Ram cichlid

Species of fish

The ram cichlid (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi) is a species of freshwater fish endemic to the Orinoco River basin, in the savannahs of Venezuela and Colombia in South America. The species has been examined in studies on fish behaviour and is a popular aquarium fish, traded under a variety of common names, including ram, blue ram, German blue ram, Asian ram, butterfly cichlid, Ramirez's dwarf cichlid, dwarf butterfly cichlid and Ramirezi. The species is a member of the family Cichlidae and subfamily Geophaginae.

Male specimens of the ram usually have the first few rays of the dorsal fin extended, but breeding has made some females also show this. When close to spawning, female rams have a pink or red blush on the abdomen. Females also have a blue sheen over the spot just below the dorsal fin, or a sparse scattering of blue scales in the upper half of the dark spot, and males do not show this. Males are slightly larger than females, with this species reaching 34–40mm.

The natural habitat of M. ramirezi is warm (25.5 29.5 °C, 78–85 °F), acidic (pH 5.2 6.7) water courses in the Llanos savannas of Venezuela and Colombia. The water is generally slow flowing, contains few dissolved minerals, and ranges in colour from clear to darkly stained with tannins. or directly into small depressions dug in the gravel. George S. Myers and R. R. Harry (1948) originally described the species as Apistogramma ramirezi, though the species was later moved to and from various genera, including: Microgeophagus, Papiliochromis, Pseudoapistogramma, and Pseudogeophagus.

The ram cichlid is popular in the tropical freshwater community aquarium. While some larger cichlids are not well suited for a community tank, if a male and female pair of this specific type are placed in a community tank, they can do well.

Numerous color morphs of M. ramirezi have been developed in Asia for the fishkeeping hobby. These include numerous xanthic morphs, known as gold rams or electric blue, along with larger, high bodied, fattened "balloon" forms, and long finned varieties. Many of these varieties suffer from lower fertility, health problems, or reduced brood care in comparison to wild type specimens.