Should I buy it?
German Blue Ram
Mikrogeophagus ramirezi
Also known as: ram, mikrogeophagus ramirezi, Ram, Mikrogeophagus ramirezi
Fishori provides conservative planning guidance, not guarantees.
Based on multiple reputable aquarium care sources with strong agreement. Use the numbers here as planning defaults — your room, water, and routine still shape real-world outcomes.
Small cichlid for warm soft-water tanks. Sensitive to nitrate, cold spots, and farm-bred weakness. Not a beginner fish despite the 5 cm size.
Best for
Mature 80L+ soft-water planted tanks held at 27 to 30 °C with low nitrate.
Avoid if
Your tap is hard and alkaline, your tank runs at 24 °C, or this is your first cichlid.
Top things that go wrong
- Shrimp & snails. Shrimp: compatible in most setups. Cherry shrimp and other dwarf species coexist with peaceful small fish, though baby shrimp are food for almost any fish that gets to them.
Common mistakeRunning the tank at 24 °C to match community fish. Rams need 27–30 °C. Below 26 °C, immune function drops and ich and internal parasites follow.
What most shops don't tell you
- 1.Adding a wild pair to a fresh 80L the day cycling finishes. Rams crash on nitrate spikes that mollies would shrug off.
- 2.Splitting an established pair to swap in a better-coloured male. The replacement gets pinned in the corner and stress-fades inside a week.
- 3.Wants warm soft acidic water on a steady reading, not a tap match. Farm-bred lines crash in mature-looking 60L tanks once nitrate creeps over 20 ppm. Not a first cichlid.
About this species
German blue rams are South American dwarf cichlids that reach 5 cm. They live in soft warm savannah streams and want that chemistry in the tank. A pair shares a community line until they pick a flat rock to spawn on, then defends that patch.
- Agassiz’s dwarf cichlid80L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Apistogramma Borellii80L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Apistogramma Trifasciata80L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Apistogramma Macmasteri100L min · same group, similar adult size
- Checkerboard cichlid100L min · same group, similar adult size
- Cockatoo / crested Apistogramma100L min · same group, similar adult size
- Kribensis100L min · same group, similar adult size
- Bolivian Ram110L min · same group, similar adult size
- Adolfoi coryalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Bamboo Shrimpalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Black ruby barbalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Bolivian Ramalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Brown / hockey-stick pencilfishalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Cardinal Tetraalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Angelfish tank mateslists this fish as a safe and recommended mate
- Cardinal Tetra tank mateslists this fish as a safe and recommended mate
- Discus tank mateslists this fish as a safe and recommended mate
- Rummy Nose Tetra tank mateslists this fish as a safe and recommended mate
Plan grid
Key limits are shown above; this section adds planning detail: pH band, swim level, bioload and activity, and the radar.
Swim zones
Planning trait chart
Six indices for comparing species on paper before you spend.
- Beginner ease41
- Peacefulness82
- Community fit73
- Small-tank fit100
- Hardiness57
- Energy54
Numbers are deterministic planning indices from Fishori fields — not a scientific score of your individual fish.
Common setup sketches
Conservative patterns from Fishori fields — still run the pair checker for every species you add; sketches are not a stocking guarantee.
Rough 90L+ layout: one calm centrepiece, 8–12 small tetras/rasboras, 6–8 corydoras-type bottom fish — verify every name in the pair checker before buying.
Safe directions on file include: Neon Tetra, Cardinal Tetra, Corydoras Catfish.
Avoid “one of everything” baskets — German Blue Ram belongs in a plan built around territory, line-of-sight breaks, and matched water chemistry.
Tank mate intelligence
Pair with cardinal tetras, rummy-nose tetras, corydoras, or otocinclus. Skip nippy barbs and any larger cichlid.
Pair-level compatibility with this fish as anchor.
Read the blocking rule on each pair page before experimenting.
Do-not-stock combinations on conservative hobby rules.
Compare with
Run a real pair check: German Blue Ram + Neon Tetra
Behaviour, temperament, and what to watch
Prose and lists come from the same record: read temperament first, then glass-level signals so you are not surprised after day three.
Pairs claim a corner the day they bond and snap at neighbours that cross the patch. Peaceful between brood cycles and tolerant of dither tetras.
Stress / aggression triggers on file
- Sudden crowding
- Poor water quality
Fin nipping: Not a habitual fin-nipper, but individuals can still test fins under stress or in a crowded tank.
Predation: Not a predator toward similarly-sized community fish. The usual community caveats about mouth size still apply for very small fry or shrimp.
Territory: Holds territory on substrate, in caves, or at the surface film. Break the line of sight with hardscape, and avoid placing the tank where the fish can see its own reflection.
Planted tanks: excellent — easy plant ideas
In the glass: typical and warning signs
- Moderate pacing — not hyperactive, not motionless.
- Clamped fins, gasping at the surface, hiding non-stop, or refusing food after the first week.
- Rapid breathing when parameters swing — fix ammonia/nitrite first, then reassess mates.
- Corner guarding, flaring, or body-blocking — territory is normal until it becomes relentless.
- Separate or rehome if injuries appear, one fish is pinned, or feeding becomes a daily chase.
- If water is stable but behaviour worsens, reduce stocking or remove the highest-impact species first.
Fish behaviour can vary between individuals and tank setups. Always observe new fish closely after introduction.
Care parameters: water, food, inverts, grouping
Chemistry and group rules sit here so you are not re-reading the same line from tank mate or temperament blocks. Swim level is in the plan grid above.
Hardness
soft
Diet
omnivore
Mixed diet: a quality flake or pellet as the staple, with frozen or live foods two or three times a week.
Shrimp & snails
Shrimp: compatible in most setups. Cherry shrimp and other dwarf species coexist with peaceful small fish, though baby shrimp are food for almost any fish that gets to them.
Kept singly or as a paired setup. Check the species profile before doubling up in one tank.
Breeding behaviour depends on the species. Research before you buy a mixed-sex group of this fish.
- Hold 26 to 30 °C steadily on a real thermometer, not the dial on the heater.
- Aim for pH 5.5 to 7 and a hardness you can re-test in two weeks. A one-time strip in the shop car park is not a water test.
- Footprint: short wide tanks and tall narrow tanks fish differently for the same volume. Match the tank shape to the swim pattern, not just the litre count.
- Tank volume meets or exceeds 80L published minimum for adults.
- Heater can hold 26–30°C without cooking cooler-water tank mates.
Explore and stocking hubs
Same library as the rest of Fishori: tank-mate index for this species, category peers, guides, and litre-based stocking lists where min tank on file is within the hub volume.
Plan with tools
Pair-level rules and multi-fish stocking use the same conservative engine — add this fish in the tank builder only after mates pass pair checks.
Filtration & heating
A 80L minimum tank needs a filter rated for at least 320L/hr turnover and a heater to hold 26–30°C reliably.
Plant suggestions
German Blue Ram does well in planted tanks. Plants compatible with 26–30°C and pH 5.5–7:
Profile status: verified · Evidence tier: high · 3 linked source(s). Fishori does not fabricate citations.
Fishori uses conservative planning rules based on these sources.
Confidence is explained in the summary at the top of this page (same tier as here), not repeated below.
How Fishori evaluates compatibility (same logic as pair and tank tools).
- Seriously Fish. Mikrogeophagus ramirezi
Primary: aquarium size, water chemistry, behaviour, and compatibility (URL verified in upgrade script; recheck if site content changes).
- FishBase. Mikrogeophagus ramirezi
Secondary: taxonomy, distribution, and maximum length in nature; cross-check with aquarium import lines and measured tank parameters.
- Wikipedia. Mikrogeophagus ramirezi
Secondary: general species context; verify all husbandry numbers against a dedicated aquarium care sheet and your test kit, not a single table row.
Evidence notes
- The Seriously Fish profile for the binomial in this record was successfully reached as the primary aquarium reference.
- FishBase contributes natural-range size and habitat context. Translate those numbers through your heater, your water report, and your tank footprint before stocking.
- Wikipedia is only cited if the article URL returned OK. Use it for orientation, not as the only care sheet for an import.
- All compatibility text reflects typical hobby experience and the Fishori model. Individual fish, shop stress, and the order tank mates are added in can still defy a single-paragraph label.
- Fishori profiles work from typical aquarium trade sizes and hobby care norms. Specialist site checks and literature review for this species are not yet recorded here, so the ranges on this page are planning numbers rather than guarantees.