kribs or rams?

[Pointy_kitty]

first of all this is my tank:

20 Gallon Semi-Aggressive:
1 Blue Gourami (Big Blue)
1 Golden Gourami (Bling-Bling)
1 Neon Dwarf Gourami (Poe)
1 Flying Fox (Fox - very original)
1 upside down catfish (Martha Stewart)
2 khuli loaches (Lenny, Carl)

the other day i caught big blue trying to slurp up baby lenny
he's not aggressive at all but he is full grown and ADORES any live food or worms
silly me i put 2 khuli's in with him
lenny and carl are ok but i am giving them to a friend who has a very peaceful 10 gallon with lots of plants and caves
then i can visit them often

so anyways, in their place i would like to either get a ram or a krib and i was wondering which would be better?
and are they better off in a pair or singly?
i don't have much room, but i can overstock a bit

 

[iloveyou]

hmm... how big is the gourami.....

kribs are cool, but they like the bottom of the tank, and will probably dislike your loaches and cory. . . . . rams are cool, but some are small.. mr gourami might not like them . . . .

 

[Pointy_kitty]

hmm... how big is the gourami.....

kribs are cool, but they like the bottom of the tank, and will probably dislike your loaches and cory. . . . . rams are cool, but some are small.. mr gourami might not like them . . . .

ummm....
you confused all of my info
the gourami is full grown, therefore he is 3"
he is not at all aggressive, he must have mistaken the baby loaches (1")
for a big worm
he wasn't attacking it, only picking at him like he was gunna slurp him up

and i beleive i said i am giving the khuli's away

also, i don't have any cories in my tank,
they are in my other tank,
i don't even think i mentioned them
i have an upside down catfish (its a Synodontis not a Corydoras),
which is bigger and very noctornal
i never see him except a quick flash of a blur if i turn on the lights at night

and lastly, gourami are mostly top dwellers and i beleive that kribs are bottom dwellers, so they shouldn't be much bother to each other....

now that things are a little clearer

kribs or rams?
or are they still both a no?

 

[Pointy_kitty]

i just read that kribs cannot be kept with flying foxes is this true?
they both claim the bottom as their territory apparently
my fox is only really aggressive around feeding time
and i can have how ever many kribs i want for free rather than paying $14.99 for EACH ram since my moms friend has about 50 left over from her last batch of babies

is this not gunna work out?
what are your experiences? (flying foxes have about the same temporment as a red tailed black shark)

 

[rollntider]

My 55 gallon (see sig) has corys and ottos in there and I have 2 female kribs. No one bothers anyone. If you have a breeding pair of kribs watch out. My 29 gallon all hell breaks loose. (Notice breeding pair)

 

[iloveyou]

well... i jus called the upside down a cory... same thing to me

but as i said the kribs will be territorial about the bottom.... if the gourami isnt aggressive them go for rams.. buit if the rams breed theyll get aggressive

 

[Pointy_kitty]

My 55 gallon (see sig) has corys and ottos in there and I have 2 female kribs. No one bothers anyone. If you have a breeding pair of kribs watch out. My 29 gallon all hell breaks loose. (Notice breeding pair)

i heard they breed every 5-6 months....
any way to stop/ slow this down?
or is it better to have 2 males together OR 2 females together?

my biggest worry is that like i said, the flying fox is aggressive much like the red tailed black shark (except not quite as territorial) and he is a mid-mostly bottom dweller

 

[rollntider]

Alia has been giving advice and i havent been around Kribs long, but from what little experiance i have, my friend has , and what i have read. Kribs arent aggressive unless they are breeding. I am not sure if 2 males are fine together, but my 2 females get along great , make sure both has a cave to hang out in. None of them bother my cory's as a matter of fact if an algae wafer is on the ground, my ottos moves both kribs out of the way and my guppies kinda bump them out of the way to get the wafer. they get back in there, but the otto is pushing them around. (he isnt being mean just trying to get to the algae wafer) But when i first bought my Kribs I them all in the same tank and that was a big mistake. Since the females are by themselves now they just chill and try to get a hit of the algae wafer.
My friend who was buying kribs made me want some so he bought 6 3males and 3 females. in the same tank, one male killed the other 2 and was starting on the female. he removed 2 females and now the male has settled in by them selves and just chilling. the other 2 females are in his 55 , causeing no problems and he has corys and a rainbow shark.

 

[rollntider]

my biggest worry is that like i said, the flying fox is aggressive much like the red tailed black shark (except not quite as territorial) and he is a mid-mostly bottom dweller

I dont know much about the flying fox, sorry
I got rid of my rainbow shark because he was beating up my kribs if that will tell you anything.
And my kribs havent bred yet, it isnt because the female isnt trying either.

 

[iloveyou]

i had 2 males and 1 female together... the bigger male constantly beat up the smaller male so i took him out... could have been just cause there was only 1 female... my kribs havent bred yet and ive had em for about 4 months... kribs are interesting ... i like em... never had rams, but id think rams would do better in your tank . . . if your worried about your flying fox then maybe get a bigger type of ram that can defend itself better

 

[Pointy_kitty]

Alia has been giving advice and i havent been around Kribs long, but from what little experiance i have, my friend has , and what i have read. Kribs arent aggressive unless they are breeding. I am not sure if 2 males are fine together, but my 2 females get along great , make sure both has a cave to hang out in. None of them bother my cory's as a matter of fact if an algae wafer is on the ground, my ottos moves both kribs out of the way and my guppies kinda bump them out of the way to get the wafer. they get back in there, but the otto is pushing them around. (he isnt being mean just trying to get to the algae wafer) But when i first bought my Kribs I them all in the same tank and that was a big mistake. Since the females are by themselves now they just chill and try to get a hit of the algae wafer.
My friend who was buying kribs made me want some so he bought 6 3males and 3 females. in the same tank, one male killed the other 2 and was starting on the female. he removed 2 females and now the male has settled in by them selves and just chilling. the other 2 females are in his 55 , causeing no problems and he has corys and a rainbow shark.

hmmm.....
well, for someone who supposedly doesn't know alot you sure gave me alot of info
thanx

I dont know much about the flying fox, sorry
I got rid of my rainbow shark because he was beating up my kribs if that will tell you anything.
And my kribs havent bred yet, it isnt because the female isnt trying either.

that may pose a problem

never had rams, but id think rams would do better in your tank . . . if your worried about your flying fox then maybe get a bigger type of ram that can defend itself better

well i'm already at 17.5" in a 20gallon and although i am not a newbie so i am capable of safely overstocking, i am trying to stay as close to 1" per gallon as possible for the welfare of my fish
so far all of the kribs and their offspring and THEIR offspring have not grown bigger then 3" (the woman who bred them is a friend of the family and will give them to me for free)
if i get rams i am looking to get a pair that will stay 3" or less

i would just like to know why you thing rams are better...
hmmm... that was worded kinda funny
i beleive your information fully i would just like a little more

 

[Pointy_kitty]

I dont know much about the flying fox, sorry

the flying fox is a cyprinid that has very simular body structure and temporment to a closely related shark, the red tailed black shark
they are territorial and will sometimes give chase to anyone in their territory at night and during feeding frenzies (not usually a bother during the day)
they grow to be 6" in length and are good tank cleaners, although greed drives them to steal floating food aswell,
they eat live foods and flakes but prefer algae
flying foxes are completely intolerant of their own species or anything simular in shape, unless in a very large tank that is well planted
even in a larger tank they may still pose a thret to one another, due to the fact that they are active and tend to travel

hehehe
you learn something new each day

*you can tell by the odd spacing and lack of capitals that i didn't copy and paste that*


EDIT: the rainbow shark has a very simular temporment as the red tailed black shark, only they get a bit bigger and are usually a bit more aggressive,
which is why the fox poses a problem

 

[jumpman]

I'm sure kribs would live happily with the fish you have in your sig, but as soon as they start pairing/breeding there will be big problems. Even in a 75g i have a breeding pair took over the entire tank, and I could only leave fish in there fast enough to get away from them, or large enough that they didn't bother them.

I had two males and two females in the 75g, and once the first pair formed (within a day!) the other two were constantly harrassed until I took them out.

They will also breed much more frequently than every few months depending on circumstances. Mine do not bother my SAE's until they are breeding and then won't tolerate them at all.

Maybe rams would be better for a tank this size, but i have no experience with these I'm afraid.

jump

 

[tmlhaus]

I absolutely LOVE my german blue rams! They are definitely the prettiest fish in the tank. They are a smaller fish, however, mine are currently about 1 1/2" long.
Here's a sight that may help you in figuring out compatibility:
www.fishprofiles.com

Just go to interactive, forums, then look under compatibility.