Cichlid names?

Question

I've been reading and I am confused on the names of cichlids.

Rams cichlid, german ram, butterfly cichlid, bolivian cichlid, gold ram?

Same or different? I'm thinking of keeping the bolivian cichlid because i heard that they are the easiest to keep in a planted tank compared to other cichlids. Does the bolivian ram dig up the substrate, because that would be bad. =(

Thanks!

Answer 1

rams cichlid, german ram and goldram are basically the same species, just that the goldram is goldish in colore and german ram is usually bluish

butterfly cichlid is a whole different cichlid
http://www.cichliddepot.com/library/american/butterflycichlid.php

bolivian ram
http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/cichlid/BolivianRam.php


They're in fact the easier ones to keep, since they're all peaceful and you can have your tank planted




Hope that helps
Good luck



EB

Answer 2

You are dealing with two different species:

1.) The ram (Microgeophagus ramirezi) is also called the German ram, butterfly cichlid, Ramirez cichlid, blue ram, etc.
The gold ram, is a color variety of the ram, but has more gold/yellow color than the normal ram.

2.) The bolivian ram (Mikrogeophagus altispinosus) is also known as the Bolivian butterfly, ruby cichlid, ruby clown cichlid, etc.

So you have two different species, and one color variety. More info about the Bolivian ram can be found on EVE's link.

Answer 3

I say, call them Gus, and that be the end to it all.
:D

Answer 4

I had one named Harvey....