New strain of Blue Rams in LFS

[Jim Anderson]

I live in Minnesota, USA, and for as long as I can remember all the Blue
Rams (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi) have been the 'German Blue Rams' from the
stock of German breeders that had bread a more colorfull (?) strain.
They are torpedo shaped, about 1/2 as high as they are long, with a flat
back and stomach.

Today at the local PetCo they have a tankfull of Blue Rams that were
much, much more rounded (Discus proportions), about one inch long and
about 7/8 inch high and very colorfull with tall fins and chubby
looking. These are not German Blue Rams.

Thinking of getting a pair for a new planted 30USGal, in the planning
stages.

Can anyone comment on these observations.
--
Hope this helps.
Jim Anderson
( 8(|) To email me just pull my_finger

[Elaine T]

Jim Anderson wrote:
> I live in Minnesota, USA, and for as long as I can remember all the Blue
> Rams (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi) have been the 'German Blue Rams' from the
> stock of German breeders that had bread a more colorfull (?) strain.
> They are torpedo shaped, about 1/2 as high as they are long, with a flat
> back and stomach.
>
> Today at the local PetCo they have a tankfull of Blue Rams that were
> much, much more rounded (Discus proportions), about one inch long and
> about 7/8 inch high and very colorfull with tall fins and chubby
> looking. These are not German Blue Rams.
>
> Thinking of getting a pair for a new planted 30USGal, in the planning
> stages.
>
> Can anyone comment on these observations.

Sounds like an angel or ballon ram. Or possibly hi-fin rams - I've only
seen those once. They're all selectively bred for the different body
shape, like fancy goldfish. For the most part, in the LFS where I
worked we had more trouble with the fancy rams than those with the
wild-type body shape like golds or German blues. It seems that
tinkering with the genetics of an already sensitive fish causes trouble.

BTW, you're a brave soul if you're considering buying any sort of ram at
PetCo!

--
__ Elaine T __
><__'> http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><

[Jim Anderson]

In article >, eetmail-
says...
> Jim Anderson wrote:
> > I live in Minnesota, USA, and for as long as I can remember all the Blue
> > Rams (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi) have been the 'German Blue Rams' from the
> > stock of German breeders that had bread a more colorfull (?) strain.
> > They are torpedo shaped, about 1/2 as high as they are long, with a flat
> > back and stomach.
> >
> > Today at the local PetCo they have a tankfull of Blue Rams that were
> > much, much more rounded (Discus proportions), about one inch long and
> > about 7/8 inch high and very colorfull with tall fins and chubby
> > looking. These are not German Blue Rams.
> >
> > Thinking of getting a pair for a new planted 30USGal, in the planning
> > stages.
> >
> > Can anyone comment on these observations.
>
> Sounds like an angel or ballon ram. Or possibly hi-fin rams - I've only
> seen those once. They're all selectively bred for the different body
> shape, like fancy goldfish. For the most part, in the LFS where I
> worked we had more trouble with the fancy rams than those with the
> wild-type body shape like golds or German blues. It seems that
> tinkering with the genetics of an already sensitive fish causes trouble.
>
> BTW, you're a brave soul if you're considering buying any sort of ram at
> PetCo!
>
>
Thanks Elaine-
I've heard of Balloon Rams, never seen one. I have a nice PetCo, the new
fish manager does a very good job with the care of his charges, really
turned his shop around for the better. They were losing their shirt
killing all the sal****er fish, so they hired someone more quallified I
guess. I was hardware shopping and just happened to notice the Rams.

--
Hope this helps.
Jim Anderson
( 8(|) To email me just pull my_finger

[Elaine T]

Jim Anderson wrote:
> In article >, eetmail-
> says...
>
>>Jim Anderson wrote:
>>
>>>I live in Minnesota, USA, and for as long as I can remember all the Blue
>>>Rams (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi) have been the 'German Blue Rams' from the
>>>stock of German breeders that had bread a more colorfull (?) strain.
>>>They are torpedo shaped, about 1/2 as high as they are long, with a flat
>>>back and stomach.
>>>
>>>Today at the local PetCo they have a tankfull of Blue Rams that were
>>>much, much more rounded (Discus proportions), about one inch long and
>>>about 7/8 inch high and very colorfull with tall fins and chubby
>>>looking. These are not German Blue Rams.
>>>
>>>Thinking of getting a pair for a new planted 30USGal, in the planning
>>>stages.
>>>
>>>Can anyone comment on these observations.
>>
>>Sounds like an angel or ballon ram. Or possibly hi-fin rams - I've only
>>seen those once. They're all selectively bred for the different body
>>shape, like fancy goldfish. For the most part, in the LFS where I
>>worked we had more trouble with the fancy rams than those with the
>>wild-type body shape like golds or German blues. It seems that
>>tinkering with the genetics of an already sensitive fish causes trouble.
>>
>>BTW, you're a brave soul if you're considering buying any sort of ram at
>>PetCo!
>>
>>
>
> Thanks Elaine-
> I've heard of Balloon Rams, never seen one. I have a nice PetCo, the new
> fish manager does a very good job with the care of his charges, really
> turned his shop around for the better. They were losing their shirt
> killing all the sal****er fish, so they hired someone more quallified I
> guess. I was hardware shopping and just happened to notice the Rams.
>
Nice to hear that one of the chains has its act together!

If all the fish in the PetCo tank are healthy and you really like the
unusual look of the fish, you might give them a try. A lightly stocked
30 gal planted tank is certainly a good way to go for rams. Just don't
get discouraged if the balloon rams don't work out.

--
__ Elaine T __
><__'> http://eethomp.com/fish.html <'__><

[bottom feeder]

Jim Anderson wrote:
> I live in Minnesota, USA, and for as long as I can remember all the Blue
> Rams (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi) have been the 'German Blue Rams' from the
> stock of German breeders that had bread a more colorfull (?) strain.
> They are torpedo shaped, about 1/2 as high as they are long, with a flat
> back and stomach.
>
> Today at the local PetCo they have a tankfull of Blue Rams that were
> much, much more rounded (Discus proportions), about one inch long and
> about 7/8 inch high and very colorfull with tall fins and chubby
> looking. These are not German Blue Rams.
>
> Thinking of getting a pair for a new planted 30USGal, in the planning
> stages.
>
> Can anyone comment on these observations.

Just a warning to you: Don't buy any Ram at PetCo. I work there, so
I'm not just trying to bash the place. Wherever they get their fish
(It's probably a fishery out of Florida, but I think some of the fish
are Asian bred.) does not do a good job taking care of their stock. I
went through 3 pairs of Rams before I finally went to a smaller local
store and found some tank raised ones.

--
dan

[Jim Anderson]

In article >,
says...

> Just a warning to you: Don't buy any Ram at PetCo.
> [snip]
> Dan

Thanks Dan.

--
Hope this helps.
Jim Anderson
( 8(|) To email me just pull my_finger