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Male and Female or Two Female Electric Blue Rams


CaraB
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Hello!

I’m new here and loving all the great information! I was sold a pair of juvenile electric blue rams. Now that they’re a little older, I’m wondering if they are actually two females or still too young to identify. Looking for some help, please. (Excuse the fish poop!) Also, as of the past couple of days, they have been interlocking mouths for a few seconds and acting slightly more aggressively towards each other from time to time. Then other times they just swim together. Thank you!!

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Edited by CaraB
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1 minute ago, James Black said:

Based on the rounded shaped dorsal fin the top one looks like a female and the bottom looks to be male.

 

HA! Due to the shape of the forehead I would have said the opposite! Have to wait and see I guess. I am in the same boat with some electric blue acaras, they are nearly ready to spawn and I wont know unless I catch them in the act I think!

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Thanks James! I’m thinking this original photo might make the fish’s fin look pointier than it is because it was moving.  Maybe this photo is a little better? It’s a little hard with the background, but it does appear a little more rounded in real life. 
 

Do you know at what age they start differentiating?

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4 minutes ago, Brandy said:

HA! Due to the shape of the forehead I would have said the opposite! Have to wait and see I guess. I am in the same boat with some electric blue acaras, they are nearly ready to spawn and I wont know unless I catch them in the act I think!

Brandy! Tell me more about this forehead shape thing, haha! I was thinking the same as you originally or two females maybe? I don’t know at what age they start really differentiating. 

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5 minutes ago, CaraB said:

Thanks James! I’m thinking this original photo might make the fish’s fin look pointier than it is because it was moving.  Maybe this photo is a little better? It’s a little hard with the background, but it does appear a little more rounded in real life. 
 

Do you know at what age they start differentiating?

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I don't know the exact age, but a quick google search reveals 4-6 Months. I had a electric blue ram that showed it was a female at about 4ish months. Mine looked to be the same age as yours are.

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1 minute ago, James Black said:

I don't know the exact age, but a quick google search reveals 4-6 Months. I had a electric blue ram that showed it was a female at about 4ish months. Mine looked to be the same age as yours are.

Great, thanks! Perhaps I need to just be more patient... sigh...

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4 minutes ago, CaraB said:

Brandy! Tell me more about this forehead shape thing, haha! I was thinking the same as you originally or two females maybe? I don’t know at what age they start really differentiating. 

Lol, it is just a guess. Males often seem to have a more curved "roman nose" look in cichlids. It's subtle, and unreliable for me. 

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13 minutes ago, CaraB said:

Thanks James! I’m thinking this original photo might make the fish’s fin look pointier than it is because it was moving.  Maybe this photo is a little better? It’s a little hard with the background, but it does appear a little more rounded in real life. 
 

Do you know at what age they start differentiating?

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This new picture resembles a female to me. The dorsal fin isn't so pointy as it looked like it was in the previous photo. I take @Brandy side they look like two females.

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2 hours ago, Brandy said:

I am in the same boat with some electric blue acaras, they are nearly ready to spawn and I wont know unless I catch them in the act I think!

Do your female EBAs change color when in spawning mode? Ours sure did... top of head turns pale, “cheeks” deepen teal blue, body turns platinum white-blue. 

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9 hours ago, Fish Folk said:

CaraB, can you post a short video - 1-2 mins of them in the tank? This color form of Ram is really hard to determine male / female on

Yes, they aren’t very blue yet or maybe they won’t be very blue. They are only one inch long, not including fins, so maybe they are still too young?
 

It isn’t letting me upload any videos for some reason?

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CaraB, here are a few photos of a male blue we’ve raised. He’s not the healthiest specimen, genetically, but what these photos show is the extended rays at the front of the dorsal fin. A few females dorsal fin-front-rays will extend, but not as much as the males. This can be part of a clue. 
 

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