Electric Blue Ram Cichlid – Care Guide

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German Blue Ram Fish

Do you want to keep an Electric Blue Ram Cichlid? If so, read this care guide to learn how. This fish is not for beginners due to its complex needs and requirements. However, if you are a more advanced aquarist with experience in freshwater fish tanks, then these tips will be useful for caring for your Electric Blue Rams.

Electric Blue Ram cichlid is a stunning fish that will amaze you with its colors. It is peaceful, yet, you should consider some tips when taking care of it. It is very important to maintain the proper water condition for this fish in order to grow him healthy.

It is very sensitive and can die when meeting poor water conditions.

We have a lot of experience in cichlids, and in this article, you will find all the information you need.

Overview

Electric Blue Ram Cichlid is a stunning fish. It is small in size with a fusiform shape. It is an enchanting fish when it comes to colors. Its body has a base color of orange or yellow gold. It has some similarities with Jack Dempsey Cichlid in appearance.

The special thing that stands out about this fish is the metallic blue color dots that cover all of its skin, also the rounded eyes on a bright orange with a black vertical stripe on both sides of the head. The ones with pink bellies are females. 

Electric Blue Ram Cichlid Size

Electric Blue Ram Cichlid has some unique colors.

This amazing freshwater fish is very peaceful, and it requires an intermediate care level. They are native to South America and inhabit the waterways of the Amazon, Venezuela, and Colombia. A minimum tank size of 10 gallons is required for this fish, and an omnivore diet to grow this fish healthy and live for about 2-4 years. They are small in size, around 2 to 3 inches, and can live in community tanks with other peaceful small fish.

Care LevelIntermediate
TemperamentPeaceful
Color formBlue, yellow, and white
Lifespan2-4 years
Size2-3 inches
DietOmnivore
pH6.0 – 7.5
GH 3 – 6 dGH
Temperature80°-83°F (26.7°-28.3°C)
Minimum tank size10 gallon
Tank set-upFreshwater with plants
CompatibilityPeaceful small fish

Behavior & Temperament

Electric Blue Ram Cichlid is a very peaceful and social fish. It is very friendly with plants and does not harm them. It has a peaceful temperament and likes living in a community. You can simply keep this fish with other Rams or other peaceful fish, although, when talking about angelfish, it requires a little space in order to not cause any conflicts.

They tend to be aggressive only during the breeding period to protect their fries. German Blue Ram is quite shy and does not compete when feeding. He is just a messy eater.

Electric Blue Ram Cichlid Freshwater Aquarium

Watching Electric Blue Ram Cichlid swimming in your aquarium is fun. Mostly you will find him hiding behind plants or rocks.

Food & Diet

Electric Blue Rams Cichlids are omnivores and require a balanced diet with a variety of food. They are picky eaters and you will struggle at the beginning because they experience stress in the first days in the tank. Small portions of flake and pellet foods would be great, small enough to fit their mouth since they are small in size. Choose only the best Cichlid food when feeding Electric Blue Rams Cichlid; in this way, he gets all the nutrition and vitamins needed to grow healthy.

If you deal with picky eaters, you can spoil them with frozen or live food like Mysis shrimp, Brine shrimp, blackworms, daphnia, or bloodworms. However, you should not spoil them too much with frozen food, as they will not accept dry foods. 

Here is the list of food that you can feed to Electric Blue Ram Cichlids:

  • Omega One Tropical flakes
  • Fluval Vegetarian flakes
  • Tubifex worms, bloodworms
  • Brine shrimp, Mysis shrimp
  • Pellet food.

It is best to feed this fish two or three times per day. They have tinny stomachs, and it is best for them to feed small portions of food during the day rather than a big meal as a whole. You should feed them for about 30 to 60 seconds and then remove the excess food from the water.

Care & Tank Requirements 

To take care of Electric Blue Ram Cichlid, it is important to maintain the proper water quality to allow the fish to grow healthy. A great way to do so is to prepare a similar environment to their natural habitat in the wild. This fish is delicate to drastic changes and requires high temperatures compared with other cichlids. It requires a slow to moderate water flow since he is not very active. You don’t have to worry about this fish escaping from the tank as other cichlids would. Electric Blue Ram Cichlid is a very peaceful fish.

Electric Blue Ram Cichlid Aquarium

A good water quality is essential for Electric Blue Ram Cichlid.

When talking about the tank setup, you should consider choosing the proper fish tank with a min of 10 gallons of water per fish. This ratio should be respected even in breeding periods if you are planning to do so and keep one or more pairs. A mix of gravel and sand would be perfect for this fish, and adding other objects would be ideal for this fish to hide from other fish that might be active swimmers. Even females need some extra species to hide from males in the breeding period. 

Some of the ideal objects in your tank would be:

  • Rocks
  • Driftwoods
  • Branches

This fish loves to have a vegetal tank and different aqua plants (Guppy grass or Anubia Congnesis is optional), and heavily planted tanks would be great for it. This fish is very peaceful, but when in a community with more active fish, it can be a little shy. 

When feeding, it does not compete with other fish and might find the process stressful. That is why you should consider giving this fish some space. Therefore, the plants would be a great place to hide when they’re stressed. However, make sure to leave space for free swimming.

Tank Size 

This fish requires a minimum of 10 gallons fish tank. If you want to keep this fish in the community, you should consider at least 10 gallons of water per fish.

Water Parameters

It is important for this fish to live in an aquarium that provides similar parameters as in its natural habitat. The temperature should remain in a range of 78-85°F (25-30°C). The water pH level is also very important since this fish lives in Amazon, and it has around 6.0 pH. The optimal pH range for this fish would be 6.0 – 7.5. The water hardness ranges from 6-14 dGH, and moderate to subdued lighting is suggested. 

It is important to have a slow to moderate water flow since this fish lives in such a water environment in its native habitat. The filtration system is vital for this fish, and you should pay attention to it. As for the Oxygen and Nitrates levels, they should be monitored. 

Breeding

Breeding Electric Blue Ram Cichlids is quite simple if you give them the proper condition to breed. They tend to spawn every few weeks. Prepare to welcome a hundred of fries if so. The best choice is to separate the pair from other fish, as they tend to fight during breeding in order to protect the fries.

They will become aggressive in the spawning period and harass the tankmates that try to get close to their territory. An ideal choice would be adding Christmas Moss or Java Moss in order to create a place to hide from the fires. This will calm down the parents.

Electric Blue Ram Cichlid White Color

Breeding Electric Blue Ram Cichlid can lead into new colors specie.

The female will lay the eggs on flat surfaces. A rock would be perfect for that, although it is good to have other optional surfaces in order to let the pair choose. When breeding, the temperature should be eventually increased to 84° F (30°C) for a few days. It is important to slowly raise the temperature a degree per day since this fish is sensitive to drastic changes and can kill it. 

The parents should be fed a regular diet high in protein. This way, they will be ready to spawn. The female lays around 200 eggs, and the male fertilizes them. The eggs will hatch in 3 days, and the fires will swim five days after hatching.

You should be careful with new pairs as they tend to eat the spawns before they raise. In this case, make sure you feed them amounts of baby brine shrimps. However, adults have amazing parental skills. If a fry wanders too far from the territory, the parents will scoop it into their mouth and bring it back to their territory to keep them safe.

Sex Difference: How to Tell Male from Female?

It is very simple to sex Electric Blue Ram Cichlid. Trying to spot males and females can be a little challenging. The female is smaller in size with a more rounded body because of the belly. The male has a more slim body and is bigger in size, and has a more rounded forehead.

The female’s pectoral fins are shorter than the male’s, and inside the big black spot, they tend to have a blue reflection. On the other hand, the male has a matte black spot with no blue reflection. Their dorsal fins are more rounded, and the male’s dorsal fins are sharp and way bigger. 

Tank Mates

Electric Blue Rams Cichlid is a very peaceful fish, but when it comes to tankmates, it is important to share their tanks with fish that can thrive in high temperatures, as they are not flexible to it. Avoid large, aggressive fish, for example, large Central American or African cichlids, as their tankmates.

The best tankmates for this fish are:

  • Peaceful tetras
  • Livebearers
  • Corydoras
  • Plecos
  • Freshwater snails
  • Shrimp

They tend to eat baby shrimp, so be careful in this case.

Electric Blue Ram Cichlid Tank Mates

Keep Electric Blue Ram Cichlid with other peaceful fish. Provide a lot of hiding place with aquarium plants too.

Conclusion: Are Electric Blue Ram Cichlid Suitable for your Aquarium?

Electric Blue Ram Cichlid is an amazing fish that will enchant your tank, but it is a little difficult to maintain it. Although, you should be aware that this fish is sensitive to changes in water parameters, and you should pay attention to it. It is a very peaceful fish and also social if provided enough space for him. You should strictly maintain your aquarium and pay attention to feeding. 

The water parameters are a big deal when talking about this fish. If you are a beginner, you should think twice when planning to get this fish, as it is a little difficult to care for and grow it healthy. If you can do so, this fish will definitely be the jewel of your tank with its brilliant colors.

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I am Mario, a experienced fish keepr and the editor-in-chief of Epic Aquarium.

At Epic Aquarium, we take our commitment to providing comprehensive and unbiased reviews very seriously. Our team carefully reviews each product, and we only recommend the very best in terms of quality. We also consult with leading fish keeper experts to ensure that each article is based on the most reliable and up-to-date information available.

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