What Is This Fish?

[James Bond the fish]

So I just bought a few new fish for my tank, one of which was a small cichlid shown below. It was advertised as a "butterfly cichlid", and I was told that it's a peaceful fish, though males might squabble amongst themselves. Aparently of the 20+ of these fish in the tank, all of them were male. The colouration, however, looks completely different to the ram cichlids I've seen, though the fins are about the right shape and it is a small fish. Is he a ram, or something else? And could I get a female ram to befriend him, or would he be better off on his own? So far he seems fine, apart from one of my swordtails giving him a little bit of a rough time, but nothing serious.

 

[randallhart]

Yep. A German Gold Ram. You should probably try to get a female. They do better in pairs.
Check this out.

http/liveaquaria.com/product/prod_Display.cfm?pCatId=2520

 

[James Bond the fish]

Thanks for the fast reply

I have a tree-branch ornament and a medium-planted corner of my tank, so I think it'll be quite happy. How does one tell the sexes apart? I found it incredible that my aquarist was able to determine that such a large number were males at a glance.

Would a regular ram be a suitable tank mate?

 

[randallhart]

I'm not an expert on them but I'm sure a female german blue ram would be okay.

Here's a picture of male and female german blue rams. The male is the top one and the female is the bottom.

http/www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_German_...us_ramirezi.php

 

[parker313]

Yes, it's a gold ram and yes, a blue ram will be fine as a tank mate since they are just color variations of the same thing - both are microgeophagus ramirezi.

 

[opus743]

speaking of the ramirezi family of fishes; does anyone know of a a reputable seller who will ship them overnight???

Sierra Vista AZ is not necessarily an aquarist-friendly sort of town. I tend to have to travel to Tucson.

LMK,

Brian

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

www.discusmadness.com

 

[parker313]

speaking of the ramirezi family of fishes; does anyone know of a a reputable seller who will ship them overnight???

Sierra Vista AZ is not necessarily an aquarist-friendly sort of town. I tend to have to travel to Tucson.

LMK,

Brian

Yeah, I hear ya there! (My hubby had AIT and BCNOC and soon ANCOC there ) There's not much in Sierra Vista!

Also check out www.liveaquaria.com for fish - I've ordered from them a couple of times and have been very pleased. Rams are awesome.