sexing rams

[Fins]

<H1>sexing rams</H1><DIV id=Qtextbox><P><STRONG>Author: timson</STRONG><BR><BR>i recently bought a ram and am interested to know what sex it is as id like to try breeding.

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are they easey to breed?

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any info would be great

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<p></P></DIV><H2>Replies »</H2><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: MagicaDiSpell</STRONG><BR><BR>From memory, the third spine of the dorsal fin is elongated in male rams (can someone confirm this please?). I personally have never had much luck with breeding them. They need very soft and acidic water and the fry is too tiny to even eat brine shrimp when they first hatch, so they need some extra looking after in comparison to other cichlids. But they are beautiful and there are certainly people around who have successfully bred them, so why not give it a go.

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In the end, we will conserve only what we love, We will love only what we understand, And we will understand only what we are taught. (Baba Dioum, African Biologist)</P></DIV><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: gingerbeer</STRONG><BR><BR>Thre are a few ways to sex. The easiest I find is the colour of the stomach, that is red in a female.

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If you are interested in breeding - good luck. To have a chance you need the best quality rams you can get. German Rams are the best and easiest to breed, or but from someone who is breeding. When i bred them I got mine from Lams Aquarium in Parramatta.

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Rams breed on a flat rock, or lacking a decent rock - your gravel.

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The male will look after the eggs, maybe, the female should be removed for her safety.I found the first generation I bought would never look after there eggs past the first day, and had to artifically hatch. Second and third generations would look after there eggs and young - strange.

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Looking after the fry is very difficult. I had limited success with infusoria, microeels and a homemade mix of egg yolk and brine shrimp.

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<p></P></DIV><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: mtchye</STRONG><BR><BR>Hi guys,

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I've successfully spawned them twice, but never raised any fry. First time I removed the female and hatched them in a separate container. They did not take microworms, and in the bare container they didn't have anything else to eat, so did not survive past a couple of days free swimming.

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Second time I had them with the parents and they survived for about a week, then were eaten. I think you are supposed to remove the female if you find that she is wanting to spawn again too soon after they hatch, which may be what happened with ours. This time leaving in a planted tank the babies could graze and survived longer till they could eat microworms. I should have taken them out then but the pair guarding the fry were interesting to watch and I also did not have any spare time nor tanks at the time. If I were to try them again I would breed them in an aged bare tank with plenty of algal growth and java moss, and feed infosuria and microworms, removing the parents as soon as they take microworms.

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HTH

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Heres the male:

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The pair spawning:

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Perth Cichlid Society Forums</P></DIV><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: mtchye</STRONG><BR><BR>Heres a few more pics that might help you sex them:

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A female:

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A male:

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A pic of the male with what they look like in good lighting conditions:

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Perth Cichlid Society Forums</P></DIV><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: Link 2 Hell</STRONG><BR><BR>There were a very nice pair supplied by Auburn Aquarium in the fish raffle last night, I think Anthony said they were German imports

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Maybe give Auburn a call

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L2H

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link2hell2002@yahoo.com

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Despite all my rage

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I'm still just a rat in a cage

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Smashing Pumpkins - Bullet with Butterfly Wings</P></DIV><DIV id=Atextbox><P><STRONG>Author: Keith Deception Bay</STRONG><BR><BR>Hi People,

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I'm in brisbane and I've currently got 10 pairs of german rams spawning at the moment with quite a few fry on the go. I spawn them in a 15"x18"x15" tank with sand as a substrate and a number of small flat stones for them to lay on. I have 2 pairs to a tank but I'm going to reduce that to 1 per tank when the space is available. The tanks run at 26deg C the water is medium hard (4deg I think ) and the pH is 8.1 out of the tap. I water change about 40 % once a week and don't do anthing to the water. I have some pairs that look after their fry and some that eat their eggs on the second night so I remove them and raise them artifitially. I feed inforsorial for the first week and then brine shrimp. I'll try and get some pictures organised.

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Cheers Keith.

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