New And Old German Blue Ram And Stocking Ideas.

[FishyFriend101]

Hi and thanks in advance for any help.
So, I currently have a 45 gallon aquarium with some platies, 3 cories, 1 angel, 1 pleco, and a german blue ram.
First, I was wondering if it would be fine to add a new ram or if the old ram would have some territory issues or any other kind of problem.
Second what would be some good fish to add? I would like to get some sort of tetra school or possibly 2 schools of 5. (I plan on selling some of the platies so that I am left with 5)
Thanks again.

 

[Wills]

Hi Blue Rams are hard to keep. The reason is you don't know what their genes are, wild Rams need low ph and high temperatures - similar to Discus. Farm bred Rams need neutral ph and mid range temperatures. The extra problem is that often farm bred Rams are bred across with wild Rams in the generation before they hit the shops. The problem with this is its impossible to know what your buying so its impossible to know what conditions to give them in your tank... the results are both long term and short term, some Rams will have health problems early on while others will be fantastically healthy until 18 months - 2 years down the line when they drop dead for no reason. Keeping them in the wrong set up causes issues with their respiratory and/or digestive systems and thats what causes the health problems. 
 
So what Im saying is... if your current Ram is doing well great, but adding an other one will be tricky as there is no guarantee that they will have the same requirements....
 
What type of Pleco is it? As the most of the common species will quickly outgrow a 45g...
 
I would add lots more cories of the same species Which do you have? Rounding them upto a group of 8 - 10 would be awesome
 
I would go for 1 school of Tetras rather than 2, a larger group will always behave more naturally and form a tighter school, a bigger hierachy can help keep them in their brightest colours as well as they will all be avoiding the bottom spot of the group. You need something too big for the Angel to eat so things like Lemon Tetras would work, I think the Skirt Type Tetras would be a bit too nippy for the tank but X-Ray tetras etc would work nicely One big group of 10 would be fantastic.
 
Hope thats helped
Wills

 

[Byron]

I agree with Wills on all points.  I would just add that adding another ram even aside from the issues Wills mentioned is very risky, and a 45g is not a lot of space.  You don't mention if the existing ram is male or female; two males will not get along, and the existing ram probably now considers the tank "his" (if a male) and any newcomer would be an intruder and likely killed before too long.  I've even seen this occur with adding a new female with an existing male.
 
I certainly agree on more corys; these are highly social fish that live in groups of hundreds, and a few more would be good.  You can stay with the same species if you like, or add different species, but try to get 5 of a species if you can.  This is absolute, but I have found over the years that 4-5 of a species even when there are 30-40 corys in the tank seems to work best.
 
On adding another tetra, another option would be the Rosy Tetra or Roberti Tetra; being disk-shaped these do well with angels (won't be seen as food as the linear species might) and they are not nippy in a group of 7-8 here, and they have some nice colour which contrasts well with the angel.
 
Byron.

 

[FishyFriend101]

OK thanks for all the information and I will definitely take those tetra suggestions into consideration. Regarding getting another ram, would it be better to get one female or two? (assuming they're fine with the water as it is)
Thanks again.

 

[Byron]

I really would not get another ram as long as the existing one is present.  This is full of risks.  This species, Mikrogeophagus ramirezi, as with its close relative the Bolivian, M. altispinosus, does not accept just any female/male as a partner.  In very spacious tanks, a group can work, allowing the males to select their parnters, and with sufficient hiding spots for the females to escape.  But when they spawn, as they will, both male and female can be quite nasty to others of the species. 

 

[FishyFriend101]

OK thanks for the help.

 

[wrightt3]

There are two standard tank sizes that hold 45 gallons. What are the dimensions of your tank? If it is 4ft long then the aggression problems that Byron mentioned are less likely to occur so it could work. What Wills said still stands though so it might be best not to risk it.
 
Have thought of adding other types of dwarf cichlids? Apistos or dwarf Acaras might be nice.