Ram Cichlids

[thelaw]

i have 20 gallon long tank and want to know how meany ram cichlids can live in it and what tank mates would be fine with them i was thinking 2 ram cichlids 5 corry catfish a snail 5 of neon tetras and one dwarf gurami thanks.

 

[hobby5]

Keep in mind GBR need soft water. Use sand as substrate.
 
If you plant your tank densely and use wood/stones to provide lots of broken line of sight, hiding places and somehow devide the tank into two territories it should be possible to keep two pairs of GBR in it. But don't add any other bottom dwelling fish, no catfish.

 

[kiwifeather]

I have a pair of Blue Rams in my 90L/24G and there is no way I'd keep two pairs in a 20G. The general rule that I've seen is each pair needs about 20G. However I agree in that they much prefer there not to be other bottom dwellers like cories because they annoy the rams, although people seem to have more luck with ottos and BN's. Bare in mind with tankmates if you want your pair to breed you don't want anything thats going to eat eggs, or fry if you leave them with the parents. 
I have 9 cardinals and 5 (this is all I could get hoping to add one or 2 more to bring school up) golden/beckford pencilfish with my pair which don't bother them as they are small dither fish that tend to stay mid-high levels in the tank. If you want neons those will work but you should really bring the school up to 6 +, 5 isn't really enough for a schooling fish. Dwarf Gourami's could be a potential problem with the Rams, personally I wouldn't try it, although they do tend to stay in different areas of the tank.
Rams do prefer soft water with a lower pH, what's your water like?

 

[thelaw]

I have a pair of Blue Rams in my 90L/24G and there is no way I'd keep two pairs in a 20G. The general rule that I've seen is each pair needs about 20G. However I agree in that they much prefer there not to be other bottom dwellers like cories because they annoy the rams, although people seem to have more luck with ottos and BN's. Bare in mind with tankmates if you want your pair to breed you don't want anything thats going to eat eggs, or fry if you leave them with the parents. 
I have 9 cardinals and 5 (this is all I could get hoping to add one or 2 more to bring school up) golden/beckford pencilfish with my pair which don't bother them as they are small dither fish that tend to stay mid-high levels in the tank. If you want neons those will work but you should really bring the school up to 6 +, 5 isn't really enough for a schooling fish. Dwarf Gourami's could be a potential problem with the Rams, personally I wouldn't try it, although they do tend to stay in different areas of the tank.
Rams do prefer soft water with a lower pH, what's your water like?

i have not set up the tank yet just trying to get some good  ideas for now 

 

[kiwifeather]

You can just test the water out of your tap, which your tank is going to be filled with, or ask the LFS in the area to do it for you, if you don't own a testing kit yet.

 

[DiscusKeeper403]

As others stated, I wouldn't keep more than a pair in that sized tank.

 

[thelaw]

ok cool thanks

 

[Brahmza]

I agree with only having 1 pair per 20 gallons. If you want them to spawn, stay away from any bottom feeder. Any sort of catfish or pleco WILL get to the eggs, or you'll end up with some torn up cories. I had 3 pairs in a 55G, the PH of my tap water was 7.1 and I used crushed aragonite 'sand' for the substrate which seemed to do well. A single dwarf gourami would work with the rams, along with the neon tetras you mentioned.
Example stocking:
1 Pair of German Blue Rams
1 Dwarf Gourami (Pick a color morph [Power Blue, Flame Red, Turquoise/Neon blue])
8 Neon Tetras (Could sub. for Rummynose tetras)

Not sure if that's completely stocked, but it's something to go off of I guess!

 

[Deanna]

In my 20 gallon I have a male/female pair of Bolivian rams, three peppered cories (1 inch each), one small pleco (4 inches max), and two powder blue dwarf gourami. The bottom feeders and rams are doing fine together, because I have plenty of hiding spots. They really don't interact at all. They will share an algae wafer with no aggression, also. The rams really seem to love the algae wafers, and it really surprised me! I think it helps that I have a small school of cories, because they feel safer. I may get a couple more cories to add to the school size, but if not I do not plan to add anything else. Good luck! I love rams.

 

[thelaw]

thank guys i think im just going to do one badis 5 cory catfish 5 rummy nose tetras and a clown pleco. thanks for all the help.

 

[looking-glass]

stick to one pair maximum - keep an eye on your ph as well they are sensitive to it