Water is relatively high CaCo2.
sorry I've no idea what this means
stories about how fussy and hard they are to keep.
I have 5 line bred ram juveniles presently, bought as a group of 5 several weeks ago.
I quarantined in a bare tank for a week or so, treating for external parasites initially (as I noted a few in the shop tank with rapid, slightly labored respiration) & just monitoring thereafter.
After impulsively buying these rams
(which had only landed the night before), I quickly set up a Q tank with wood & media stolen from existing tanks, did frequent water changes ...
I bought these fish as they had the nicest conformation I've seen in any M ramirezi in ages - good eye/body balance (not stunted or growth hormoned), suitable juvenile coloring (not hormoned for color dispaly), they were bright & active.
Over the weeks they haven't disappointed - they are first to the front of the tank when I walk over, into everything (shrimp have disappeared - perhaps forever
)
They are just reaching the stage where I'd expect to see fin extensions in the boys - time will tell if I managed to select a mix of male & female - at the time I looked for a mix of sizes, clear fins, some more dominant individuals, some more retiring.
The fish I bought have light gold heads & pale translucent bodies with outstanding blue/green iridescence & were simply labelled as "gold rams" (which they aren't
)
I prefer wt (wild type) blue rams but haven't seen any in ages with decent conformation - batches of supposed wild caught rams were over sized & oddly shaped
I think these fish do better in groups, especially as juveniles (don't try to keep a single juvenile ram), a "pair" might spawn together, then separate & choose other partners, other times a successful pair will claim the whole tank - understanding how to set up a tank for dwarf cichlids to delineate territory is important (Hint: apistogramma.com & input "ramirezi" into the search engine, "search titles only" )
I don't think M ramirezi are a difficult fish to keep (though they aren't beginner fish) - clean water, suitable tankmates, suitable tank décor
Perhaps the key is buying decent stock ... hormoned fish have often sustained permanent organ damage, extended medicating with acriflavine (& others) will also cause organ damage & sterility (some farms still raise fish in antibiotic baths) ...if you can find locally bred stock, they are likely worth the drive.
A Quarantine/Hospital tank is well worth setting up
This article was written for Discus but is a good foundation for any fish
Symptom Based Treatment of Common Discus Diseases by Dionigi Maladorno
(thanks to Dave H for continuing to host this fantastic article)
M ramirezi by Seriously Fish
