View Full Version : Scientific name for German Blue Ram
Visually, Blue Ram and German Blue Ram looks different - German Blue ram is somewhat more colorful and this is the species I am trying to get.
At LFS, they have one that is called "assorted rams", which doesn't give me much clue... :D It was also labeled Papiliochromis ramirezi. Is this German or non-German Blue Ram? I tried to look for both Blue Ram and German Blue Ram on the internet and they appear to use the same scientific names for both "species"...
Appreciate any feedback!
Color varieties and other cultivars all share the same scientific name - they are all the same fish, just selected or bred for color or form.
Hmm, for some reason, I thought German kind is a different species... Thanks for the clarification!
Tim Bo
09-23-2003, 1:12 PM
Same fish. Papiliochromis ramirezi is the older scientific name for the fish. Mi(c)krogeophagus ramirezi is the scientifically recognized name for the German Blue Ram or Blue Ram.
Here's a quote from an internet source:
"Like Kribensis, ichtyologists have provided some debate over the name of this interesting fish. Years ago it could be found under the latin name Apistogramma ramirezi (Myers & Harry, 1948), but in 1971, Herbert Alxelrod coined the name Microgeophagus in one of his publications and as of today the fish is officially recognized as Microgeophagus Ramirezi (usually spelled with a 'k' in Europe). As of today, the general concensus (supported by Romer and Kullander, Meulengracht-Madsen) is that the old name of Mikrogeophagus ramirezi is the valid name for the German Blue Ram. Older publications may refer to the fish as Papiliochromis Ramirezi (colorful butterfly - Politikens Forlag 1968, Kullander 1981]."