Strange bolivian ram behaviour

[greedythief]

i have two bolivian rams that i got as juveniles that have grown up a bit now.

i left for a 2 day vacation so no lights and no food, when i got back, the two rams that used to fight and stay on opposite ends now swim very closely together.

but strangely they follow eachother around yet still peck at eachother (not violently).

not 100% sure on the sexes but i believe male and female as one is more colourful and has extended tail fin.

is this mating behaviour?

[ryann]

Sounds like it could be. Hard to tell exactly without more detail of their interactions. Check out this article that explains their mating behavior pretty well.

http://www.cichlidae.com/article.php?id=31

[escamosa]

You could have pair. Can't really say whether they will actually breed or not, but it does sound like they're testing the water, so to speak.

Check this link out. It'll help you with sexing your Rams, and it'll give you some other ideas.
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aqua...ad.php?t=92214

[ippielb]

Easiest way to gender them is to look at the tubes. The male will have a small pointy tube that faces towards his rear tail, and the female will have a larger stubby tube. Males usually have a hump on their head, and the females usually have a rounded head. Some try to gender them by the top fin points, but thats too difficult. I've also noticed that the tail has two elongated points, one on the top and one the bottom on the male, and the females usually have short ones.

[Sandz]

As far as that being weird, I dont think it really is. How many movies have we made about humans who come out of a scarey or stressful situation only to appreciate someone they previously didnt get along with?

Seems that the time off allowed for potential courting when they grouped together for protection.