{"product_id":"h-f-lyretail-blue-ram-gt","title":"H\/F Lyretail Blue Ram","description":"\u003cp\u003eGerman Blue Rams are the most vividly colored dwarf cichlid most freshwater keepers will ever encounter — a species that packs an almost bewildering amount of color into a fish that tops out at 2.5 inches. The High-Fin (H\/F) Lyretail strain extends that further with elongated dorsal fin rays and a lyre-shaped caudal fin, producing a fish that reads less like a small cichlid and more like something that wandered out of a reef tank by mistake.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhat the coloring doesn't tell you is how demanding these fish are about water quality. Rams evolved in warm, soft, slightly acidic Orinoco basin waters in Venezuela and Colombia, and captive breeding hasn't bred that preference out of them. They want water on the warmer side — 78–86°F is the genuine target, not the 72°F most community tanks run at — and they want it soft and clean. Alkaline hard water stresses them even if the temperature is right, and ammonia or nitrite spikes hit dwarf cichlids fast and hard.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eGet the chemistry right and you'll have a fish that pairs naturally, spawns readily, and guards eggs and fry with the full cichlid parenting intensity you'd expect from a much larger fish. A breeding pair in a planted tank is genuinely one of the finest things freshwater keeping has to offer.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eScientific name:\u003c\/strong\u003e Mikrogeophagus ramirezi\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOrigin:\u003c\/strong\u003e Orinoco River system, Venezuela and Colombia — warm, shallow savanna pools and streams\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWater parameters:\u003c\/strong\u003e Temp 78–86°F (warm water is non-negotiable) · pH 5.5–7.0 · GH 2–8 (soft water preferred)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTank requirements:\u003c\/strong\u003e 15–20 gal for a pair; 30+ gal for a community\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDiet:\u003c\/strong\u003e Omnivore — micro-pellets, frozen daphnia, baby brine shrimp, cyclops\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eCompatibility:\u003c\/strong\u003e Peaceful except when guarding spawn; keep with small, non-aggressive species\u003cbr\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eHusbandry note:\u003c\/strong\u003e Do not keep these fish in a cold community tank. The most common cause of ram death in home aquariums is running them at 72–74°F while assuming that's close enough. It isn't — and the decline is slow enough that it looks like it's working until it very much isn't.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"YoCamron's Aquatics","offers":[{"title":"GT \/ Individual","offer_id":50337334034669,"sku":"FRDWF4008","price":19.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0806\/1032\/8813\/files\/lg89938GermanBlueRam_76f10825-559b-40db-83c9-dfb2643c3dd3.jpg?v=1784694138","url":"https:\/\/www.yocamronsaquatics.com\/products\/h-f-lyretail-blue-ram-gt","provider":"YoCamron's Aquatics","version":"1.0","type":"link"}