page_title: Ram cichlid
section_title: Reproduction
hierarchical_section_title: Ram cichlid / Reproduction
caption_attribution_description: English: An electric blue ram cichlid
context_page_description: The blue ram, 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.
context_section_description: Once sexually mature, the fish form monogamous pairs prior to spawning, and the males do not tolerate other males. The species is known to lay its small 0.9 - 1.5 mm, adhesive eggs on flattened stones or directly into small depressions dug in the gravel. Like many cichlids, M. ramirezi practices biparental brood care, with both the male and the female playing roles in egg-tending and territorial defense. Typical clutch size for the species is 150-300 eggs, though  clutches up to 500 have been reported. Parental ram cichlids have been observed to fan water over their eggs, which hatch in 40 hours at 29 °C (84 °F).
  The larvae are not free-swimming for five days, after which they are escorted by the male or the female in a dense school for foraging.
caption: An electric blue ram cichlid
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