# Question about Electric Blue Rams Mouths opening /closing



## james_uk (Aug 12, 2015)

Hi, I have 2 male Electric Blue Rams, I believe they are also called German Blue Rams?
They are gorgeous fish, they seem to look better with the lights off than they do with the lights on which is a shame though, the blue glow just looks better with the lights off, in my tank anyway.

I have only had them for around 2 weeks, from Pets At Home, pretty dear as well 2 for £30 that’s probably the most I’ve ever paid for tropical fish. at the time i asked if i'd be better with 2 males or a male and a female mix, he said he's personally had 2 males before and had no issues, since getting mine home though one has chased the other one as soon as he sees him.

My tank has been running for a year and a half fine with no issues, no diseases as all, and within a couple of days of introducing the rams i started noticing little white dots over them, also started covering my tetra's as well.

So i got some protozin which seems to have been great, on the 3rd day all fish had no signs of any white spots, so gave them the 4th dose as indicated on the 6th day as a precaution.

The main question though is since i put the Rams in my tank i have always noticed their mouths look like they open and close a lot, i really don’t know if its heavy breathing or normal for them? they seem to have always done it.

Now the white spots gone, which I’m really not happy that it happened as I’m assuming it must have been from them, i also don’t know if i would have been best with a male and female as one gets chased a lot.

There is a lot of hiding places so it’s not constant as such just when they see each other, the odd thing is when the lights are out i see them swimming quite happily together lol

They eat fine and don’t come to the top of the tank for air etc, so I’m kind of thinking the mouths opening and closing might be normal, is it?

Thanks

James


----------



## evander508 (Apr 6, 2015)

do you have an air pump?


----------



## mambee (Jul 19, 2013)

The blue ram is mikrogephagus ramirezi and is from Venezuela. I think the German blue is just a line bred version of the regular blue ram. Gold rams, electric blue rams, etc. are just different man made variations of the regular blue ram. The Bolivian ram however is a different species.

Blue rams can be delicate but will thrive under proper conditions. They thrive in very warm, acidic water. That is why you often see them kept with discus. Warm water has less oxygen, so make sure that filter return disrupts the water's surface.

If you use a canister filter, you can add an Eheim air diffusor which costs about $7.

Keeping your rams in warm water should keep ich at bay. Good companion fish which appreciate the same conditions are cardinal and rummy nose tetras.

As rams are cichlids, they can be somewhat aggressive towards each other. You can spread out the aggression by adding more rams and by adding plants and driftwood to allow them to establish their own territories.


----------

