{"product_id":"lm-h-f-lyretail-blue-ram-gt","title":"Lightly Medicated | H\/F Lyretail Blue Ram","description":"\u003ch3\u003eWhat “Lightly Medicated” means\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThis is the same animal as our non-quarantined listing, held briefly in our systems and given one short prophylactic course — a light treatment for ich and for internal and external worms — then observed eating in front of us before it goes home.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA light course knocks the parasite load down. It does not guarantee full removal, and we will not pretend otherwise.\u003c\/strong\u003e Ich is only killed in its free-swimming stage, and a short treatment window can miss cysts entirely; worm burdens can survive a single dose. Clearing an animal takes the full quarantine window — 40 to 90 days depending on the species — which is exactly what the \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/quarantine-program\"\u003eQuarantined listing\u003c\/a\u003e is for. This tier buys you a lower parasite load and a fish we have watched eat, not a cleared animal.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWe condition the fish on our end.\u003c\/strong\u003e Every animal we medicate is brought back onto prepared food on our own systems and is eating before it leaves — in practice it is rare for a lightly medicated fish to ship out and arrive sick. Do the same at your end: get it eating in your aquarium before you count it settled.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWhen it ships\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cp\u003ePlan on \u003cstrong\u003e3–5 days\u003c\/strong\u003e on our systems for the treatment course, and it does not leave until it is eating. \u003cstrong\u003eIf the animal is not already in our systems we source it first — allow up to two weeks for it to reach us before that clock starts.\u003c\/strong\u003e From the day you order, plan on roughly two and a half weeks in total.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eThe guarantees\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eShipped orders:\u003c\/strong\u003e 24-hour live guarantee from confirmed delivery.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eIn-store pickup:\u003c\/strong\u003e 7-day live guarantee — bring a water sample from your aquarium so we can test it before your livestock goes home with you.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003eWant the full program — treated, observed, confirmed eating, and covered for 28 days on pickup? That is the \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/quarantine-program\"\u003eQuarantined listing\u003c\/a\u003e. Run your own quarantine and just want the fish this week? The \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/non-quarantined-livestock\"\u003enon-quarantined listing\u003c\/a\u003e is cheaper still. The whole ladder is explained in \u003ca href=\"\/pages\/quarantined-vs-non-quarantined\"\u003eQuarantined vs Non-Quarantined\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003chr\u003e\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":50610266603757,"sku":"FRDWF4008","price":29.99,"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\/lm-h-f-lyretail-blue-ram-gt","provider":"YoCamron’s Aquatics","version":"1.0","type":"link"}