Blue Balloon Rams

[Talvari]

So I picked up a pair of blue balloon rams for my 46 gallon planted tank. They will be with cardinal tetra and black neon tetra eventually, but are currently by themselves.

I am *pretty* sure they are both males, but its really hard to tell because they are still pretty skitish, so if I get too close to the tank, they hide ( though they are starting to come out when I feed them.) and they are still pretty young.

Anyways... Here is the best set of photos I could manage for the time being... The pics dont do them justice; their colors are beautiful. The second one has a beautiful blue/purple sheen across his body that is so much brighter than the first fish. The first fish has so much more orange and red, plus the markings on his face are really deep blue.


Fish 1:

Fish 2:

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

they look awesome!! i dont know genders but they do look stunning x

 

[Gboy66]

I have never heard of baloon rams!

Are they bred for this deformaty like baloon mollys? They look pretty sick!

 

[Talvari]

Pretty much, yeah. Its just not as extreme as the balloon molly's. Supposedly, they are heartier than the typical German Blue Rams, but I don't see any reason they should be, and its hasnt been proven to a fault.

 

[Gboy66]

Pretty much, yeah. Its just not as extreme as the balloon molly's. Supposedly, they are heartier than the typical German Blue Rams, but I don't see any reason they should be, and its hasnt been proven to a fault.

Really? Now did you get these from a breeder, or an lfs?

Those rams are very cool, make a video if possible to show their true colors

 

[Talvari]

A local fish store. They'll do special orders occasionally, which is nice. Ill have to find my old camera and cable...

 

[Gboy66]

A local fish store. They'll do special orders occasionally, which is nice. Ill have to find my old camera and cable...

Oh were these guys special orders?

 

[bruinsbro1997]

I like blue rams. They're very cool and pure blue.

However, balloons are unhealthy. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but they are more prone to disease and illness. And with the way rams are they have low survival rates. Sorry

 

[Talvari]

Heres another shot of Fish 2. Its on my cell phone and a bit blurry cause of the angle, but at least you can see the colors better.

 

[Mouth-Brooder-Fanatic]

gosh those colours

how did u know they existed without them at lfs stocking? were u able to ask for a species list available to order? xx

 

[Talvari]

I actually just went in the one day, and they had the sign up for Bolivian Rams, but they had just sold their last pair. I asked them about it and they mentioned that they had a list of species they could get if I wanted them. Blue Rams, Bolivian Rams, etc.

I happened to stop in the other day and saw that they had these two little guys. They had been at the store for a week already, and were showing no signs of illness and had been eating well, so I decided to bring them home.

They are finally swimming around the tank and exploring the plants a little. They have excavated some of the eco complete from behind one of the plants and "sleep" there each night, snuggled up together. Its really kind of cute. I cant wait until I get more plants in there. Hopefully that will make them feel more secure.