Blue Ram in a community tank?

[Carolinesugar]

hi all, i have just got back from my LFS, where my bf spotted some amazing blue rams. so we went and asked what they are like, and who they can live with, but the lady just sed in a loving home, cus she didnt really know much abt them.

in our tank at the moment, we have gravel as our substrate, loads of rocks and places to hide, and a few plants.

the fish in our tank at the moment are:

1 male paradise fish,
1 huge common pleco
1 silver shark
1 ruby finned shark
1 flying fox
2 clown loaches
1 Kuli loach
1 female swordtail
1 small male swordtail (hes neva grown much, just his fin and tail grow, his body stays small)
4 tiger barbs
1 sailfin male molly
1 female molly

can a blue ram live with these tank mates ? if he can, do we need to add more plants or rocks just to make sure he can go and hide away when he wants to be alone ?

should we get 1 male or 1 male and 1 female ? or is it a case of 1 male 2 several females ?

i have tried to find out as much as i can about them on here, but it seems there are all sorts of suggestions, so im not sure if we can have a ram in our tank or not, so if someone could advise me that would be great!

many thanks!

 

[aloaring]

How big is your tank? Have to tell you that you have some incompatible fish there the shark when they grow big will fight a lot. Plus silver sharks grow big and should be kept in a shoal. While the ruby shark will relentlessly chase your flying fox! Clown loaches and common plecs also grow to very large sizes!! Hope you got some big tanks!! As for a ram you should buy more than one otherwise they can get stressed.

 

[Carolinesugar]

How big is your tank? Have to tell you that you have some incompatible fish there the shark when they grow big will fight a lot. Plus silver sharks grow big and should be kept in a shoal. While the ruby shark will relentlessly chase your flying fox! Clown loaches and common plecs also grow to very large sizes!! Hope you got some big tanks!! As for a ram you should buy more than one otherwise they can get stressed.

hiya, well the tank is abt 36" long, 15 deep and 15 tall i think, im not sure how many gallons that makes it hold.

i know that the fish i have in the tank at the moment are not meant 2 be compatible, but they all get on just fine! the only fish that dont get on that well are the flying fox and the ruby shark, but it is the opposite to what you sed, the fox chases the shark, not the other way around, which i found strange, but they neva come to serious wounds or nething like that, as they just stay out of each others way. they are both about the same size now, 5" long i think, roughly.

the common pleco is almot fully grown, he can reach the top of the tank when he feels like it, he is abt 13" long, but gets on well with everyone else in the tank.

the silver shark was sold to us as a fish that is happier alone, and wont grow that big, but we have had him ages, and if push comes to shove when he is to big for the tank he can be put into a bigger tank (6ft long, 2ft deep and 2ft high) so thats not really a problem at the moment, cus he is happy in this tank.

as 4 the loaches, the clowns are almost fully grown now aswell, they have been in the tank along time! they are abt 4" long and 2" tall.

with all of the fish in this tank so far, does this mean i have the space 4 2 blue rams, or does it mean i dont have space 4 them in this tank ?

 

[ger87410]

With my cichlid tank, I had to make it a species tank, but there's a lot of different cichlids. None of my cichlids were getting along with any of my other fish. I don't see why rams would be different. Check on the internet to see what they go with.

 

[aloaring]

Well your tank is the same size as mine and if we went by the rules we would both be overstocked. so I am assuming you've got a really good filter and do regualr water changes. I also test my water all the time and theres nothing wrong with it and fish get along great so I don't hold by the rules. And if your tank is working for you then keep it that way.

Looking at your stock other than the plec you don't have any big fishes, that do big poos! so your filter should cope with some extra additions. So I think you should get a couple of rams!!

But a warning; They are not nasty to other fishes though mine does try to fight the keyhole (who are about 3 times bigger) but they will fight with each other you might be better off geting a group to start with. I found when i bought two one just outright killed the other and whenever we introduce new ones he harasses then to death. Or alternatively buy bolivian rams, not as colourful but great little characters. or another idea would be to try small swarf cichlids such as apistogrammas!
Hope this helps. tell me what you decide to do