What Do German Blue Rams Eat?
- In our aquariums, we need to feed our German Blue Rams a varied diet to give them a fully varied and balanced diet..
- Bug Bites by Fluval.
- Vibra Bites by Hikari.
- TetraMin Tropical Flake.
- Xtreme Krill Flakes. In an ideal world, German Blue Rams want to eat from the bottom of the tank, ideally directly off...
Do German Blue Rams eat from the top or bottom?
In an ideal world, German Blue Rams want to eat from the bottom of the tank, ideally directly off the substrate. As such, foods that sink are best for German Blue Rams. As well as feeding my German Blue Rams commercial foods, I also try and feed them lots of live or frozen foods.
How often should I Feed my German Blue Rams?
I aim to feed my German Blue Rams 3 or 4 times a day. I usually give them pellet food in the morning (Vibra Bites is my current go-to) followed by flake food in the afternoon and then live or frozen food in the evening. Sometimes, I will give them more pellets in the evening too.
What do German Blue Rams need in their tank?
In their natural habitat, German Blue Rams will spend most of their time using vegetation to hide. A tank that isn’t heavily planted will make them feel unprotected (which will elevate their stress levels). You have a lot of options when it comes to the kind of plants you want to include.
What fish can I put with my German Blue Rams?
This species does best with other small fish that don’t want to cause any trouble. Any large or aggressive fish should be avoided at all costs. Here are some good tank mates to get you started: German Blue Rams also get along with all types of freshwater aquarium snails. They’ll leave the little critters alone and go about their business!
How often should I feed German blue rams?
How often should I feed my blue rams? Because of their size, it's best to feed rams two to three small meals a day rather than trying to give them one big meal. Their stomachs are tiny, which means they can only digest small amounts of food at a time.
Do German blue rams eat flakes?
Sinking pellets should be provided for the German blue rams and floating flakes for the other fish. Feedings should always be observed to make sure the German blue rams are getting enough food.
What do you feed blue Ram fry?
During these first few days/weeks, try feeding your Rams meaty, nutrient rich food. Frozen brine shrimp or bloodworms usually do the trick. Live brine shrimp are also a great treat! Once your Rams are eating steadily, slowly introduce them to cichlid flakes or pellets.
How do you take care of blue rams?
German blue rams are active fish that require a 20-gallon tank or larger. The water must be kept between 80°F and 86°F and on the acidic side. To simulate the German blue ram's wild habitat, set up various hiding spots throughout the tank with caves, driftwood, and plants, and keep the lighting dim.
What do rams like eating?
Rams are herbivores. They typically eat seeds, grass and plants. Their diet changes depending on the season, though. In the summer, they eat grasses or sedges and in the winter, bighorns eat woody plants, such as sage, willow and rabbit brush, according to Defenders of Wildlife.
Will German blue rams eat shrimp?
Yes, German Blue Rams will eat any shrimp they can fit in their mouths. Adult Red Cherry Shrimp or Amano Shrimp may not be eaten, but babies and juveniles almost certainly will.
How can I improve my baby's RAM?
11:2518:38How to care for and raise baby rams -- German Blue Rams - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipMake a new drawing kind of skip that day try to feed a different food source like pelleted foods orMoreMake a new drawing kind of skip that day try to feed a different food source like pelleted foods or crushed up lakes.
How can I increase my RAM fry?
0:2815:06How To Keep RAM FRY Alive: Cleaning the fry box - YouTubeYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipSo one of the most important steps to raising the ram fry is cleaning their fry box. And for the ramMoreSo one of the most important steps to raising the ram fry is cleaning their fry box. And for the ram breeders out there.
How fast do German blue rams grow?
Best results come by having a few rams together from a young age and letting them grow up together, pairing of their own accord. A pH of 5.5 - 6.5 is best for the pair, eggs and fry. German Blue rams can reach maturity at an early age, sometimes between 4 - 6 months.
Can you keep 3 German blue rams together?
At least two German blue rams should be kept together in a tank. German blue rams are at their best when living with their mates, so try to keep both males and females. German blue rams are monogamous and mate for life. Buying German blue ram pairs while they're still young is recommended.
Can a German blue ram live in a 5 gallon tank?
Rams can be kept in as small as a 5 gallon tank without any problem, but I prefer to keep them in large planted aquariums where they accent the plants with a splash of color.
How can you tell if a German blue ram is male or female?
2:555:18How to Identify Male and Female German Blue Rams by PondguruYouTubeStart of suggested clipEnd of suggested clipThere you go solid black whereas the female. There is a female. It's got reflective skills insideMoreThere you go solid black whereas the female. There is a female. It's got reflective skills inside the black spot. There you go that's a good one see the reflective skills at the bottom of the spot.
German Blue Ram Basics
The German blue ram species is a member of the Cichlid family. Scientifically it is called Mikrogeophagus ramierezi. Due to its dazzling blue color, it has also been given several other names, such as Butterfly Cichlids, or Electric Blue Ram.
What Do German Blue Rams Look Like?
German Blue Rams are exceptionally pleasing to the eye. If you want to add some color to your tank then you can’t go wrong with this species. Half of the body is an eye-catching combination of yellow and green, the other half is electric blue with white stripes and black lined scale-like shapes across it.
What You Need to Know Before Buying a German Blue Ram
So, after reading the first part of this article you are convinced that you want to buy some German Blue Rams. That’s great, but there are a few more things you need to know before making that decision. Keep reading to find out about…
Tank Conditions For German Blue Rams
German Blue Rams live in the Amazon River, they are most often found in the extended waterways of the Orinoco River Basin in Columbia and Venezuela. They live in shallow streams and pools with slow-flowing waters and plenty of vegetation and sandy beds. The vegetation creates a shady atmosphere for the German Blue Rams.
What to Feed German Blue Rams
The German Blue Ram is an omnivore, and eats a combination of plants and meat. In their natural environment they eat invertebrates, small insects, or they feed on the plants found in the water.
Breeding German Blue Rams
When it’s breeding time, the red patch on the female’s stomach will increase in size and become a lot brighter in color. The male or female will dig out a pit, or they’ll clean a flat stone. The couple will start twirling around each other, or nudging each other.
Feeding Instructions For Blue Ram Fry
Feeding Blue Ram fry is not an easy task, they tend to pick at tiny creatures and algae, so they will survive without special foods. However, their survival rate will be low this way. If you want the fry to survive for as long as possible, you will need to feed them specific foods.
What is a German blue ram?
Between their iridescent colors and confident personality, German blue ram cichlids are one of the most striking freshwater fish in the aquarium hobby. When you see a healthy ram in breeding condition, almost every hue of the rainbow is displayed. In this article, we interviewed master breeder Dean to share his decades of experience in keeping, ...
How long do German blue rams live?
If given lots of high-quality foods and clean water at the right temperature (see below), they can live up to 4 years.
What do cichlids like to eat?
In our experience, these cichlids are not very picky, so you can feed them just about any dry food from the pet store, like sinking pellets, freeze-dried bloodworms, and freeze-dried tubifex worms. They also love frozen foods, such as brine shrimp, cyclops, bloodworms, and mysis shrimp for larger adults .
Where did the ram cichlids come from?
Contrary to the name, ram cichlids originate from the Orinoco River basin in Colombia and Venezuela. The name “German blue” refers to a color variation of the ram cichlid that was selectively bred in Germany and became popularized worldwide in the aquarium trade. What are the different types of ram cichlids?
What color are rams?
In terms of body shape, there are regular, long fin, and balloon rams on the market. The most common color varieties include German blue rams, gold rams, and electric blue rams. A black version of the ram cichlid has been developed recently but is still difficult to find. This gold balloon ram has been selectively bred for its bright yellow color ...
How many gallons of water do rams need?
If you wish to keep two pairs of rams, increase the aquarium size to 40 gall ons so that each set has enough territory. Give the rams several places to hide from each other in case one decides he wants to be the tank boss.
How to keep fish from sucking up in aquarium?
Get a gentle sponge filter (or a small hang-on-back filter with a pre-filter sponge to prevent fry from begin sucked up), as well as an adjustable aquarium heater. In the corners of the tank, place various spawning sites, such as flat river stones or tiny terracotta pots and saucers.
Care Guide
German Blue Ram Cichlids require a tank size of 20 gallons. This would provide them with lots of room to play and roam. Many individuals have stated that this species will thrive in a 10-gallon aquarium.
Lifespan
A typical healthy Blue Ram can live for 3 to 4 years on average. This presupposes you’re giving them great care and a suitable environment. These are one of the easiest cichlids to keep alive for as long as possible. Their size, disposition, and basic care requirements are all well within their capabilities.
Appearance
A typical healthy Blue Ram can live for 3 to 4 years on average. This presupposes you’re giving them great care and a suitable environment. These are one of the easiest cichlids to keep alive for as long as possible. Their size, disposition, and basic care requirements are all well within their capabilities.
Size
When fully developed, a Blue Ram measures roughly 2 to 3 inches in length. A variety of factors influence their size, but the 2 most important are how they were produced and what they ate as children.
Behavior & Temperament
These fish are laid-back and want to mind their own business. This makes them ideal for group tanks, as you can keep them with a large number of other people. These fish are frequently seen lurking amid the plants or digging through the substrate.
Breeding
In a tank, spawning blue rams is rather simple. They’ll cheerfully spawn every few weeks if you offer them the correct conditions. Just be prepared to accommodate hundreds of fry as they mature.
Gender Differences: Male vs. Female
It’s quite easy to identify the difference between a male and female blue ram once they’ve reached maturity. Females are often stockier, smaller, and less colourful than their male counterparts. They have a pointed head as opposed to the rounded head of the male. Their pectoral fins are significantly shorter than those of males.
Species Summary
Appearance
Average Size
- The average size of a German Blue Ram is around 2 to 3 inches in lengthwhen fully grown. Theis size can be impacted by a number of factors, but the main two are how they were bred and their diet when growing up. Author Note:This is quite small for a cichlid, making them a very approachable species if you don’t have a lot of room. Many beginners are nervous about the pro…
German Blue Ram Care
- German Blue Ram care is nothing to be intimidated by. These fish are low maintenance and easy to keep due to their hardy nature and peaceful temperament. But that still means you should pay attention to their basic needs. There has been a fair amount of misinformation being passed around on forums when it comes to this species, so it’s important to understand their baseline r…
Food & Diet
- Feeding German Blue Rams is not very challenging. These fish are omnivores and are not very picky! It’s a good idea to use some kind of pellet or flake food as the base of their diet. Any products from a high-quality seller will do fine. In addition to this, you’ll want to give them some protein-rich foods as well. Brine shrimp, tubifex, and bloodw...
Behavior & Temperament
- One of the great things about German Blue Rams is their peaceful nature. These fish are very mellow and just want to do their own thing. This makes them great for community tanks since there’s a long list of potential tank mates you can keep them with (more on that in the next section). You’ll often see these fish hiding out among the plants, or digging through the substrat…
Tank Mates
- The list of potential German Blue Ram tank mates is quite long thanks to the peaceful nature of this fish. They’ll get along with pretty much anyone! The general rule to follow when thinking about tank mates is size and temperament. This species does best with other small fish that don’t want to cause any trouble. Any large or aggressive fish should be avoided at all costs. Here are some …
German Blue Ram Breeding
- Breeding German Blue Rams is very simple. There are a number of advantages this species has when it comes to being bred in captivity. If you want to maximize your chances, get some juveniles and let them become a mating pair. This isn’t 100% necessary, but it makes things a whole lot easier. These fish will become sexually mature at a very young age as well. After abou…
Closing Thoughts
- We hope this guide ion German Blue Ram care has shown you what a wonderful fish this species can be. When other aquarists flock to the more popular freshwater creatures, they’re missing out on all the amazing things this fish has to offer! We plan on keeping these fish for quite a while. Once you get used to them, the thought of a species that’s less colorful (and not as easy to care …