Keeping Blue Rams...

[electric yellow]

Hi Guys,

Im wanting some more info on keeping German Blue Rams.

I had a few a while ago and they didnt last very long. I attribute this this to the fact i had three and they pick on each other. What are their keeping requirements? I was given 4 yesterday. Apparently 1 boy and 3 girls. But they all looks the same. They seem to be settling in to my communal tank well. Can they be kept in a communal tank that is of neutral ph? Their tank buddys are:

2x large clown loaches
1x gold gourami
1x large tiger bar
2x bristol plecs
1x neon tetra
1x rosybora (SP?)
1x feeder fisah
1x albino cory

Tank is 3ft standard.

I know it seem sweird we have one of a few different fish but these are the eldest and the ones who have survived the last two years Its a peacefull tank. The cory lets lose when the light goes out. There are plenty of plants for them to hide in and rest in and a large barrel and also pod and a tunnel.

So what are their eating requirements?
Ive had them before...but i would like to do it right this time.
Are they gentle fish?

 

[Brette]

Are they gentle fish?

Peaceful with everyone but each other, and other bottom dwelling cichlids. Mine takes a run at my checkerboard cichlid but it's half hearted and the checkerboard has never even been nipped by him. that might change if the ram had a female around. (I only have one because I didn't want trouble)

I feed mine frozen blood worm, cichlid pellets and a bit of flakes. I've read a varied diet with lots of vitamins (i add vitamins to their frozen food) is essential for them to thrive. And really clean water. If you're not in the habit of doing a weekly 20% water change, I would start to.

 

[Athena]

Hi - I'm just wondering about your stocking levels - when you say "large" clown loaches and tiger barb - what size are they exactly. Knowing that Clowns can reach over a foot long I'd be inclined to say your 3ft tank might not be big enough to house everything (if not now, in the future as the fish grow).

GBRs, as with most cichlids, are quite territorial and could become stressed if they felt they did not have a large enough territory space for themselves. As you know, GBRs are not easy fish to keep because the slightest of things can stress them and bring on illness. I recently lost a new ram (possible female) because the male did not take to her and although he didn't actually fight with her (he just kept chasing her into a corner) it was enough to upset her and within just a few days she was clamping fins and refusing to eat - despite treatment, I lost her pretty quickly! I'm saying "her" because she was sold to me as a female but I'm not 100% convinced as they didn't pair off.

Anyway, back to your tank... as you already have the GBRs, the best thing to do would be to keep an eye on them and look for any that appear to have "paired off" (they will swim together everywhere and warn off the other two to stay away). Once you have clearly identified a pair, then it might be best to find a new home for the other two rams or ask your LFS if they will take them from you. In a 3ft tank with potentially large fish, you won't have the room for all 4 rams and they'd end up fighting - the mated pair will want at least half of that tank space as theirs! At some point in time you will, no doubt, have to rehome your Clowns.

Feed them on good quality live foods, frozen foods, flake, dried and algae wafers. Yeah, they will eat just about anything. The odd bit of squashed pea once a week helps with digestion if you've been feeding bloodworms, too.

You have to keep a regular eye on GBRs because they can go downhill very quickly, so spotting the first signs of stress or illness is important and having medications to-hand is a must, to treat asap. If you notice them losing their body colour and going a greyish black then you know something is wrong. Watch also for clamped fins or hiding continuously and not appearing at feed times. They are also prone to whitespot, which can be difficult to notice at first due to the tiny blue dots on their body - but try to catch a glimpse of them when they are right under the light as that helps.

Sexing GBRs is not that easy and there are lots of suggestions on these forums and other websites giving ideas as to how it's done - but there's lots of contradictory statements. For example, some say the females have a pinkish belly but others say that their males have a pink belly! I think the only sure-fire way of finding out is to let them pair off and then watch their behaviour pattern - especially if you are lucky enough to have them spawn and raise fry. It's then that you will determine male from female, by the things they do. Females tend to fan the eggs whilst the male does guard duty, chasing away possible predators (it's at this time all hell breaks loose in the tank, I'm afraid).

Anyway, sorry for rambling on a bit - I hope it's helped a little.

Regards - Athena