Angel rams/balloon rams

[esoepr1976]

Anybody here have experience/knowledge about with angel rams (aka balloon rams)? I went to my LFS today to see if they had any BN plecos. Luckily he had one left, and it is now happily munching the brown algae in my tank. But in another tank, he had a fish I'd never seen before, labeled as an angel ram. It looked very much like a cross between an angel and a ram, but I didn't think that was possible. I asked the owner about the fish. He said he had hesitated getting them in before, assuming they were hybrids, but a customer researched them and told him they weren't. He said they were a SA cichlid and that was about all he knew. (he specializes in cichlids, but mostly africans). They were a very pretty fish, but they were $15 a fish, and I noticed that a few of them in the tank had ich, so I didn't get any. (also I knew nothing about them, so I needed to research them before buying). Fortunately the BN was in a totally separate disease free tank. So, are these similar to other rams? Are they more/less hardy? Are they nicer/meaner?

Emily

 

[metricliman]

They are mutated GBR's that were line bred to produce the ballon shape. This also shortens the lifespan of the fish.

 

[DavidZ]

Any pics?
$15 seems a bit high

 

[Star_Rider]

actually they are Mikrogeophagus Ramirezi aka Blue ram, specifically bred for the 'balloon' trait. much the same as the 'German' blue Ram was bred for the 'blue'trait and gold rams bred for the yellow or gold color
they are not hybrids.
I do not believe that the 'ballon' trait occurs in the wild.

 

[fishorama]

I think "angel rams" carry both the balloon & long fin traits, neither are fish I'd buy...balloon fish have shortened bodies & are more delicate & shorter lived than normal rams (& IMHO ugly). The long fin trait is not as detrimental except for inbreeding to promote the "beautiful" fins.
Both traits are becoming more common in more species, not a good thing to me personally...but to each their own...

 

[esoepr1976]

Thanks for the replies. I had no way of getting pics in the store. I thought the fish were kinda pretty, but I think they would be prettier w/out the balloon body. I also figured the 'balloonness' might shorten their lifespan. I too thought the $15 price was high, but had no comparison. I liked the long fins. I wouldn't have bought them at any price though, because they had ich.

Emily