German rams

[Siamese Fighter05]

Im having a new tank and im looking to put a pair of rams in it.
It will be a communtity tank with these fish.
About 10 cories
10 tetras
Tank is 4ft and looks like the regular shape. im not sure how many gals it hold atm but will probably be somewhere around 37?
My water is slightly alkaline and medium to hard. I know they prefer the opostite to these conditions so i was just asking to see if theyd be ok?

 

[MasterP]

They might survive, but most need good water quality so i wouldn't take the risk.

Sorry

 

[Ben]

sounds fine
But i would cut it down to around 6 corys as they share the same level as the tank as rams and 10 would disturb the rams alot

DD

 

[Siamese Fighter05]

Thanks for your responses, i guess ill have to give the rams a miss

 

[RedShark]

I just bought a ram and one other mild mannered cichlid for my 30 g tank and immediately after i put them in there the both hid in caves and behind trees. The german blue ram is constantly moving his mouth, he looks like hes eating something and only staying in one place in the tank. im thinking of putting him in my 10 g planted tank b/c the water perameters are much better. He's only an inch so i dont think he'll mind the size too much, plus its only for the meantime. The other cichlid is in the cave, not moving a muscle, must have been the half hour drive. Ummm.... Whats normal behavior for these guys when first introduced to a new aquarium w/ good water perameters?

 

[pseud]

I just bought a ram and one other mild mannered cichlid for my 30 g tank and immediately after i put them in there the both hid in caves and behind trees. The german blue ram is constantly moving his mouth, he looks like hes eating something and only staying in one place in the tank. im thinking of putting him in my 10 g planted tank b/c the water perameters are much better. He's only an inch so i dont think he'll mind the size too much, plus its only for the meantime. The other cichlid is in the cave, not moving a muscle, must have been the half hour drive. Ummm.... Whats normal behavior for these guys when first introduced to a new aquarium w/ good water perameters?

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In my experience Rams are extremely sensitive. I've found the females to be more so than the male. Great water quality is essential. They get stressed very easily and very quickly. My female took a good couple of days to settle in fully, was pretty tense.

 

[scrappy]

I live in a hard water area and the pH is normally around 7.6 - 7.8, my rams are fine (aswell as all the other fish i keep), swim about the tank nicely and have also spawned. Therefore i dont believe that pH is a sole reason for being a definite "no-no", they can and will adjust (most LFS use RO water that is mixed with local tap water anyway so if you buy them locally they are being kept at the shop with similar water conditions to what you would produce at home providing you use a chemical to remove chlorine & chloramine).

 

[Siamese Fighter05]

Ok once again i changed my mind. I have the 15g empty and doing a fishless cycle, my plans for it are in sig. My water is actually smack on 7 and medium in hardness. I always keep water params tip top and will add the rams last.
Thanks Dan

 

[UBigBobby]

both of my blue rams died becuase they couldn't take the hard water here in Buffalo. A very nice alternative to blue rams would be bolivian rams. Very similar except they don't have the blue, and are hardier and more active. I enjoy my bolivians quite a bit. A pair would do great in your setup.

 

[Siamese Fighter05]

Thanks for that

I will look into bolivian rams, how active are they? i dont want them to be too active because they might stress out my tetras. I prefer the colouring of the german rams but the bolivians extra hardiness would be more useful although i do keep water tip top, i have heard lots of people losing blue rams with excellent water params

 

[AmberC]

I think you should stick with the blue rams. They are prettier and I have never had a problem with them being over sensitive if you just look after them properly and cater to their needs. They aren't difficult. And they are just as lively as bolivians.

 

[yvez9]

i found blue rams sensitive too...
When i got my first pair, they both got white spot and spread to my entire tank

than about a month later they started acting lethargic and died about a week later.

I too prefer bolivian rams


I'd also like to add, I have a friend who kept blue rams for a while and they seemed fine. Then she bought fish who got sick about a week afetr she put them in the tank and the blue rams caught the disease while the bolivian rams were fine

 

[spanishguy111]

i found blue rams sensitive too...
When i got my first pair, they both got white spot and spread to my entire tank

than about a month later they started acting lethargic and died about a week later.

I too prefer bolivian rams


I'd also like to add, I have a friend who kept blue rams for a while and they seemed fine. Then she bought fish who got sick about a week afetr she put them in the tank and the blue rams caught the disease while the bolivian rams were fine

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I also recommend bolivians over blue rams. especially in a 4 foot tank. They PREFER alkaline water.

 

[Siamese Fighter05]

i found blue rams sensitive too...
When i got my first pair, they both got white spot and spread to my entire tank

than about a month later they started acting lethargic and died about a week later.

I too prefer bolivian rams


I'd also like to add, I have a friend who kept blue rams for a while and they seemed fine. Then she bought fish who got sick about a week afetr she put them in the tank and the blue rams caught the disease while the bolivian rams were fine

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I also recommend bolivians over blue rams. especially in a 4 foot tank. They PREFER alkaline water.

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Im sure they prefer acidic? Although they can tolerate alkaline from what ive read, so 7.0 shouldnt be too bad. Im off down to the LFS tomorrow to get another tetras,... after my jumper Ill have a look out for the bolivian and see if i like them.