So, the other day I got another ram, who I think is a male... but I really can't tell for sure, it could possibly be another female. It doesn't have any pink at all in its belly, its black spot is solid black, and it does have the extended dorsal spines, which leads me to believe it's male; on the other hand it does have black in its front-bottom fins (I can't remember the technical term for them, but I have read online that only females have black on them?), its black spot has blue all around it, and its dorsal spines aren't much longer than the female's.
So, I think either I have a younger male, or a dominant female. The new one has been chasing the female around some of the time, but then last night I came home to see a nest dug out and the female laying eggs, and what looked like the new one fertilizing them... I for sure saw the female laying the eggs, as I could actually see them coming out of her, so I know the original ram is a female. The new one was making similar motions over the eggs after the female had laid them, which I assume is his (trying to) fertilize them, but I just can't tell if maybe it's a female and laying more eggs, because it was really brushing up against the bottom and I couldn't get a good look.
It doesn't matter much anyway, because by this morning all the snails and shrimp in the tank had eaten most, if not all, of the eggs, but I'm just wondering if I have a pair or two females. They definitely look different from each other, and the new one is certainly acting dominant with the chasing, but I don't want to assume I have 1 male and 1 female without knowing for sure. I suppose I will just keep watching them and see whether the new one starts to look more female as it settles in, or whether it really is a male.
I am a bit worried because the new one looks sort of skinny, and is probably using a lot of his energy chasing the female around, so I hope it's getting enough to eat.