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The German blue ram is a beautifully colored and fairly peaceful dwarf cichlid. It is a popular aquarium fish. This fish is a perfect tank mate for discus. The scientific name of the German blue ram is Mikrogeophagusramirezi. It belongs to the subfamily Geophaginae in the cichlid family. The fish is named after Manuel Ramirez, one of the first collectors and importers of German blue rams for the aquarium trade. The German blue ram has been given many different common names in English, many of them alluding to the beautiful coloration of this species or to a specific strain. It is, for instance known as Blue Ram, Golden Ram, Butterfly cichlid and Dwarf butterfly cichlid. The names Ramirez's dwarf cichlid, Ramirezi, Ram cichlid and Ram are also used.