X or owners of Neon Tetras also Rams thoughts?

SmallFishi

SmallFishi

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Nov 8, 2006
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How would you describe them? (Neons)
Are they nippy and mean? Are they peaceful and not at all nippy?

I am thinking of getting some for my 20 gallon but I don't want to ruin a good thing right now I have a dwarf gourami and some Harlequin Rasbora.
I set this tank up determined that I wanted to get Neons it was the main objective when I thought about getting an aquarium, but am waiting for it to become more established like neons like.
I'm not in a hurry i'm still carefully looking at a few options.

I really like the look of the Rams too but I'm not sure if I will have a big enough tank, I would skip the neons to get a pair of Rams if anyone thinks my tank would be ok. However I read Rams hide alot of the time, I wouldnt' want to skip the neons for a fish that hides and isnt' seen.
I dont' know what the ratio of male to female is for keeping Rams would two males fight? Would two females fight? Are they very hard to keep?

Sorry mostly thinking out loud... Any help or direction and personal experiences would be appreciated.
 
neons are very peaceful community fish. I don't know if the rams will work with the gourami, i getting some this week so I'll have better info soon.
 
I'd say one ram could work in that tank. They are bottom dwellers a lot. I'd not risk two--unless it is a confirmed pair. Even then, I'd just get one!
 
you'll have no problems with neons... just keep them in a group. mine didnt get happy until they were more then 6 strong
 
Neons are very peaceful schooling fish. They sometimes argue amongst themselves (harmless) but I've never seen an aggressive Neon Tetra. Mine get on really well with my Harelquin Rasboras and other fish. They keep to themselves. A school of 5 would be good in a 20g.

I have 1 Bolivian Ram in a 20g and unles you want to breed them I would definately only get 1. Rams tend to stay on the bottom and with the other fish (neons, harlequins and the dwarf gourami) being middle to top dwellers you shouldn't have any aggression issues. Just add the Ram last.
 
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lol, maybe they left it out because it was sickly.

neons are cute, but they seem unreliable. living one day, dead the next, you know. . .
 
Ok I feel better now thankyou, I had visions of them ganging up on my gourami who is seemingly such a sweetie and nipping at his tail or something. Until you hear a few stories from owners I think most people generally don't tell the good boring stories about their fish just the bad ones so it's sometimes hard to find accurate scenarios..
 
Rams do tend to be pretty shy when you first add them to the tank. They are very sensitive to bad water so you need to make sure your water stays nice. They also might not do well on regular flake food, I would suggest buying them sinking food and very small cichlid pellets. It is important to make sure they are getting enough food and that the other fish are not eating all the food before they can get any.

A 20 gallon is not too small for one, and if you do get one it doesn't matter if you get a male or a female, go with whichever you like better. They both have very different colors, and you won't have agression issues with either one.

I'm not sure if a ram would work with a gourami, though.
 
From my experience, the dwarf gourami you have would probably be the one hiding were you to get a ram. If they feel threatened by their neighbors (size alone is a factor) which he probably would with a ram, the gourami would most likely be hiding behind rocks in a corner most of the time.

I would add a decent sized school of neons to the mix (one of my favorites) and call it good.

While standard blue and gold gouramis tend to be outgoing and semi-aggressive, the dwarfs are very shy by comparison - but mine always got along well with neons.
 
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