10g planted with blue rams... question

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C

credenza

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Jan 13, 2004
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:hi: I just introduced two female blue rams in a heavily planted 10 g tank. They are the only inhabitants of the tank apart from a small popluation of ordinary snails. I hope it to be a very low maintenance planted tank.

Q1: The LFS assured me they are female blue rams. Is it OK to have just 2 female rams, in terms of aggression, growth etc? I have heard mostly only of male aggression.

Q2: Even though both of them look very similar, one of them is slightly bigger, with pronounced blue flecks on its black spot. And has a clearly pinkish belly.
However, the smaller one does not have a pink belly and the blue flecks on the spot are there but barely there kinds. But their dorsal fins look very similar. Do you guys still think I have 2 females?

Thanks!
 
Cathy G

Cathy G

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Jan 15, 2006
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Where? Rams?

The jury may be out on the one that lacks the pink belly ! The fish store that sold me my original pair mixed up their sexes too.
So, where in Milwaukee did you buy them? I live in Waukesha. I figured I may stop out to the big one on hwy 100 in Greenfield and see what they have today.
Thanks
Cathy
 
Emg

Emg

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You may still get aggression between females. Depends on how well they get along. If it's heavily planted they'll probably spar with each other from time to time, but eventually they'll each find a nitch to settle in.

If you find that one of them is constantly up in a top corner of the tank and looking dark or pale..it's a pretty good sign all is not well with that fish and it's not handling the territory battles very well. Just keep an eye on them and give them some time to adjust and settle in.
 
C

credenza

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Hi Cathy,
Sorry I just moved a few months ago from Milwaukee to Little Rock, AR. But when in Milwaukee, I used to frequent the Aquatics Unlimited on Hwy hundred. Their stock has always been healthy for me. Didnt lose any fish to sickness. So good luck with getting rams. I have seen them while I was there, but they might get if you ask.
The other store you might want to try is Hoffers Tropic Life. I think they have a larger cichlid collection
http://www.hofferstropiclife.com/

Good luck with your quest.

:cool2:

Thanks EMG for your response.
I just love the Bliue Rams. They are so pretty and with a bit of personality too, in my 24 hrs of having had them. The two rams are always hanging out together. Even in the 10g, they are rarely apart. But what's your guess 2 females or a pair?

They ate well today. Explored all corners of the tank. I also bot them a small slate type cave, in case it helps. The tank is heavily planted and they seem to eat something off the plants. Wonder if they are finding any organisms, or snail eggs?

Thanks!
:)
 
Emg

Emg

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I couldn't say without a pic Credenza..that's why I didn't guess... ;)

If they are young, it can be hard to tell, unless they both sport a pink belly. Then you can be sure both are female...but females don't always show the pink.
 
C

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Help!

Well this morning (2nd day) my female ram with the pink belly (seems a little swollen) is at the top of the tank breathing real hard.

The other ram is doing ok.

Tank:
10g heavily planted
Ammonia 0
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0
ph 6.5
Kh almost 0
gh 75ppm

I nevertheless changed 25% of the water.

Can anyone help please.
 
stingray4540

stingray4540

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Oct 18, 2005
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What EMG said. But if i were to guess, from what it sounds like, i would think you have a pair, and if you do, i would prefer that because most of the time the females can be just as agressive as the males. I know some one with a tank that has a couple of rams in it with other fish, and the female ram is the dominate fish. Just my .02 cents, but emg's the authority on blue rams. :)
 
Emg

Emg

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Um...lol....I'm not really an authority.........I only have a few of these fish and have had them for only about a year.

I just have busy fingers and like to post alot about what I observe and experience in caring for them. :huh:
 
mooman

mooman

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Mar 8, 2005
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Any aggresion from the ram that's not at the top? Unfortunately with rams its always a gamble whether they will be truely healthy. They always look great in the stores, but after a couple weeks tend to drop dead for no reason. There are a lot of opinions on why this is.
 
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