German Blue Ram (Microgeophagus ramirezi)

[Voodoo Chilli]

I've always found that blue rams prefer temperatures on the warmer side: 80-82F.

 

[Rxblade123]

I recently bought 2 Female Blue Rams for $2.99 each. They are about 1 inch right now. I'm going to buy a male the next time I go there. I also bought 2 Bandit Corydoras for 3.99 each. I put them in a planted 10 gallon and the only agression so far was the Blue Rams locking jaws only happened twice and that was when I first let them in. One of the Blue rams would take a peck at the smaller Corydoras, but then it swims away. They Corydoras just turns around when bit and just scares the rams away, but other than that no damage is done. The 2 corydoras follow each other around and the Rams stay away from each other usually. During the night they swim around the entire tank, including the Cories. They aren't as active during the day. They stay around the plants near the bottom. Right now is the 2nd day I've had them. Rams don't bother the Cories, but sometimes bite each other. Usually happnes when the smaller one gets near the driftwood. Anybody know how to sex Bandit Cories?

 

[Rxblade123]

Oh and provide hiding places for them. My Rams & Cories like it under my Amazon Sword and under my drift wood. They seem a bit shyish when I get close and starts to hide. You might want to make the food a bit more bite size for them since they tend to eat it and spit it out into smaller pieces. This could quickly pollute your water, but then again if you have Cories they can help clean up some of the food, but not all of the food is eaten. HTH

 

[Mofo2713]

The only way to tell about bandit cories is that if they both are mature, the female will be slightly larger than the male.

 

[Rxblade123]

One of the bandits is a bit rounder and bigger, around 2 inches, the other is around 1.5 inches and is thinner.

 

[Mofo2713]

Well, the max size for a female is around 2" so I would assume that the smaller one is a male.... or it could be a juvenile female.

 

[trent]

Blue Ram (Papiliochromis ramirezi)
size: 5 cm
pH: 6.8
GH: 7
Temp: 27°C
"The Blue ram is indeed one of the most peaceful and beautiful cichlids of all. They are dwarf cichlids as they grow to 5cm. They comprise of many enchanting colours but since most are tank bred, lack these amazing colours. Even a gold strain of the ram has been developed. The most striking feature of the blue ram are its blue iridescent flecks and the black spot and vertical band it has. The males are more colorful than the females. Females are rounder with a pinkish abdominal area. As far as water is concerned - it has to be perfect or close to it. These fish have a bad reputation to die, they only live for 2 years or if your lucky, maybe 3 years. They must have clean and crystal clear water with an acidic pH and it also must be soft. Rams are very, very delicate so only the advanced aquarists are experienced enough to look after them well. Note that rams don't take to medications well and prefer to be in a species tank with driftwood and amazon sword plants."