Cichlids (South American) - Written by Charlie on Tuesday, October 23, 2007 23:05 - 7 Comments

German Blue Ram (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi)

German Blue Ram (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi)
German Blue Ram Photo © L. Curtis

Profile

Origin: Colombia and Venezuela

Behavior: Mostly peaceful and shy, but can become very territorial during the breeding process. Placing the German Blue Ram into a community tank will lessen its shyness because they will see that the it’s “safe” to come out.

Temperature: 78-85 °F (26-30 °C)

pH: 5.0 - 7.5

Size: 3″ (7 cm)

Diet: Accepts all types of food including flakes, sinking pellets, frozen and freeze-dried foods.

Breeding: Place one male German Blue Ram and one female German Blue Ram into the same aquarium, and they will usually become attracted to each other. Although, some owners report that getting a group of German Blue Rams will allow them to pick and choose their partners more easily if a pair do not become attracted to each other immediately. Emulate a natural setting by densely planting the aquarium. German Blue Rams prefer a softer water when breeding, around a pH of 6.5 should be fine.
Sex: Males have a longer, pointed dorsal fin. Females have a red or orange tinge on their bellies.

Notes

German Blue Ram (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi)
German Blue Ram Photo © L. Dasilva

A pair of German Blue Rams (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi) will create quite a commotion in any tank from guests because they have one of the highly colored bodies of the South American Cichlids. They are perfect for a community tank with Tetras, Barbs, or Corys which allow the German Blue Rams to feel safer. The eye will surely be drawn to the German Blue Ram in an aquarium due to their breath-taking colors. Watching a pair of German Blue Rams guard their eggs is exciting because they are good tropical fish parents.

Conclusion

Care: *****
Hardiness: ****
Temperament: ****
Breeding: *****
Overall: ****½



7 Comments

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Charlie
Oct 27, 2007 12:39

Everybody needs to experience breeding a pair of adult German Blue Rams because they are simply gorgeous.

ron smellie
Nov 9, 2007 6:58

do male rams get little white spots as they color up for breeding?……not, NOT whitespot

Charlie
Nov 9, 2007 20:07

I don’t think that Blue Rams get white spots as they turn older. The Blue Ram may be sick, is it acting lethargic?

jonathan skomsky
Nov 13, 2007 20:12

I have one German Blue Ram male, in a community tank with my harliquen rasboras, cardinal and neon tetras, and my cory family( 2 albino, 1 sterba,1 schwartz, and a clown loach the cories call him uncle bob) and last but not least an african dwarf frog. What types of foods can i feed my german blue ram that i can feed my other fish as well? I know that i can feed it blood worms and flakes but, what other types of frozen or live foods can i feed my ram? Also i have one male ram in my community tank it killed my other male by taking a chunk out of its head. what type of pairing is best?

janeen
Jan 20, 2008 1:34

do female rams get very swollen abdomens just prior to spawing? or is her swollen belly something worse? She is still eating, although recently, past 36 hrs has started to surface breath now and then, then return to a more normal behavior. I’ve only had the pair since mon. thier color is very high and they greet me everytime i aprroach the tank.

DaFishMan
Jun 14, 2008 21:30

German blue rams are a joy to keep. Very interesting fish ! Mine spawned in the plant tank and I didn’t have them 2 weeks yet. Eggs hatched and got to the wiggler stage but then disappeared. Rams are rumored to be bad parents. I watched them both taking turns guarding and fanning the eggs, chasing off the platy, as well as moving them to another area on the driftwood once they hatched. If one ‘wiggled’ too far down on the driftwood the attending parent would pick up the egg and drop it back with the others !

I’m determined to get free swimming fry now lol. Getting microworms ready too.

Get these fish, very colorful and really stand out in a plant tank.

WILL
Aug 13, 2008 20:52

I love Rams. They are great fish that are beautiful. If you have a large enough tank, you should add a few discus. My breeding pair of rams love to hang out with my Discus.

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