Re: Typical M. Ramirezi & Gold Ram

[IDMiamiBob@aol.com]

Sherry writes:

> I saw some Rams (M. Ramirezi) at my LFS today. I asked the salesperson to
>  bag up four of them for me. Once I got home, I realized I had gotten only
>  three regular Rams, and one Gold Ram. My questions are:  
>           Will the two types inter-breed?

Yes

 Am I right in assuming the Gold Ram
>  is just a color variation?

Yes.  It is a captive bred variation that does not occur in the wild, or at 
least does not survive in the wild. 
 
>       Is it acceptable to cross breed these two types?

Depends on who you ask, but generally, yes.

> Will it lead to a
>  weakened coloration of the regular type of Rams in the fry?

Depending on the dominance issues of the color genes the first generation 
will be either all blue or all gold.  I would suspect all blue.  Breeding of 
siblings should give a 75/25 ratio.
  
>  I hate to have to bag the Gold Ram up and take it back to the store if I
>  don't have too. Please advise.

Considering that 99% of the gold rams in the LFSs are from Asia, you can bet 
it is a male.  The best way to succeed in breeding the golds is by crossing 
with a wild form (blue), and then breeding back to get the gold.  Do as you 
like.  If someone has a problem with it, tell him/her where to get off.  They 
are the same species, and the gold has no wild population purity to protect.

Bob Dixon


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