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Lots of aquarists stay confused about the German blue ram and the electric blue ram. Most of the aquarists think both are different fish species. But actually, this is not true.
Ram cichlids were discovered and imported by Manuel Ramirez, in 1948. Electric blue ram cichlid is one of the popular strains of Mikrogeophagus Ramirezi (Ram Cichlid). This is comparatively costlier than GBR. The GBR variant came after the EBR by line breeding in Germany. Besides this, the size of GBR is greater than EBR.
What are the similarities between EBR and the GBR?
Electric blue ram and german blue ram both are cichlid fish. Both of these cichlids come from the Mikrogeophagus Ramirezi (ram cichlid). Like other cichlids, both of these cichlids’ origin are in South America. Specifically, both of these cichlids can be found in the Orinoco river basin of Venezuela and Colorado both.
Both of these cichlids need comparatively warmer water. The temperature should be between 25°C to 30°C. As the Orinoco river basin, South America has a relatively hotter environment and that is why ram cichlids love warmer water.
The pH level is one of the important parts for all aquarists. As a German blue ram and an electric blue ram comes from the same origin so both are comfortable at the same pH level. Both of these fishes like acidic water. From 5.0 to 7.0 is the most suitable range of pH level for both GBR and EBR.
Both electric blue ram and German blue ram are docile fish species. Though these are cichlids, still they are very good community tank species. If you want to build a community fish tank then both of these species can be good options for an aquarist.
But both of these fish species can become aggressive during their breeding period. At that time both of these species want to save their eggs and become territorial in nature. So this is better to keep these species in a breeding tank during this specific time duration.
Both of these fishes are docile in nature and so their tank mates should be docile too. Neon tetra, guppy, pleco, cardinal tetra, dwarf gourami, etc. all of these are basic community fishes that can be the best tank mates of both of these cichlids. This is better not to keep any aggressive species like convict cichlid, green terror, shark, etc. GBR and EBR will be the snacks of those aggressive species within a few hours/days (depending upon the aggression level).
What are the differences between EBR and GBR?
The basic and the most common difference between these fish species is their size. The size of a german blue ram is 2-2.5 inches and the size of the electric ram cichlid is 1.5-2 inches. That means EBR is a little bit smaller in size than GBR.
The colour of these fishes is also different from each other. A german blue ram is more colourful than an electric blue ram cichlid. A german blue ram is a combination of white/blue, yellow, and black colours. A GBR has white or bluish colour at its half of the body portion (Tail side). The front side is filled with yellow colour and it’s all fins’ colour is yellow. It has a blue shade on the white colour across the body.
The electric blue cichlid is generally fully blue in colour. It has a grey shade at the anal fin portion. It has red eyes. Rest all the colour of this fish is blue.
One of the main differences between these fish is their strain. Both of these fishes come from the ram cichlids but electric blue cichlids were discovered first by Manuel Ramirez. After that, he imported that fish to Germany and there the german blue ram has been discovered by the line-breeding process. This is the most relatable difference between these fish species.
Note:- Line breeding is a process where the researchers use two different types of the same species. These reproduce another type that has the best qualities of both of those types in the same species.
Can I keep an electric blue ram with a german blue ram together?
Both of these fish species are not so aggressive in nature. But aggression depends on species to species. Generally, both fish species can be kept together if the tank has enough space (min 75-gallon). One pair of each of the species is the most recommended. Smaller space and fewer hiding spots may increase its aggression of it.
This is the general answer about those species. Actually, this is tough to give a specific answer because some experts shared their experience that a male GBR was chased by a male EBR so frequently. Now if this happens then this will create stress in your fish tank and stress is not good for any type of aquarium fish.
But if you have a minimum 55-gallon planted fish tank then you can keep GBR and EBR together easily. But make sure to keep each of these fish species in a pair. This will help to reduce the aggression of fish.
So best of luck & happy fishkeeping 🐟
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