Shy Rams?

[parker313]

I got some Blue Rams yesterday at the lfs and they haven't come out of hiding yet. They will peck and nip at each other a little, but are mainly just hanging out behind the plants. I know lots of fish need time to adjust to new surroundings but was mainly wondering if there's anything I can do to help them have less stress and acclimate more quickly.

Thanks

 

[parker313]

Oh, FWIW, I am 85% sure that I have a male and a female. One has the longer ray on the dorsal fin and the other doesn't have the longer ray and has a pinkish belly. They're still relatively small though so I could be wrong.

Any special treats they may like?

 

[parker313]

Update - the one I think is a male is out and about. The one I think is a female only comes out to nip at the male. They do the lip lock thing, I guess she's staking out her territory - does that sound right?

I named them Sonny & Cher and their 5 neon tankmates are The Jackson 5

 

[Doggfather]

Rams can be extremly shy when introduced to new surroundings.

It sounds great that the male is out and about, and i'm sure the female will soon follow, but you can try get them out of hiding by offering them some live food, or maybe even frozen food.

Nice name too

 

[AmberC]

All sounds normal to me Mine love bloodworms

 

[parker313]

Thanks

I do have some frozen brine shrimp in the freezer..... I tried dried bloodworms earlier and they weren't too enthusiastic about those and the tetras won't touch them either.

Sonny keeps going over and trying to "talk" to Cher but she won't have anything to do with him right now

 

[Doggfather]

She'll come out soon, when she see's the male has the whole tank to himself!

 

[parker313]

Yeah, but she's got the majority of the air bubbles! I've got a bubble wand on the right half of the tank and she lets the neons come swim in the bubbles, but not the male

 

[ramesses]

Don't worry about her shiness and her territorial behaviour, this is perfectly normal.And if you have a couple,when they finally pair up and decide to start a family,few fish look as stunning as the blue rams.

 

[schzaam]

i tell you now that rams when first introducted into the tank are timid but you will see that they will com out and shine

 

[ramesses]

That's right,wait till they come out and literally show their true colors...........

I will show you pictures of my couple.....

and this other image is of my male taking care of its offsprings....

That's how beautiful they'll become.

 

[parker313]

They are absolutely gorgeous fish!!

Now I've got a new problem - I think they're both females, but am not 100% sure... Will that cause aggression problems and I should take one back or will they get along OK?

I just went and turned their lights on and yup, I'm pretty sure I got 2 females.

 

[ramesses]

OK,so you have two females.Could you try to exchange one of the females for a male?it works better between a male and female.The two girls will fight just like two males would.And if you try to introduce a male,chances are that he will pair up with one of the females,and th e couple will then attack and even kill the other female.

 

[parker313]

I know I can return one of the females, I have a great lfs. The only question now is if they even HAVE any males to exchange it for. I was looking more at the dorsal fins than at the pink spots, but am pretty sure that there were mostly females.

I know they had gold rams too (very nice looking ones, about the same size as the blues). If I found a male gold ram, would the 2 form a pair? But, then I have to worry about potential cross breeding