Helllo from Spain!

[edu_dl]

Hello from Spain.
My name is Eduardo.
Yesterday I bought two couples of micro cyclids. I bought them as rams but one of the couples clearly is not.

I have thought that maybe they are apistos and that is why I decided to come here and ask for your expert help.

 

[edu_dl]

And now the male

Sorry for the bad pictures and bad English

 

[Culprit]

Hello Eduardo,
hard to tell from the pix but looks like you got a German blue and an electric blue ram .

 

[edu_dl]

Thank you Culprit

I toke some more photos.

As you can see they are half size of ramirezi and they already seem to show sexual differences so I suposed that they are not ramirezi

I hope these pictures will help more.

 

[MickeM]

Hi !

Your pics seem to show the recently developed/odd form (electric blue "Ram" /Ramirezi!!??) . They ought to be bred from the original or German Blue ramirezi.
I do believe the breeders "trick/manipulate" with their "colour genes" to get that "monolithic"?? blue colour!!??
They look like juveniles, so they are not that old..

The "orginal" colour/variant/type is the female with the red belly. That`s the colours they usually have when you buy them in Pet shops. I think they have gotten their nickname "German Blue" since some breeders from Germany was breeding them and got/developed really nice blue colours on his/her juveniles...??

The wild caught ones that some times get ordered in by some Pet shops are not close to that female you`ve got..( in colours)
They are more yellowish ..at least when arriving directly from the nature.

However.. if they were that colourful in nature.., they might be spotted/detected and maybe predatory fishes/birds/animals could catch and eat them much easier..??
I think they live in small, slow-streaming creeks(?)/ waters with really fine small-sized sandy gravel in Venezuela ??!!

If you search the web , I believe their name is Microgeophagus ramirezi (used to be Papiliochromis ramirezi).

Their old name+ behaviour is the reason for their swedish nickname - "Butterfly cichlid" (Papilio...). Probably refering to their quick and sudden way to move their bodies/fins !!

The Electric Blue Ram and the German Blue Ram are not their own species ... they are variants/morphs(?) /"aquariumstrains"?? of the wild, original Microgeophagus ramirezi.

Very beautiful fishes !!

By the way..the males don`t get the red bellies !! ( I don`t know for sure if the El.blue females get redish??..maybe pink/purple if I remember it correctly??)

They will/ might "crossbreed" if they want to..

Cheers !!

/MickeM.

 

[MickeM]

Forgot to clarify/mention, the "Rams" are no Apistogrammas ... they belong to Microgeophagus !!
( If that name is still valid? )