German Blue Ram Aggression

I had 4 GBR's in a 125 , three laid claim to territory one on the right, one left and one center of tank the four was OK swimming around but after a couple of days the other three seemed to gang up on it and I found him dead with the three next to him ( he has pinned up against the glass) . I had 2 m 2f . Now I have 1m 1f . None ever show aggression towards any other fish in the community.

males tend to be agressive to other males. and if there is a breeding pair they can become very agressive.

how much structure do you have in the tank..it is feasible to be able to keep rams in a 75..the foot print is big enough for them..but you do need to have areas protected from line of sight. rams may chase each other but if there is refuge they can hide.

a veil of plants and debris(roots/ driftwood) can help.

the more the better(keep it practical as you do need to see your fish )

The 6 will be good for awhile......toss plenty of plants in there and some small dither fish (endlers..perhaps)....they'll help the ram feel more secure....

Hello all

I seem to be having a similar problem with my Rams. Two days ago, I bought two from the LFS. I ended up with two small (1") females. They got along great, no squabbling of any sort. Yesterday, I bought a male, a little bigger, about 1.5". I read that the males can be aggressive(towards each other), which is why I bought only one. I also read somewhere that it's better to have more females than males (although I could be wrong on that one, can't find where I read it).

After I added the male, the females started squabbling amongst themselves! They square off, much like the males were doing at the store. Sometimes it ends with that, somwtimes they start taking runs at each other, with one breaking off eventually. No frayed fins (yet), but the 'outcast' seems rather unhappy.

Is this normal? If it gets worse, I will separate them, but they've only been together two days now, so maybe they'll settle down once a pecking order is established. I'm wondering if I should get another male, but I'm worried I'll just end up with _two_ pairs of squabbling Rams.

They're in a 90 gallon, along with three Corys, two pearl Gouramis and a Flower shrimp. The tank has about a dozen plants in it, with more being added almost daily at this point (still setting up the plants).

Any suggestions welcome,

Thanks,

Brian

This is completely normal. They will work out who gets the male fish... One female will dominate the other, then the dominant one and the male will spawn. Then they share a meal together... (Most of the time, there aren't too many out there who take care of the kiddies anymore). Then they will all play nice again until the female is ready to lay eggs, or until the the male gets 'playful' in a hormone way :devil: and chases them both around.

One of my males will spawn with either female in his tank. So, I don't have a problem with the subordinate female getting beat up. You might though. Watch carefully over the next few days, look for torn up fins and dark coloring. Then you might have to remove her. Give them all plenty of hiding places.

You know, in a 90g, you could add another male. Do it right after you put in some new plants or do a bit of rearranging. Make sure each side of the tank has a bit of driftwood and a 'hidden' flat rock for spawning, then watch them interact and set up territories. There should be plenty of room and nobody should get hurt. I'd do it soon though before the dominate pair takes over the whole tank as their territory...

Cathy

Cathy is on the right trak.
the 90 should be large enough for 2 pair.


with structure you should have no issues with the pairs in a tank that size.
GBR's are actually more aggressive than most would think..especially amongst themselves but particularly when thay are spawning.

OK, thanks all. The tank is very much in it's infancy at this point (as far as adding fish and aquascaping are concerned), so maybe I'll add a second male down the road. At this point, it seems that they're both giving as good as they get, there isn't a dominant one (yet). The male is so uninterested at this point it's funny. He almost seems to put himslef between them at times.

Comical, really, but 'It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye' ;-)

I'll keep an eye on them,

Thanks again,

Brian