Blue rams vs German blue - any difference?

[exodus]

Called "The Norwalk Aquarium" today and asked if they had any german blues in stock, he said no but they have regular blues.

So I went down there and thought he might not know what he's talking about and ended up buying one anyways. Along with another golden to replace the one I lost a few days ago.


The blue ram looks exactly like a german blue except not nearly as bright and colorful. Are they any different or has this ram not grown into his (or her) colors yet?

I'm also acclimating them MUCH more slowly than I did with the golden that I lost a few days ago. Hung the bag in the tank to get the temps to match each other, and I'm adding 1/8 cup tank water every 10 mins for two hours. My pH is a bit on the high side for these guys, 7.5-7.8. Should the 2 hour slow acclaimation help with the stress?

TIA!

 

[Menagerie]

As it turns out, this Q was asked last week and here is Jchillin's answer:

They are the exact same fish. For reasons that have been lost over time, the fish known as Mikrogeophagus ramirezi has been named at least three times. This is what led to the multitude of "common names" for it. Among the most frequently confused common names are:

Balloon Ram
Butterfly Cichlid
German Ram
Gold German Ram
Golden Ram
Singapore Ram

Gets more confusing when some GBR's are a nice golden color and have no blue flecks on them.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

They are one in the same. It's a GBR.

 

[exodus]

Thanks guys.

Finally got my GBR's then! Drove about 45 mins to get them, picked up two. Then I was in my More local LFS - low and behold they got a shipment in that day.

So I bought 2 more

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Cool, But I have 1 question.....

Where's the pics???? hehehe....

Again, congrats on your new fish....

 

[RoK]

Ah, I see you took my suggestion of checking that place out. How'd you like it?
Congrats on the rams! I don't think they had them last time I went.

 

[exodus]

Well, where did you think I went?

Pics, of course!

There they are! So cooperative too.


They seem to be doing much better than the golden I recently lost. When he got home he headed into a corner and didnt eat, these guys are curious pigs.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Great looking tank. And great looking fish. Congrats......

 

[exodus]

Ah, I see you took my suggestion of checking that place out. How'd you like it?
Congrats on the rams! I don't think they had them last time I went.

Was impressed by a few of their strange saltwater species, and I must say I've never seen a 2' long arowana before.

Their tanks seem to be pretty clean, and for once, well marked. I found it rather annoying having to deal with the people there, seems to be a pretty old couple running the place and you can kinda tell that they're past their prime.

Needless to say, the guy really knows his stuff.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

My 2 bigger ones look like the one on the right in your pic and the one on the left. They have been doing dances lately, possibly a mating ritual? If so, I'm thinking the one on the left in your pic is a female, and the one on the right is male. And the one next to the one on the left I'm thinking looks closer to being a male as well, but don't have a good body shot. Just my thoughts as there's a good possibility you have at least one male and one female.

Just wait til the one on the right colors up...hehehe. You'll love it.....

 

[exodus]

My 2 bigger ones look like the one on the right in your pic and the one on the left. They have been doing dances lately, possibly a mating ritual? If so, I'm thinking the one on the left in your pic is a female, and the one on the right is male. And the one next to the one on the left I'm thinking looks closer to being a male as well, but don't have a good body shot. Just my thoughts as there's a good possibility you have at least one male and one female.

Just wait til the one on the right colors up...hehehe. You'll love it.....

I really hoped I'd get at least one pair, which is what made me decide to buy more. I really cant wait till they get more colorful either, i just hope I acclimated them for long enough for them to get used to my high(er) pH, hard water :-/

 

[Menagerie]

That is one great tank shot! My fish are always moving

 

[RoK]

Ah, I see you took my suggestion of checking that place out. How'd you like it?
Congrats on the rams! I don't think they had them last time I went.

Was impressed by a few of their strange saltwater species, and I must say I've never seen a 2' long arowana before.

Their tanks seem to be pretty clean, and for once, well marked. I found it rather annoying having to deal with the people there, seems to be a pretty old couple running the place and you can kinda tell that they're past their prime.

Needless to say, the guy really knows his stuff.

I hadn't seen an arowana that large either before. In that same tank has/had a gorgeous Satanoperca cichlid, it's marked as a Geophagus but that name is now obsolete for those guys. I really wanted him but too expensive for me.

Yeah, they have some nice triggerfish (SW) there.

I know what you mean about the people, I was surprised about that too..

The rams look great! Did you leave any for anyone else? haha I may go check it out Friday.

 

[exodus]

Ah, I see you took my suggestion of checking that place out. How'd you like it?
Congrats on the rams! I don't think they had them last time I went.

Was impressed by a few of their strange saltwater species, and I must say I've never seen a 2' long arowana before.

Their tanks seem to be pretty clean, and for once, well marked. I found it rather annoying having to deal with the people there, seems to be a pretty old couple running the place and you can kinda tell that they're past their prime.

Needless to say, the guy really knows his stuff.

I hadn't seen an arowana that large either before. In that same tank has/had a gorgeous Satanoperca cichlid, it's marked as a Geophagus but that name is now obsolete for those guys. I really wanted him but too expensive for me.

Yeah, they have some nice triggerfish (SW) there.

I know what you mean about the people, I was surprised about that too..

The rams look great! Did you leave any for anyone else? haha I may go check it out Friday.

haha yes, I did leave some for other people. When I left there were probably 4 goldens and 4 regular blues left.

Another thing I was impressed with was their 15 day return policy if the fish dies, but I think he said that doesnt apply to the rams. I could be wrong.

 

[RoK]

Wow, that is good. I haven't actually bought anything from there yet so I didn't know about the policy.

 

[exodus]

A question for anyone - It appears a few of my fish could have a few ich spots developing on their fins, sofar only the rams (go figure?). Is heat treatment safe with them?

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Yes, it's perfectly safe as long as you slowly increase the temp. I like raising my temp over a 2 day period, but if I had a weaker fish like otos, I'd do it over a 3 day period. I currently have my 75G up to 89 degrees and both my GBR's and Bolivians are doing very well.

Since being on the fins, make sure it's ick first, and not the normal spotting that the rams have, which eventually turn from white when young to blue when a little bigger. I thought my Bolivians had ick on the fins, but after closer examination, and going a couple days without treatment, I came to the conclusion they were spots and not ick. Now those spots are blue.

 

[exodus]

Yes, it's perfectly safe as long as you slowly increase the temp. I like raising my temp over a 2 day period, but if I had a weaker fish like otos, I'd do it over a 3 day period. I currently have my 75G up to 89 degrees and both my GBR's and Bolivians are doing very well.

Since being on the fins, make sure it's ick first, and not the normal spotting that the rams have, which eventually turn from white when young to blue when a little bigger. I thought my Bolivians had ick on the fins, but after closer examination, and going a couple days without treatment, I came to the conclusion they were spots and not ick. Now those spots are blue.

I'll get some pics up tomorrow. That could be what it is, I checked all the other fish for symptoms and all checked out fine.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

If you look real close, ick will look like raised little specks, like salt crystals. If they are not raised, and have a kind of a pattern to them, just monitor for a couple days. But if they are raised, even just the slightest, it's ick.

 

[RoK]

Honestly, I'm not surprised. When I went to see them on Friday, there were only like 2 or 3 actually living and they did not look very healthy. Rams can be pretty fragile.