Electric Blue Ram

[lilfishie]

I am currently in the process of re-vamping my 15UK gal it has sand substrate, bit of wood and will be planted.

I saw a picture of these guys and fell in love, could i safely house a pair?trio? in my tank

and what would you recommend as suitable tankmates?

Thanks x

 

[Truck]

15 Gallons isn't big enough for a pair in my opinion, however, a single individual would do just fine, they prefer temperatures of 28-32oC and a PH of less than 6.5, they're actually Mikrogeophagus ramirezi, but are of a different selectively bred colour morph, feed a ranged diet of meats and dry foods, choose tank mates carefully, as only a select few species of fish will tolerate the high temperatures.

 

[Wills]

Hi yeah they are awesome they are a colour morph of the blue ram - it comes under many common names the scientific name is something like Mikrogeophagus Rameriez. Your tank will be okay for a pair in there but as a species these fish have quite specific care. They need a high Ph of 28c and a low ph below 7 which can be achieved via peat filtration. Additionally you can imagine that these needs need to be paired with compatible tank mates, things like rummy noses and some cory species work well, the needs are similar if not the same as discus tanks so you could have a look at what people put in their discus tanks but only the smaller tank mates etc obvs discus are too big to go in the tank but the needs are very similar to the blue rams.

Wills

 

[PDSimon]

Hi yeah they are awesome they are a colour morph of the blue ram - it comes under many common names the scientific name is something like Mikrogeophagus Rameriez. Your tank will be okay for a pair in there but as a species these fish have quite specific care. They need a high Ph of 28c and a low ph below 7 which can be achieved via peat filtration. Additionally you can imagine that these needs need to be paired with compatible tank mates, things like rummy noses and some cory species work well, the needs are similar if not the same as discus tanks so you could have a look at what people put in their discus tanks but only the smaller tank mates etc obvs discus are too big to go in the tank but the needs are very similar to the blue rams.

Wills

Have you got any experience in peat filtration (peat slugs?)?

Do you have to have certain water qualities to even attempt using peat slugs? are there any recommendations in volume?

thanks

Electric blue rams are certainly amazing...I'd love some but being a beginner I think bolivian rams are more suited to me! I'd just be interested in knowing a bit more about peat filtration as I can barely find anything reliable about it

 

[Wills]

peat filtration from what I have read and looked into with it is quite easy to do it but expensive! and thats what put me off I would stick to the branded peat packs like the fluval or rena ones and follow the instructions on the packs as to when to change them as they do become less effective as time goes on. In smaller tanks I understand that almond leaves are a little easier to do and cheaper.

Also just to add Truck is an expert on these fish and I would follow his guides 100%. Also as PDSimon said bolivian rams are more suited to general care but you dont get the electric blue colour morph.

Though to be honest I dont think we are far away from line bred colour morphs of most fish in the hobby now especially any fish with bright fins but dullish bodies. Each to their own on how they view that statement though

 

[PDSimon]

Thanks wills

 

[lilfishie]

Thanks for the info guys, it would be an acutal pair as they would be from a breeder. the temp isnt a problem i have always kept my tropicals at 28 pH is around 6.5, is that low enough?

 

[roadmaster]

Thanks for the info guys, it would be an acutal pair as they would be from a breeder. the temp isnt a problem i have always kept my tropicals at 28 pH is around 6.5, is that low enough?

In my view the temp and pH you have will be fine for these fish. I would perhaps opt for a larger tank if possible however. I have kept these fish for a few years and have observed that the male can be quite aggressive with female if she shows no immediate interest in spawning again after original spawn and in smaller tank,, this could be problematic.
A small school of rummy nose or cardinal tetras would be my choice for tankmates.
Plants will no doubt help keep nitrate levels in check which these little fish seem to appreciate.

 

[lilfishie]

thanks roadmaster good to know the levels are good, would get a bigger tank if i could but i have to keep them in my room so limited space.
hadnt thought of rummy nose either they are very pretty although still leaning heaviley towards cardinals

thanks all for the advice no to try source some out