What rams should i get ?!?!??!

[Jmoto]

hi i have a 4ft tank.

i have 3 bristlenose plecos and im going to get some leopard corys. im going to get som congo tetras soon but i need to know what kind of ram can live with it. i hear that the blue ram is a little bit agressive but its a really cool looking fish. the bolivian ram is not that good looking but i know its water conditions

what are the water conditions of a blue ram

 

[Ben]

Hi and :welcome: to the forums

Blue rams are not aggresive, but when they breed they get territorial and may chase off other fish.

What are the dimensions of your tank (length x width x hight) and do you know how many litres/gallons are in it?
Tell us this and we will be able to tell you how many rams you can have.

They like a nuetral to an acidic PH level (around 6.5 - 7.5) and like their water soft.
Blue Rams are a bit sensitive to water levels but Bolivians arn't. But remember, All Ammonia,NirtrAte and NitrIte levels must be at a 0

DD

 

[Jmoto]

120x36x49 is the dimension.

thx for the info on the blue rams
now all im worried about is that blue rams are sensitive and bolivians are tougher so im not sure. do you own rams ?can u gimme a bit of help on how to take care of blue rams and can you tell me if this community is good ?

Bristlenose catfish, leopard cory, congos tetras, and 2-3 blue rams or bolivian

when you say they get a bit agressive do you mean they will scar my fish or bite it to death ?

sorry but im kinda new to these fish

 

[Ben]

your tank is 55 US Gallons.
Rams like to be in pairs and the rule is 20 gallons per pair.
So you could fit 2 pairs of rams into your tank.
They are not aggresive and IME and IMO will never kill a fish. They will just simply chase away a fish when they are breeding.
Yes i keep rams, they are genrelly easy to keep and are not as sensitive as people think they are, so keep your water levels right and they should be alright

Your community tank sounds good except turn the "2-3 rams" bit into either
4 Blue Rams (2 female 2 male)
OR
4 Bolivian Rams (2 female 2 male)
OR
2 Bolivian Rams and 2 Blue Rams (a female of each species and a male of each species)

I recomend getting a nice school of congo tetras (around 6 as they like to be in groups) and so do cories so 6 cories aswell

Don't worry, we all started somewhere

DD

 

[Jmoto]

oh ok thx dude u really helped me out

 

[nitro]

Blue rams are more sensitive to nitrAtes in the water than bolivian rams. Therefore you may have to do an extra water change to keep your nitrAtes down every week.

If your worried about them being too sensitive why not go for bolivians? thats what i did.

Bolivians are only aggresive when breeding and possibly if you have two males together?

and 2-3 blue rams or bolivian

Rams prefer to be in pairs. I would try and get a male/female pair or female/female but not two males.

If you wanted to get a pair you could add 3-4 rams to your tank and wait for a pair to form and then take the others back.


The only other issue is you have quite a lot of bottom area fish with the 3 BNs and possibly corys in the future. This may be a problem if yours spawn because they will guard their teritory fiercely and may lead to problems. However i dont think it should be a big actually after looking at your tank dimensions because it is pretty long and they should all have enough room.

Good luck.

 

[Jmoto]

oh btw my measurements are in cm

 

[Jmoto]

oh ok thx nitro
how bout if i get lots of driftwood so theres lots of places to spawn ?

 

[Jmoto]

oh and nitro i read your forum on your rams

how do you protect them from getting in the filter ?

 

[nitro]

Edit; Rams spawn on flat smooth surfaces so you would be better off with getting some pieces of slate etc. Nothing wrong with getting wood though as your Bns will like this.

how do you protect them from getting in the filter ?

I have an external filter so i just have an intake pipe. I havent covered this up with anything because they never go near it. If you have an internal filter i have no idea sorry.

For an external,i could put some pre filter white pad thing(hope you know what im onabout) around the intake and put an elastic band around it to hold it in place. which would stop them getting sucked up.

 

[Jmoto]

oh ok thx

 

[abstract]

i would only get a single pair for that size tank with current stocking....2 pairs could wreak havoc

 

[Jmoto]

oh ok one more question

how can i tell what sex it is ???

 

[abstract]

search google and you will see some pictures...easiest to tell there...basically the males have a longer first dorsal extension...and females have a reddish/pinkish belly

 

[Ben]

i would only get a single pair for that size tank with current stocking....2 pairs could wreak havoc

no two pairs would be just fine.

also when sexing the fish, remember the females fins will be muich rounder and less pointier at the end of the dorsal, and with bolivians it might be hard, but the males are much for colourful and have more yellow then females

DD