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I bought a couple of what the LPS called Blue Rams. One died within a couple of days and I bought another from an LFS who called his "angel" rams.

From pics I've been seeing online the Blue Rams seem to have blunt tails, mine have long feathery tails, they're colored yellow at front to blue irridescent towards back. Sometimes they're very bright, while other times paler.

My question is how do I know if I have Ramirezi or Altispinosus?

If you compare pictures side by side, it's pretty easy to tell the species apart.

Mikrogeophagus altispinosus:
http://fishprofiles.com/files/profiles/531.htm

M. ramirezi:
http://fishprofiles.com/files/profiles/533.htm

M. altispinosus is a larger, stockier species and has different coloration than M. ramirezi.

One other possibility is that the "angel" rams are a variant of M. ramirezi. There are different color, fin, and body types that have been bred out in these fish.

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One other possibility is that the "angel" rams are a variant of M. ramirezi. There are different color, fin, and body types that have been bred out in these fish.

I have heard about "Angel Rams" on other forums. I do think they are a variant of Blue Rams, M. ramirezi. I have not seen a picture of them though, but from the talk about them, it seems they are bred from Blue Rams.

Do you have a picture? I'd love to see one, as I've never actually seen a pic of these "angel rams".

*Kristin*

Yep, Angel Rams are a long finned variety
of the Blue Ram, ramirezi.


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Be advised in addition that the two species possess an interesting difference in maintenance requirements. Teh bolivian Ram, altispinosia, will live happily at what might be termed 'normal' water temperatures and usually only needs to go to 80 degrees F or above for breeding. It will live happily at 76. On the other hand, ramirezi is a well documented "sauna lover" that likes to be maintained at 80 or 82, and for breeding goes as high as 86 or even 88 degrees F. Strictly speaking, ramirezi should, upon account of this, be a 'special order' fish instead of a commonly sold one, because if you put ramirezi in an aquarium that's too cool, it will succumb to disease. It's native waters in Venezuela are shallow and exposed to the full glare of equatorial sunshine, so it's evolved over time to live in warm water. So you should be looking at similar "sauna loving" species for companions - fishes such as Rummy Nosed Tetras, which again prefer to be kept around the 78 to 80 mark for maintenance, and need around 82 or 84 for breeding.Don't EVER mix ramirezi with fishes that like it relatively cool such as Panda Corys because the combination will be a disaster for one species or the other.


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