How to Identify Male and Female German Blue Rams by Pondguru

[@RichsFishes]

great video! I spent quite a while researching the differences between males and females; and this seems to be the ONLY spot with a comprehensive list of factual information covering the various differences (and the fact that not all the differences are a definitive way to tell).

[@pondguru]

No worries, thanks for watching and appreciating the videos.

[@pondguru]

The video response is up, man. Feel free to add as many video responses to my videos as you want, no worries.

[@pondguru]

One of the related videos down the right side of this page is called South American Dwarf Cichlids - that explains all.

[@pondguru]

Looks like it will be fine for rams but check the rams wherever you buy them from as the water conditions need to be roughly the same to minimise stress. They are very susceptible to rapid changes in water conditions. Ideally the pH wants to be

[@pondguru]

Sand bottom, bogwood, planted tank with pH around 6.5.

[@JustAquarium]

Nice video im sure it would help a lot of people out, I found a hard time telling the difference when I first owned one back in the days.

[@pondguru]

No worries, man. Thanks for watching and appreciating the video.

[@pondguru]

No worries, thanks for watching and appreciating.

[@pondguru]

Thats great you have a pair which sound like they are doing well.

[@pondguru]

If your tank nitrates are 10ppm that wouldn't worry me at all as thats fine. Changing too much water can add nitrates if they are in your tap water and it may also affect the bacteria levels and cock up water quality. For breeding purposes a stable low (6.5ish) pH and no ammonia or nitrite is the way forward for rams and other dwarf cichlids. Don't worry about low levels of nitrates.

[@pondguru]

The video description and video run through all the points needed to identify male / female. Could be breeding behavior if they are a pair.

[@sharonevans1608]

Have asked so many aquarium shops how to tell the difference between sexes & usual answer was it's very hard to tell or near impossible with the very young. I wanted blue rams but didn't want to buy 2 & end up with both males so I've put it off for so long. Now, finally someone who knows the difference! I have written all differences down & now am off to find my pair of rams. Thank you so much for all this information, I have learnt more from this than what I have learnt from months of research!

[@pondguru]

No problem. One of the issues many shops (especially chain stores) have is that they stock fish from Asia where the fish are bred and bred until many of the male / female identifying characteristics are gone.

[@sharonevans1608]

I bought a pair of blue rams the same day as my post above & told them how to tell the sex but he wasn't that interested. I bought another female today from another aquarium place and he asked me how I knew which female I wanted! I showed him my notes I took from your video and he was so impressed he added an extra black neon tetra to my order of 6, wasn't expecting that but he was very happy about with the information and I was very happy with my purchases...thank you once again!

[@pondguru]

Sharon Evans No worries, any time.

[@loul.3267]

I know it's harder on the electric blue rams but those the difference can be found on the ventral and dorsal fins. Females generally have a rounded dorsal fin near the tail. Also there is a wider space between the ventral and anal fin on the females as well, so when it does breed that is where it swell and hold the eggs. Males ventral fins usually have longer tendrils that extend all the way back to the anal fin. On the basic blue rams it's the eye spot on its side. The males is solid black with no irridecence or sparkling inside it. Females have the shimmering blue reflective gem coloration around and inside the eye spot. Hope this was helpful for other folks who love these fish as much as me and the fam.

[@pondguru]

Should be no worries, yes.

[@pondguru]

I have never heard of maroxy but it is used to treat fungus apparently. If you have an air pump it should really be on 24/7. Melafix will cause bubbles to hang around on the surface but I don't know any other treatments which will do that. Too much protein in the water (from flake food) can cause the water surface to thicken (preventing gaseous exchange) then when air bubbles are added they do not pop and remain on the surface for a long time. Keep air pump on 24/7

[@nutkha1629]

Best video on this topic I've seen so far! Cheers!!!!

[@pondguru]

When breeding, yes. As mentioned in the video. For smaller fish some of the other differences may have to be used.

[@pondguru]

I wouldn't mix the species personally but I know some people have kept german blue pair with electric blue pair together in a decent size tank and 30 gal + would be no worries.

[@pondguru]

No worries, thanks for watching.

[@pondguru]

I personally prefer rams to kribs but the tank is a decent size for either or. The kribs will grow larger than the rams. Kribs are more adaptable to different water conditions but provided you don't have a gravel bottom tank with high pH rams should be fine.

[@waynettebrangman7038]

I just missed a massive shipment last week! The lady said the coloration was the best she had seen and only one was left. By your video I believe it's a female as she is narrow and her head is not round. I am picking her up today after work. i will pick up a bag of sand and gradualy adjust from gravel to sand (i.e. scoop out gravel and replace with sand).

[@pondguru]

Since gravel tends to raise pH and harden water, sand is way better for all Amazonian fish including rams. Ideally you would have a pair but they are sometimes kept in groups. I assume you are working in US gallons (approx. 170 litres) so would maybe have 6 with either 3 pairs or 2 males, 4 females. Tetras, danios, rasboras, corydoras and other lower pH fish go well with rams but the gravel may mess up the pH to high for those species to be happy in the tank.

[@pondguru]

A major problem with the blue rams is the over-bred fish which are coming in from Asia. They are generally not as colourful and are very weak. Sexing them is more difficult but a well bred fish is much easier. Having the lights off in the tank makes a big difference too which I might not have mentioned in the video. Thanks for watching and appreciating the video.

[@pondguru]

No worries. Thanks for watching.

[@pondguru]

The base area of the tank is the most important thing for dwarf cichlids as they like to keep an area free of fish whilst breeding. Provided the tank isn't one of those tall hexagon tank jobbies or a ball of death (Biorb), I can't see the problem housing them in a 60 litre with a couple of small corydoras also in the bottom of the tank. They prefer sand to gravel.

[@pondguru]

No worries. Thanks for watching.

[@pondguru]

In the UK its a common name used to seperate the better rams whose colours are close to wild and the 'Asian' blue ram which is more red / orange. I assume that the strain of quality ram was developed in Germany? Not sure though but when we get the 'asian' type in place of the germans we order the colouration is always very poor compared to the 'german' blue rams and we get a credit for them as they just don't sell well and we don't want them.

[@pondguru]

Clamped fins and weak colour is not a good look. There are plenty of places for the fish to hide in your tank so it seems strange. Is there a big difference in pH between the shop stock tank and yours?

[@pondguru]

It is a reasonable size tank so provided you don't pack too many species into each level of the water it should be fine. I'm not normally a fan of balloon species but we have some yellow head electric blue rams in at sent which are very attractive.

[@pondguru]

I would just video whatever sort of hunting you do as any shooting / hunting videos seem to be very popular. Feel free to link them as video responses to any of my videos no worries.

[@pondguru]

I will have to Google that one....

[@pondguru]

Much harder but I tend to be guided by dorsal extended finnage on males and rounder body shape of females. Most people buy a group and hope for the best although recently some have peired off and spawned in out tank so folks have been getting breeding pairs for the same price.

[@pondguru]

Any of the (in)bred forms are more difficult to sex but elements of the identified differences as mentioned in the video can be used - but its not easy, most people get a group although I'm not sure the balloon version will breed.

[@pondguru]

What do you mean "DO you sell any fish?" Of couse we do. Tyne Valley Aquatics is a shop. Please read previous comments for differences in EB Ram. There are not many and thats why most people get a group of buy a pair which has formed in the shop tank.

[@pondguru]

Yeah, sometimes it's confusing but when they start to colour up it becomes more apparent. Turning the light off often highlights the colour differences between them very well. Thanks for watching and appreciating the video.

[@pondguru]

I would not have gone for as many pairs personally. Maybe someone is going to loose out in the battle for territory but there is a chance they will be OK provided there is plenty of hiding places and territory for them.

[@pondguru]

We only supply fish within the UK.

[@fusionpieri9305]

Thank You, Richard. I think you are terrific. You have helped me in this hobby, so much.

[@pondguru]

No worries - I just wish I got more time for making videos as I love making them.

[@Mithrin126]

Thanks. I'm in the process of setting up a tank where I'll intend to keep a male and female...will have to watch this a few times to learn to tell the differences between the two gender. Such beautiful fish!

[@pondguru]

Larger tetra species should be fine (coin shaped tetra) and other dwarf cichlids, loaches, corydoras etc.

[@pondguru]

Your pH is 6 but what is the pH of the place you're getting them from? They may well be suffering from pH shock is all pollutant levels (ammonia, nitrite) are zero. Sometimes fish which are on their way out can impart all sorts of ailments onto the original fish in the tank causing them to drop too. You need to contact the place you are buying fish from. They will have some sort of guarantee of the fish (we have 48 hours) and check the pH in their tank compared to yours. Big difference not good.

[@glennfabian]

@pondguru I agree. Its harder to tell the difference for younger Rams. Thanks.

[@bm20197]

Very good info mate. good looking rams. Love all your vids...

[@billscorner404]

I hate to be that guy, but your section about the Pectoral fins is actually speaking about the Ventral fins. Pectoral fins are the ones on the side before the gill plate. Ventral fins are the ones on the underside.

[@pondguru]

May well be, yes.

[@TieWolf]

Excellent excellent video - this has been by far the BEST and most thorough explanation on sexing GBRs. I'm quite familiar on this stuff already as they're my favorite freshie, but you did excellent in this video on a fish that quite a few people seem to have problems sexing.

[@pondguru]

I watched 3-4 videos of your fish but the focus was't too good and they looked like asian form of blue ram as they were very yellow. Not sure that was just with the water conditions and bright pink gravel base. Since I souldn't see the spot close enough on the sides of the fish, I couldn't tell for sure but the larger one looks like a female. The dorsal on the smaller one doesn't look like a male dorsal but since the asian form is bred and bred, differences are often bred out.

[@pondguru]

I would have thought it would be the other way round with the female being more rounded fish but without a video to look at I can't tell you for sure. If they are from the far east it is more difficult as they generally don't have much colour on them.

[@pondguru]

You've got a KZbin channel so just upload a video and send me the link, no worries. If you film it with the light off the colours on the fish may stand out better.

[@pondguru]

Rams don't mind being in a group provided that the tank has enough hiding places and plants for them. Mixing EB rams ans Germans won't affect them and they may even interbreed. I'd go for around 6 in total personally. The full size electric blue rams should be a sight to behold as you will only very rarely see them in shops over 4cm. Full grown fish would cost a heck of alot and bear in mind that the supplier may be selling off ex-breeding stock which has a chance to be very old.

[@pondguru]

No worries. I intend doing some more of this type of video as usually the only info like this is found on forums where armchair experts try to outdo each other with how clever they are. Hopefully this will prevent people having to endure looking at that nonsense when searching for information.

[@oshlavie]

Wonderfully informative and simple. Thank you :)

[@pondguru]

No worries, I'm glad you enjoyed the video.

[@pondguru]

Probably around 56,000 if you don't have any water in but in a community tank a group of 5-6 would be sensible. Most people tend to just have a pair in a community tank.

[@pondguru]

We don't try to breed any fish in the shop but most of them seem happy enough with the water conditions to breed.

[@pondguru]

I would assume so. Its a variety we have not yet had in the shop but the videos I see of them on KZbin would indicate that they look very similar to GBR so should be more easily sexable than the EB ram.

[@TAP6TS]

thank you very much for all the tips....tonight I got 2 babies and they guy said that its male and female....with you tips, I will make sure he gave the right ones;) I wish i was in england and next to your store....oh well, maybe someday when I go, will make sure to stop and make a visit :)

[@Stefan-ds8em]

Hopefully getting myself a pair in the new year. This has helped a lot identifying each sex, great video!

[@pondguru]

No worries. Its good you know the differences now as most shop staff can't tell the difference, lol

[@pondguru]

We used to get fish from Singapore as they are much cheaper but the quality of many species is far from good enough so now we get them from European suppliers.

[@leva9774]

That was very informative, thanks

[@pondguru]

I believe this particular strain was first bred in Germany.

[@pondguru]

Sounds like breeding behaviour but if very new could be territorial dance.

[@Mithrin126]

Erm ignore the video response. I thought I would be able to comment that way. Just wanted to say thanks for the advice. My couple now had their first fry!

[@pondguru]

They may chase each other, yes.

[@andym209]

Awesome so glad you showed me going to get two females now can you tell the difference on gold balloon and blue balloons and electric blue rams cheers

[@pondguru]

I'd say two males if I had to make a decision on it. Neither of them seem to have the rounder body shape, pink belly or sparkling scales in their black spot which would indicate female. May need a trip back to the shop you bought them from I think.

[@-8_8-]

From what I can tell, this video is an excellent resource. But, many generations of rams have been bred since this video was posted, and by many breeders. Here is what I found in the southern USA to be different from the video. I used a high quality LFS for my rams. The shape of the head is a good tip off if they're all young and no one looks like they're ready to breed. It is very subtle. Obviously the red spot is a good identifier for females. The length of the spines on the dorsal fin is another good one once they've been around long enough to start growing. My males also have more blue on this fin. What doesn't work is black. The black spots of my males and females are tricky. Yes, if you catch the females in the perfect light, you can see blue in the black dot. But the black dot is on a stripe. A stripe which gets covered in blue. So you have blue surrounding the black dots on all 4 fish, but the females have more blue above the spot than the males. Also there is black on the leading edge of the ventral fins of all 4 fish, male and female, so this unfortunately didn't help me. One thing to look for us behavior. Males fight, establish dominance. Occasionally at the cost of a scale. When a male sees a hot piece of ram, he shakes his tail at it. No fight, but he's showing off by flickering all that blue on his tail. Mine are on Petco black(imagitarium? Coated? inert, not actual) sand. One of the males has created a nest by fluttering the sand out of the nest with his tail. So if you see a fish in a basin, probably male. And in my case, the dominant among males. Oddly, my first eggs were inside a log, not on a flat rock. They were also gone the next morning. But they were there, and being guarded. Also, if you're going to tell me not to keep multiple males in the same tank, realize I'm using a 120, not a 20. Medium to heavy planted. Numerous driftwood pieces, a few caves, and a crevice. Also, my pH is on the high side, and carbonate hardness (total alkalinity) is off the chart. So I stuck with GBRs as Bolivian were not available for months. I am also using the Fluval planted 3.0 light. The change in spectrum throughout the day does wonders to show off colors, and the red root floater creates shadows that they move in and out of which also helps.

[@mynewhaircut]

Yeah right now I have a German ram and Bolivian ram I love them. I have heard some say they some times don't get along if there is to many not sure how true that is.so I wanted to maybe get 2 balloon rams

[@pondguru]

I would if I could tell the difference. Adult wild or F1 fish are usually sexable but the more bred they are, the more they loose their sexual differences (head shape etc.) Some people come into the shop to buy 2" sexed pairs of bred angels and tell me what the males and females are as they pick them out (after I say I can't guarantee males and females). Then they come back a few months later saying they were all males or all females and didn't breed. Hmmmm...

[@larrysmith7791]

Awesome video. I just picked up a few rams. This helps a lot.👍

[@nyamedorpd]

Thank you very helpful and now I know I have a male and female ram and my female does have the bright pink patch 😄😄

[@pondguru]

They are asserting themselves so I wouldn't worry about it. May also be breeding behavior.

[@pondguru]

Always best to remove the aggressor, yes.

[@GroinFaceGroin]

Historically speaking, the "German" blues were indeed bred in Germany and were of higher quality. The problem with that however, is that nowadays they're being bred in other fish farms in places like Singapore and they've been adding the "German" name as well which kind of makes it a bummer. Now if someone really wants a proper German blue ram, they'd have to order it straight from some german guy. lol

[@waynettebrangman7038]

thank you. very much. what are dwarf cichlids.

[@waynettebrangman7038]

Does it matter what color the gravel is in the tank for them? Also how many males to females should i put in a 45 gallont ank? what other fish can go with them?

[@callenclarke371]

Excellent content.

[@pondguru]

lol I really care about fish health so avoid the fish from Singapore since they all seem to deteriorate after a short period of time. No point having fish which are off sale. Our tanks are all seperate and have seperate nets so on the rare occasion we do get a problem in a tank it doesn't affect others. Most shops have linked systems so when one tank goes down the whole bank of tanks should really be taken off sale - but never is.

[@TickleMaButt]

I've heard that GBR are extremely delicate fish, is this true?

[@pondguru]

Not much difference except males are brighter when breeding and females are fuller bellied.

[@waynettebrangman7038]

I have in my 45 gallon tank one bolivian ram and two angel fish (babies about 2 inches tall). The pet shop in bermuda offered me kirbesis to put with them. Should I get them or should I just do an all ram tank. Their next shipment of german blue and gold rams is not until January 2nd, 2013. What's your advice?

[@Mithrin126]

Thanks!

[@Ace.G1]

Nice 👍🏻 can you please tell me what is the right temperature for them??

[@Mithrin126]

@Mithrin126 Ok a few weeks later. I've now got a cute pair of Ramirezi in my 60cm tank. They fell in love immediately it seems as it took them less than 12 hours to lay eggs on this flat stone that I had placed in there for them to enjoy. Can't believe it! :D Now two days later all eggs are gone, probably eaten by the Otocinclus. Still. I'm glad I followed your advice. They seem to feel at home in my tank and are really cool fish with interesting behaviour. So thanks again!

[@zeroex]

Very nice video! I was wondering though if the same techniques can be used to identify the balloon ram variant of the german blues. Thanks!

[@waynettebrangman7038]

So if he dies I will ust have two angels in this 45 gallon tank! what can I put with them?

[@rwx6199]

Does this also go for the German gold rams?

[@pondguru]

Rams will always sort out a pecking order and display to each other and face off so I wouldn't worry about it.

[@pondguru]

I actully mention that in the very long video description. Most places just stock inbred crap so they can bang them out cheap. I always curse when I see shops selling 'german rams, £2 each' - what a load of balls.

[@waynettebrangman7038]

okay i called the fish store andthey told me put in maroxy and my air stone pump. I did it but now mytank has all these bubbles sitting on top of the water is that okay?

[@JDayinNH]

Totally OUTSTANDING!

[@welshweeks01]

Thanks very much for the easy to follow descriptions, pI urchased 2 from my lfs last weekend and after looking at your video I now know I have 1 male & 1 female who's belly is VERY pink so maybe there are some young due!

[@drene4865]

Pondguru Outdoors Mr. Richard Can you make a vid, tips, and ideas for large South american cichlid keeping in the pond

[@Lareefrox]

How to identify the gold fish male or female??????

[@GroinFaceGroin]

Do you guys carry any other Apistogrammas?

[@jessica56786789]

hello! do female rams usually chase male ram? please!

[@PrettyboyJunn]

How can u tell the different sex between Bolivian rams I've got a pair that always fight?

[@Mithrin126]

@pondguru talking about armchair experts. What is your stance on minimum size tank for one set of these? This because some say 60 liter is enough others say you should start with 100 liter. Now if it comes to water quality. So far I have been able to maintain a stable aquarium even with just 20 litre in a Fluval Edge so I know I can keep the water quality within certain limits. I'm asking this cuz I'm setting up a tank near my computer and I only have space for a 60 liter tank.

[@brettbemefishfanatic8745]

Your killing me!! LOL I go thru all your tips on sexing my gbr and all the tips you say show up on mine...right up to the scales in the black spot. LOL I'm so confused.

[@pondguru]

It depends on how far removed they are from wild stock and many of the fish available are almost impossible to tell until they pair off and breed.

[@ArchangelHornet]

awesome video!

[@pondguru]

Groovy - I'm glad you found the video useful.

[@mynewhaircut]

How many rams can you put in a 50 gallon?

[@Mithrin126]

@pondguru thanks. Will go for it then. I was going to get some corydoras anyway so yeah I need to have at least a good patch of sand. Going to have to think about how to create an unresistable spot in the aquarium that they will claim as their territory. Thanks again!