Blue Ram

Blue Rams

Mikrogeophagus Ramirezi

Blue Rams are a great entry to cichlid-keeping for the beginner hobbyist, being a small and colourful little cichlid that has great behaviour, very similar to much of the larger cichlids, but at a much more manageable size.

Locale: Occurs in Venezuela, Brazil and Colombia - found most commonly in small, slow moving blackwater streams that are well vegetated, creating good shade.

Fun fact: Males and Females are easy to tell apart as the females get a beautiful blue spangling on the black spot that is along the flank of the species, in addition to this Males get longer and more pointed anal and dorsal fins.

Care:

Care difficulty - Beginner

Temperament - Peaceful centrepiece fish, slightly territorial, if breeding will establish territory and defend it

Adult size - 5-7cm

Diet - Omnivorous; natural micropredators in the wild that would get both protein and vegetable matter in their diet due to the vegetable matter their prey had consumed. Best fed a staple diet of small pellets, flakes, and wafers, with high protein foods as a dietary supplement once or twice a fortnight

Habitat - Blue Rams are best combined with a dark background and a light soft sandy substrate, as this will bring out their optimal colours against the background, while also providing them with a soft sandy substrate to interact with, because as with many other cichlids, Rams like to turn over the substrate by taking mouthfuls of sand, sifting through it for food, then spitting out the left over sand. Driftwood and plants can also be used to enhance the realism of their environment and get more natural behaviour from your fish.

Optimal Water Parameters:

Temperature: 24-30°c

pH: 6.0-7.0

GH: 4-10

KH: 2-4

Fish size, sex, exact colour and patterning may vary from photo.