Gold Ram Care Guide
The Gold Ram is a xanthistic selectively bred form of Mikrogeophagus ramirezi with a golden-yellow body, needing warm, soft, clean water.
Overview
The Gold Ram is a selectively bred xanthistic form of Mikrogeophagus ramirezi, a dwarf cichlid endemic to the Orinoco River basin in the savannahs of Venezuela and Colombia. It shows a bright golden-yellow body. Care is the same as for the wild ram.
Taxonomy
- Family: Cichlidae
- Genus: Mikrogeophagus
- Scientific name: Mikrogeophagus ramirezi "Gold"
- Base species: Mikrogeophagus ramirezi
Habitat
The wild ram inhabits the Orinoco llanos, a region of tropical savannah and seasonally flooded plains and forests. Its natural waters are warm and acidic with very low dissolved mineral content.
Tank requirements
- Minimum tank volume: 80 L
- Temperature: 26-30 °C (79-86 °F)
- pH: 5.5-7.0
- GH: 1-8 °dGH
- Water flow: low
- Lifespan: 2-4 years
Clean, stable water is important, as the ram is a poor competitor sensitive to declining conditions. A sand substrate suits its substrate-sifting feeding behaviour.
Diet
Naturally benthophagic, the ram sifts the substrate for food. It is an omnivore in the aquarium and accepts live and frozen foods such as bloodworm, Artemia and Daphnia alongside quality sinking prepared foods, fed about twice daily.
Compatibility
A peaceful, mid-water dwarf cichlid forming monogamous pairs; males are intolerant of other males. It suits planted community tanks with small tetras, corydoras and otocinclus, and should be kept away from tiger barbs, angelfish and aggressive cichlids.
Breeding
M. ramirezi is a biparental substrate spawner. Adhesive eggs are laid on flat surfaces and both parents guard the brood; clutches of roughly 150-300 eggs hatch in about 40 hours near 29 °C, with larvae free-swimming after around five days. Breeding difficulty is intermediate.