Final Stocking List

[Smells a bit fishy]

Right, I have my final stocking list for my tank:

6x yellow rainbowfish
2x Blue rams
10x panda corys
10x bleeding heart tetras
1x angelfish
1x blue gourami
4x mollies (the strange stocking)

I will be adding these over the next few months, a few at a time

What does everyone think?

 

[Westwood]

Sounds really good! I wouldn't have the mollies, but that is me!
How big is the tank?

 

[KittyKat]

I'd pass on the mollies too.

Is the tank tall enough for the angel? From experience, I'd want it to be 2ft tall.

 

[Smells a bit fishy]

It's not quite tall enouph however I inherited it and my missus won't let me rehome him, or the mollies. The tank is 4' x 15" x 15"

 

[KittyKat]

Hmm, it's up to you, but I would re-home the angel to a taller tank, if it was me.

 

[AmazonFTW]

A few things - Rainbowfish and mollies do better in hard, alkaline water, Rams are the opposite. Rams tend to do better in higher temperature which other species may not be able to tolerate. I don't know what you mean by 'blue gourami', blue dwarf, opaline..? Dwarf have had troubles atm due to over-inbreeding and an opaline could become aggressive.

I'd go for this:
6x yellow rainbowfish
10x panda corys
10x bleeding heart tetras
1x angelfish
4x mollies
2x bolivian rams

or

2x Blue rams
10x sterbai corys
14x bleeding heart tetras
1x angelfish

AmazonFTW

 

[Smells a bit fishy]

I have have these fish already:

4x molly
1x opaline gourami
1x angelfish

I have just bought but can return:

4x rainbowfish
2x well sold as dwarf ram, but I do think they are blue rams.

The rest is my future stocking. The gourami has been very timid towards anything in the tank, and I think he is a few years old, inherited him and the angelfish from a friend.

 

[Wills]

I agree with what was said about getting bolivian rams rather than blues or golds their Ph and temperature needs are hard to meet in a community tanks at times.

Wills

 

[StandbySetting]

+1, you're much better off with Bolivian Rams.

 

[Smells a bit fishy]

Is that a blue ram in your sig? As that looks identical to one of my rams, the other one has a black line running parallel with him through the middle, I havn't got pics, as they are very shy at the moment.

My missus chose the fish, I said to her get Bolivian rams but she wanted these "dwarf rams". Is it best to return them and get bolivan rams? Or will they be ok in a high PH tank?

 

[StandbySetting]

That is a blue Ram, KH + GH are more important but obviously they do have an influence on PH, temperature is quite important on tank bred specimens as most of them are quite week, Wild specimens are more tolerable of a wider range of conditions.

 

[Smells a bit fishy]

Ok, so what temp should it be at? I've got it set at 25C but I can up it a degree or 2 I think with the other fish in the tank.

Any ideas what te other ram could be? It doesn't have the black dorsel fin either? Could it be a female? Or another species?

 

[KittyKat]

Bolivian rams would be better, I would swap, if that was my tank.

I keep blue rams at 25 C without problems, but some people think that they can only survive or do better at 28-30 C.

Yes, dwarf ram is just another name for blue ram. The one with the horizontal stripe is probably an Apistogramma.

 

[Smells a bit fishy]

Ok, thanks all.

I will speak to my missus about changing them as the bolivians will do better.

Here are pics of both of them, they are certainly becoming more active, now they have settled down.

So if you can confirm both of these species, the top one is definitly a blue ram, but the last one im not sure, any help is much appreciated

 

[StandbySetting]

They're both M.ramirezi or Blue Rams.