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Hi everyone,

Just after some information on Balloon Blue/Gold Rams.

Are these variants normal ... i mean, is it like dyed fish? I dont want to purchase them and find out that I have supported a bad fish practise.

Once again, your comments would be appreciated.

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Those who say they cant, Never will !!!

Baloon Rams are suposivly quite sensitive fish, and are a lot less hardy than Bolivian Rams. They are also supposed to eats snails. They are very pretty fish, and thats about all i know about them.

http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/profiles/533.htm
http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_ram.php

Hope they help.

They're human-bred variations of the "normal" blue ram, Mikrogeophagus ramirezi. These balloon fish are not found in the wild. They are not manmade hybrids however, and despite their odd appearance they seem to do just fine under good water conditions. Whether they are abominations is up to you, depending on if you prefer all-natural fish or not.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Aside from the fact I think they are one of the ugliest things ever they are not dyed or tortured to make them that way. It's just a genetic mutation like the gold ram and while I don't know the exact genetics involved I would guess breeding 2 ballon rams would always yeild a balloon ram unless bred back to a normal blue or gold ram. Their care is identical to that of the normal rams. Although I've heard they can be a bit more sensitive to water quality I'm not interested in buying some and testing that out for myself. If you do like them then I don't see any bad fish practices you'd be supporting.

Thanks everyone, decided I prefer the normal Blue Rams.

Cheers
Crusha

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Those who say they cant, Never will !!!