope that helps!

[Cael]

Well, there's been a weird twist... The poor ram in the bottom picture who got a big chunk of his fin ripped off died 2 days ago. The other two appear to have paired up. They're swimming and resting together and nipping each other in a decidedly gentle way. I've even caught them rubbing up against each other. But they still both look male. The smaller one has ever so slightly rounded fins, but still absolutely not even a hint of pink on its belly. I'm not trying for fry or anything, I just want two happy, healthy rams who get along. Can male rams "pair up"?

[GrayLadyPat]

I don't see why not... I mean, I've seen angels and yes, even discus have a same sex pairing.

Good luck with the other two.

[Pardal]

So I picked up three young rams a few days ago, hoping two would pair off, but I'm starting to think I might have 3 females. They have blue spots in the black when the light is just right, but have long, sharp fins and white bellies. I'm trying to attach a picture, but it doesn't seem to be working. Do they have to be a certain size in order to sex them? Mine are about 1 1/4 inches.92150

Cael
They are all males .I bred blue rams before in addition to the red belly with it should be plump.
The females has diamonds spots ( inside the black spot) The way I recall it "girls like diamonds"
This from my experience and always work for me.
right now I got a possible pair and female that has lay eggs twice, but I don't think my male know his job.

Julian.

[DJW]

There is a fair amount of variation in Rams, in my experience. In general the females will be more compact and torpedo-shaped, and they are smaller... but the size difference might not become obvious until they are 5 months old. The fact that one became the odd man out and got beat up leads me to think the one in the uppermost picture might be a female.