So.... what gender are my little friends (Bolivian Rams)?

I just got two Bolivian Rams from the LFS and I think we managed to pick out a male and a female, but I'd love to check just in case.

Here's a picture of both of them together:




And here's a picture of the smaller of the two:




Thanks!

 

Welcome to FishLore!

Cute fish . They both look male to me.

 

So long as they both can co-exist together in the tank I don't muchly mind, and aside from a little early nipping to establish dominance they seem to be very well behaved. The red minor tetras on the other hand are little meanies and nipped up the smaller ones tail a bit till he put the fear of him into them

-KM

 

Well I take that back a bit, tonight there's a good bit of nipping going on though the tail damage doesn't look bad... I'll give them a day or two more then I might have to bring back one to the LFS and see if we can find a female instead.... The smaller male is definitely less agro though than the larger of the two. If anyone else can confirm Rogue's assessment it would be greatly appreciated.

 

I found the easiest way to sex them is by looking at their breeding tubes. The females are much larger compared to the males. Looks like you might have a pair of males. Any chance you have more photos?

 

I can get more, if you have good examples of what I'm looking for I may be able to spot it better too.

Here we go:
The Larger One was feeling like a closeup.












The Smaller One who was hiding at the time in my Java fern/Crypto forest

 

Sorry, I should've provided the link in my post above, but check this out:
https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/threads/sexing-bolivian-rams.34600/

Looks like you might have a pair of males. I've noticed the more dominant male will have much more color.

I have a male/female pair. My female bolivian ram's breeding tube is much larger than the picture posted in the link above. She's ready to reproduce, but doesn't seem to like my male ram at all... I've only had them for 3.5 weeks, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Good luck with your rams!