Ram Cichlids (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi) are a popular choice among aquarium enthusiasts due to their vibrant colors, peaceful temperament, and fascinating behavior. Native to South America, these fish bring a splash of beauty and personality to any freshwater tank. This article delves into the specifics of Ram Cichlid care, covering everything from their natural habitat and tank setup to diet and breeding.
Understanding Ram Cichlids
Origin and Habitat
Ram Cichlids originate from the warm, slow-moving waters of the Orinoco River Basin in Venezuela and Colombia. Their natural habitat consists of sandy riverbeds, dense vegetation, and calm waters with soft, acidic conditions. They are accustomed to areas with low water flow and dim lighting, often hiding among aquatic plants and submerged roots.
Varieties of Ram Cichlids
Several varieties of Ram Cichlids are available, each with unique characteristics:
- German Blue Ram: The most common and recognizable variety, featuring an iridescent blue body with a yellow base and striking red or orange highlights. This variant is prized for its shimmering, neon-blue coloration.
- Golden Ram: Also known as Gold Ram (scientific name: Mikrogeophagus ramirezi var. “Gold”), this variant is highlighted with bright yellow/gold coloration mainly on the head, which slowly fades into shimmering silver at the end of the body. The Golden Ram displays a striking yellow glow. Males tend to exhibit more intense coloration, especially during the spawning period.
- Bolivian Ram (Mikrogeophagus altispinosus): A close relative of the Ram Cichlid, known for its hardiness.
- Electric Blue Ram: Displays a vibrant blue coloration.
- Black Ram Cichlid: Known for its stunning black coloration, complemented by a shimmering blue hue that highlights its scales.
Behavior and Temperament
Ram fish are peaceful and social freshwater fish, making them a great addition to community tanks. They are active during the day and enjoy exploring their surroundings, often displaying playful interactions with tank mates. These fish are highly intelligent and can recognize their owners over time. However, like many cichlids, blue rams can be a bit feisty if the fish tank is too small or they are tending their eggs.
Setting Up the Ideal Tank
Tank Size
A 20-gallon tank is suitable for a pair of Rams, but larger tanks (30-40 gallons) are recommended if you plan to house them in a community setting. If you wish to keep two pairs of rams, increase the aquarium size to 40 gallons so that each set has enough territory. For a single Gold Ram specimen, a 20-gallon fish tank is highly recommended. While keeping a pair of them, a double-sized tank should be preferable. Many reports showed that large tanks allow the water conditions to be more stable and monitored better.
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Filtration and Aeration
A reliable filtration system is essential for maintaining clean water and stable conditions. Use a filter with adjustable flow to ensure gentle water movement, as Rams dislike strong currents. Effective filtration is crucial for maintaining water quality, while moderate aeration ensures adequate oxygen levels.
Lighting
Rams prefer dim to moderate lighting that replicates the dappled sunlight of their natural habitat.
Substrate and Decorations
A sandy aquarium substrate is recommended, as it mimics their natural riverbeds and protects their delicate barbels. Golden Rams are content with a sandy substrate and plenty of refuge such as clay pots, driftwood, and rock formations. Add decorations such as driftwood, rocks, and caves to create hiding spots and breeding areas.
Plants
Live aquatic plants cannot be too dense but are required to imitate the natural environments. Go with the robust freshwater plants that endure similar conditions to those of the fish such as Java Fern, Amazon Sword, Wisteria, and Mosses like Marimo Moss Balls. They are absolutely the wise choice in terms of care and aquascaping intent.
- Java Fern: Rams can enjoy hiding among the leaves.
- Cryptocoryne: Cryptocoryne species thrive in low-light conditions and offer hiding spots for Rams. They’re perfect for the bottom or middle layers of the tank.
- Driftwood: Provides a natural habitat and hiding spaces for Rams.
- Smooth River Rocks: Provides a soft, textured environment for Rams to explore and hide.
- Amazon Sword: Adds vertical height and gives Rams places to swim through. It also tolerates a range of water conditions, making it easy to care for.
Water Parameters
Temperature
Ram Cichlids thrive in warm water with a temperature range of 78°F to 85°F (25°C-29°C). Golden Rams are pleased with warm temperatures having average ranges between 74° - 82°F (23° - 28°C). Most beginners aren’t aware that the most critical component of their husbandry involves keeping blue rams at high temperatures, ideally between 84-86°F (29-30°C). If you want to add live aquarium plants to their tank, make sure they can tolerate the hot water.
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pH and Hardness
Soft, slightly acidic water with a pH of 5.5 to 6.5 is ideal for Rams. As for water chemistry parameters, rams are fairly adaptable to a wide range of pH levels, but they do better in soft water or low GH conditions.
Water Quality
Rams are particularly sensitive to poor water quality. Keep ammonia and nitrite levels at 0 ppm, and nitrate levels should not exceed 20 ppm. Golden Ram should NOT be introduced to a newly cycled tank. These tank environments may not be stable, which easily adversely affect your fish health. Important note: Same as their relatives, German blue ram, they are extremely sensitive to shifts in water parameters, even the smallest one. Give them partial water changes at least once a week because they need plenty of fresh, clean water and are quite intolerant of ammonia and other toxins. Allowing the water quality to dip can lead to illness and potentially death.
Diet and Feeding
Nutritional Needs
Ram Cichlids require a diverse diet to meet their nutritional needs and enhance their vibrant colors. When it comes to diet, Golden Ram, amazingly, is not a picky eater at all. The fish are omnivores and can accept various types of high-quality fish food.
Recommended Foods
Offer a mix of the following:
- High-Quality Fish Flakes or Pellets: Provide a balanced base diet.
- Live and Frozen Foods: Brine shrimp, bloodworms, daphnia, and mosquito larvae offer essential nutrients and stimulate their natural hunting behavior. In our experience, these cichlids are not very picky, so you can feed them just about any dry food from the pet store, like sinking pellets, freeze-dried bloodworms, and freeze-dried tubifex worms. They also love frozen foods, such as brine shrimp, cyclops, bloodworms, and mysis shrimp for larger adults.
- Vegetable Matter: Occasionally add blanched vegetables and aquatic plants (e.g., spinach, cucumbers) to keep its diet balanced and ensure it gets all the essential nutrients and vitamins it needs to stay healthy.
Feeding Schedule
You can feed them once or twice a day. It is believed that the latter benefits your rams especially when they are growing up while the former is usually applied to adult specimens. Follow a good rule of thumb feed them the amount sufficient for them to consume within 2-3 minutes, and remove all leftover food after that time. It helps maintain the good quality of the water as well as not overfeed your rams.
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Feeding Habits
Golden Rams are well-known for their high appetites which make them seem to be hungry on most occasions (feed on whatever and whenever you provide, sometimes scavenge on the leftover food at the bottom of the tank). Nevertheless, it is fine to follow the old rules and feeding frequency as mentioned above. This maintains a balanced diet for your fish as well as not overfeeding them.
Tank Mates
Suitable Tank Mates
Yes, Rams fish are peaceful and can live with other community fish, provided the tankmates are non-aggressive. Ideal companions include small, peaceful species such as Tetras, Corydoras catfish, and Otocinclus catfish. Yes, they can live with almost any community fish that can tolerate the same high temperatures, such as tetras, Sterbai cory catfish, plecos, discus, angelfish, and other dwarf cichlids. When choosing tank mates, ensure that all species have similar temperature and pH preferences, typically around 75-82°F (24-28°C) and a pH of 6.5-7.5.
Incompatible Tank Mates
Dwarf freshwater shrimp and other small, delicate invertebrates should not be on the list given Golden Ram’s size (average size of 2 inches (5 cm)) and feeding habits. They are easily perfect prey for your Rams because their small dimensions make them fit in Ram Cichlids’ mouths and your Rams will definitely chase these tiny creatures concerning their nature. Instead, you can opt for more durable, peaceful, and larger shrimp and snails.
Breeding Ram Cichlids
Setting Up a Breeding Tank
Equip yourself with a separate breeding tank is highly recommended. Although some breeders allow their Golden Rams to spawn in the main aquarium, putting the chosen ones into a separate tank will increase the successful breeding rate while not disturbing the stable living conditions of other fish in that main aquarium. Create a favorable breeding environment that encourages your Rams to pair with each other. Simply lower the pH level to 5.8 - 6.0 and gradually raise the temperature in the breeding tank daily until it reaches 85°F. Get a 10-gallon aquarium with a lid and background to help them feel safer. Dean uses bare-bottom tanks with no substrate, but you can add some gravel if you like. Get a gentle sponge filter (or a small hang-on-back filter with a pre-filter sponge to prevent fry from begin sucked up), as well as an adjustable aquarium heater. In the corners of the tank, place various spawning sites, such as flat river stones or tiny terracotta pots and saucers.
Encouraging Spawning
If you spot the belly of the female Ram turning red and plump, it is highly likely that she is ready to spawn. In the next few days, you will find the eggs randomly laid on flat surfaces (like aquarium glass, plants’ leaves, etc.) and the parents busy caring for the nest. Get the adults ready for breeding by feeding them high-quality foods, as well as some live baby brine shrimp every day. Dean’s thought process behind this trick is that the abundance of fry food in the water signals to the parents that it’s a good time to spawn and then they are more likely to take care of the fry.
Egg and Fry Care
The eggs are about to hatch within 5-6 days provided the water quality and temperature are ideal. During this period, you may often see the parents guarantee sufficient oxygen for their eggs by waving the water nearby. New parents may eat the first two or three spawns they lay, so if you want to save the eggs, place them in a specimen container with a few drops of methylene blue to prevent fungus growth. Once they hatch in 3 to 5 days, do a 50% water change every day to gradually remove the medication, and feed them infusoria several times a day as their first foods. If the parents can take care of the fry themselves, then your job is a lot easier. Rams are attentive parents and will guard their eggs and fry.
Health and Lifespan
Lifespan
In a well-maintained home aquarium with optimal water conditions, Rams fish can live up to 3-4 years. Golden Ram Cichlids have a lifespan of 2 to 4 years with proper care. Their longevity depends on stable water conditions, a balanced diet, and low stress levels.
Common Health Issues
Sometimes, you may find it quite challenging to nurture these dwarf cichlids, especially when they’ve recently been added to a new aquarium. However, it happens just at the beginning because the fish need time to get accustomed to their new home. Once they are familiar with it, everything will be back to normal. A balanced diet with appropriate and clean living conditions are surely the main factors to prolong the lifespan of Golden Ram.
Maintaining Health
Maintaining optimal water quality, providing a well-planted tank with suitable hiding spots, and feeding a varied, nutritious diet, you create an ideal environment for these beautiful cichlids.
Purchasing Ram Cichlids
If you are considering buying Golden Ram Cichlids, visit Splashy Fish tropical fish store to buy Golden Ram Fish for sale and other Ram fish for sale online. When shopping at a fish store, make sure to select a robust, active ram that eats well and perhaps spars with other rams over the best spawning spots. Do not choose a skinny ram, especially if it has a hollow belly. Sick rams with these symptoms rarely recover, so pick the healthiest specimens possible. If you are looking for a pair to breed, Dean recommends choosing a colorful male with extended dorsal fins and nice pectoral fins. If you can find the female he is already paired with, you have a higher chance of successful breeding. Ram cichlids usually come from three sources: overseas fish farms, domestic fish farms (from your own country), or local breeders. If you purchase from a fish store, most likely the fish were imported from overseas. The cichlids may seem to have brighter colors or longer fins, but be careful because overseas farms sometimes use hormones that will artificially boost their appearance but also negatively impact their longevity. If you purchase from a domestic farm in the United States, they are often raised in Florida and may come in better condition than imported fish.