jack--sos

I think i have 1 male and 1 female Bolivian Ram, as they have a slight difference in head shape. Whenever they get close one ends up chasing the other away. alot of the time they chase each other around my tank and lock lips. is this normal, even for 2 males?

Thanks
Jack

platy ben

i had 2 male bolivian rams in my 33G and they did exactly the same thing, you can tell a male and female bolivian ram by the way their stomach is shaped, a females stomach is very rounded where as the males starts round then slopes down.

I cured this problem by moving the more aggresive ram into my 72G and leaving the more timid one alone in the 33G

mathas

Yes, that's fairly normal.

Showing off for a potential mate and establishing dominance over a rival often look similar, and this is the case with bolivian rams.

jack--sos

So they may still pair off? i will try and get some pics where you can see a difference and get some help sexing them

jack--sos

Im around 75% sure that i have a Male and Female,they chase each other alot and lip lock all of the time, when their lip locking their colours are brighter and the black lines down them are more distinguished, is this normal?

Jess

I found some information on the bolivian ram as far as telling the sexes apart.
Maybe this will help?
Sexing. Look at their dorsal fins. The first two spines are longer on the male. Males also show more color and grow larger. Females are stockier, plumper, and have blue spangles in that black blotch. Females also get a faint pink blush on their bellies at spawning time. Most of the rams that show up commercially are males. We get few females.

mathas

They could be showing off for one another, or one of them could be defending a territory... it's almost impossible to say for sure.

If you feel like posting any pics (preferably a side shot), we could probably sex them for you.

jack--sos

Thanks for that info Jess, im abit more possitive i have a male and female now, although i have taken some pics and would love a better oppinion (sorry for the quality of the 2nd one, that Ram loves to stay at the back of the tank while i try to take pictures :P)

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Jess

I think you're right. But I'm just learning about these guys too. The first picture her dorsal fin is laying flat so its harder to tell. But I think you're right.
So how come they're fighting and not "in love". : ) My guess is they just aren't old enough yet. I've read they can mature for breeding in as little as 4 months. How long have you had them for?

jack--sos

only about 3 weeks, i fell in love with them after seeing Mathas's on his 90 gallon thread. After that i looked in every fish shop untill i found them

Jess

I found a couple in my LFS but they looked like all males and also they didn't look very healthy to me so I stopped myself from buying them. Also not to mention I'm stocked very heavily and they wouldn't be happy with my tank at the moment. I'm still thinking of getting a 90 or 110 gal.

mathas

The first one is a female, and the second one appears to be a male, though it's a bit harder to tell from the angle of the picture.

URFisher35

the first one is definitely a female. could you get a pic of the back half of the second one? i found it's breeding tube is the most reliable method of sexing them

Jess

Wow you guys are good!

jack--sos

seconded

il try to but will end up gettin a picture of each of them as i cant tell the difference :P

URFisher35

alright. here's a pic of my girl. the pic is a lil blurry, but her breeding tube is short and squat...larger (i'm told it is this way so it can pass eggs), whereas a male's is kind of pointed.

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jack--sos

finaly got a couple of good angle pics, although they are abit blury

the breeging tube does look the same as URFisher35 female, so heres hoping for one of each sex

Sorry for asking so much. But i would like these 2 to pair off and hopefully make some babies

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URFisher35

IMO, the one on the left is denfinitely a female. She looks sooo similar to mine. and the one on the right is probably a male. You can observe how the caudal fins are elongated at the top and bottom tips...usually indicative of a male. Congrats on getting one of each sex! i want a male so bad.

jack--sos

Thanks, im hopefully going to try raising Ram fry

I think that Rams are the only Fish around here that have more females in stock than males.

mathas

"Usually" is a good word to use there I have a female with that trait, so it's not 100% perfect.

But I agree, the one on the right does appear to be male.

URFisher35

i've found that it is the other way around...if ...and i say IF i find Bolivians. i found a LFS that would special order me one, and I had to drive it 6 hours from Pittsburgh to Rochester. Can't find Bolivians anywhere in Roch these days, and its 11 degrees F and I can't mail them in.

URFisher35

Yea...its the same thing with the elongated second spine of the dorsal fin...not 100%, but helpful none the less