Is it easy to tell apart male and female bolivian rams?
Not very easy. Bolivian rams (Mikrogeophagus altispinosa) are not very sexually dimorphic (meaning the sexes look alike). As with most other cichlids, the males will tend to have longer points on their medial fins (dorsal, anal, and caudal fins), and as they get older, males tend to get a slight hump on their foreheads (a “nuchal hump”). Males may be a little larger, but not as markedly so as with many other cichlids. None of these differences will be evident in juvenile specimens, but they are often visible with more mature fish. When the Bolivian Rams are just about to spawn, spawning, or have just spawned, the “breeding tube” (ovipositor) of the female will be a little wider and more blunt or rounded, while the “breeding tube” (sperm duct) of the male will be a little narrower and will come to more of a point. This is much easier to distinguish if you see the two sexes side-by-side in spawning condition. P.S. If you don’t know how to tell a male from a female, how do you know the on
