TheAquaHolic001 Posted September 26, 2015 Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 Hi guys i just bought this pair of GBRs and I was wondering the one on the left in the photo is he/she even a true ram or some sort of hybrid? Also if you help me properly sex them as these are the first ones I've owned. I don't which ones which but I think I have a male and female. (I'm adding in lots of plants tomorrow to satisfy them) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc12 Posted September 26, 2015 Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 The photo is a bit blurry but from what I could see, yes they both look like blue rams to me. The one on the right seems to have a tad of red at the belly so could be the female. Might be easier if you could take a clearer photo of their side view. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbeer Posted September 26, 2015 Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 Boy left girl right Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ssdiscus Posted September 26, 2015 Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 As Gingerbeer said, Left is boy, Right is girl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAquaHolic001 Posted September 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 Thanks for the help guys, I'll try and take a clearer photo but they're so quick! My first thought was I had gotten a girl balloon blue ram and a girl german blue ram but as you've said boy left girl right. That was what I thought when I first bought them but then I thought otherwise then I got confused so I went here. I'll try get a clearer photo so you guys can confirm. Cheers, TAH001 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt_a Posted September 26, 2015 Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 I would very much doubt them being legit German blue rams. Where did you get them and how much did you pay? That should make it pretty obvious. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt_a Posted September 26, 2015 Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 Better pics would be nice too. You might have two girls there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAquaHolic001 Posted September 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 $11 usually but they were on sale for $8.75 at PetBarn. I asked the man selling them were he gets them from, he told me that he specially breeds them and a few other species I wasn't interested in. Otherwise I would of gotten them elsewhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matt_a Posted September 26, 2015 Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 Well there's your answer then? German blue rams come from Germany believe it or not, not a random Pet Barn employee's fishroom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAquaHolic001 Posted September 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 If I can buy them from Germany then he can too, and them breed them and sell them to Petbarn. I'm not saying that that's what happened and they may be feral hybrids but he could of bought his original pair from Germany. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAquaHolic001 Posted September 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 Also these two rams [not mine borrowed from google] look very similar to mine. first one looks like left and 2nd one looks like one on the right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billfish Posted September 26, 2015 Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 Im pretty sure that petbarn only buy fish from A.I or bayfish ,thats not saying theyre not gbrs The one up the road from me has a guy that attends most auctions and he was saying they cant buy fish from breeders But hey i could be wrong ,wouldnt b the 1st time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAquaHolic001 Posted September 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 Im pretty sure that petbarn only buy fish from A.I or bayfish ,thats not saying theyre not gbrsThe one up the road from me has a guy that attends most auctions and he was saying they cant buy fish from breeders But hey i could be wrong ,wouldnt b the 1st time lol. Yeah I heard that too but apparently this guy I bought the GBR off is the store manager or something so he can have "his way" with the fish that come in and out. I'm not really that worried if they're true or not as long as I can breed them without deformed fry, and as long as they look nice in my 6ft they can stay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billfish Posted September 26, 2015 Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 lol.Yeah I heard that too but apparently this guy I bought the GBR off is the store manager or something so he can have "his way" with the fish that come in and out. I'm not really that worried if they're true or not as long as I can breed them without deformed fry, and as long as they look nice in my 6ft they can stay. If youre happy ,doesnt matter what anyone else says really im not an expert but the one on the left looks a bit like a balloon version Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAquaHolic001 Posted September 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 Yeah that's what I thought too. I just want to be sure cause i'm not a fan of thinking hmmm is that a balloon or not? or no... wait that might be a girl.... I don't know. So I came here just to be sure. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heintz.G Posted September 26, 2015 Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 Don't worry about it, if they fit into the scheme of things tank wise then you have scored, just kick and enjoy them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAquaHolic001 Posted September 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 If these two are male and female then they have already paired up as they seem to be each other shadows. one swims to the left the other goes to the left and vice versa. Hoping to add in some flat rocks for them to breed on and some plants to make them feel safer. If I get any fry I'll grow them out until I know exactly what they are and then depending on what they turn out to be I will sell the fry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pk333 Posted September 26, 2015 Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 This is the thing for me. True German Blue Rams are simply spectacular fish with very intense, bright colours. They have been line bred for many generations to develop these hoping colours. Now if you buy a good quality pair of german blue rams and keep line breeding them for a few generations and culling inferior coloured fish, I have no issue with you calling your fish German Blue Rams. But I see so many fish sold as German Blue Rams that have no right to the name. They should just be called blue rams as they a poor shadow of true GBR, or if they are wild/wild type, call by their scientific name, Mikrogeophagus ramerezi. If you were to ask me, I would say you have same plain blue rams, not German Blue Rams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAquaHolic001 Posted September 26, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 To my understanding Blue Ram, German Blue Ram, Blue Ramirezi, German Butterfly Cichlid and so on are all different names for one fish, I bought these fish under Blue Ramirezi. And below it said: Other common names German Blue Ram, Blue Ram. Correct me if I'm wrong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbeer Posted September 26, 2015 Report Share Posted September 26, 2015 To my line of thinking, a German Blue Ram means a Blue Ram bred in Germany, the same as many other apistogramma. The German hobby is made of many people breeding fish in small apartments, and hence the apisto and ram breeders are many and have a high degree of care. They probably include some fish that sneak over the nearby borders. A true German Ram should by the time it gets here cost about $35 plus.... A lot of "German Rams" are bred from German stock. That does not make a German Ram IMO. It does make them cheaper but. As with any name, be it German, or F1 or Wild, always look critically. Look for the quality of the fish and decide what you are selecting for before you buy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAquaHolic001 Posted September 27, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 27, 2015 Got in the photos hopefully they help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Outofideas Posted September 27, 2015 Report Share Posted September 27, 2015 From those photos, my say would be youve got two blue rams. The one with the pinker belly is female. Other one is a male. Sent from my SM-G900I using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shankara Posted September 27, 2015 Report Share Posted September 27, 2015 Sexing GB Rams is easy if you look at the pectoral fins they are longer on the male, the dorsal fin first rays are also longer in the male. In addition the anal fin is also sloped further back on the males. I also had German Blue Rams but I back traded them as they were too dominant for my Bolivian Rams & Electric Blue Rams. The Blue Rams have nice light blue colour from the gills back with their face being more of a golden colour. The German Blue Rams look similar but have Blue dots on the face as well as an almost purple colouration from the gills back. Like the other German Blue Rams, they have a solid black dot on their side, the female's dot is not solid black, it had a few blue dots in the black area. I hope that helps, but obviously there are a lot of inter-bred species that can look quite different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pk333 Posted September 27, 2015 Report Share Posted September 27, 2015 To my understanding Blue Ram, German Blue Ram, Blue Ramirezi, German Butterfly Cichlid and so on are all different names for one fish, I bought these fish under Blue Ramirezi. And below it said: Other common names German Blue Ram, Blue Ram.Correct me if I'm wrong I'm not nit picking, just pointing out how common names can make the hobby a little confusing. There are two species of ram cichlids. Mikrogeophagus ramerezi, common name Blue ram, and there are numerous line bred (man made) variants; German blue rams. gold rams, electric blue rams, balloon rams (yuk) and two new line bred variants not yet seen in Australia, the super red ram and black ram. The second species is Mikrogeophagus altispinosa, common name Bolivian ram, with another common name being Bolivian butterfly cichlid (not to be confused with a Butterfly cichlid/African butterfly cichlid, which is a dwarf cichlid from West Africa). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheAquaHolic001 Posted September 28, 2015 Author Report Share Posted September 28, 2015 (edited) I knew of GBRs and bolivian rams but everything else I learnt. Thanks! Edited September 28, 2015 by TheAquaHolic001 Auto correct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
