Has anyone had success with a single GBR in their tank? Or is the general consensus that a pair is needed? Asking for my soon to be planted 40 gal.
One or two GBRs
- Thread starter PSUsam11
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A sole Ram will be fine. A pair [= male/female] will be more interesting but they must be bonded or the female may not live long. With a bonded pair, spawning will be regular, if that is what you'd like; other fish in the tank will determine survival of eggs/fry. Rams can be nasty to other fish, some types more than others, when spawning. Nosy catfish like corys get picked on a lot for instance, and being nocturnal it is the catfish that usually get the eggs.
Not knowing your level of experience, I'll briefly describe "bonded." The fish must choose their mate, and they will bond, usually for life. There are two ways to achieve this; one is to purchase a group, say 6+, and let them select their mates, then keep one pair and dispose of the rest unless you have tank space. If you are restricted to one or two tanks, I would not go down this road unless you are certain of a home for the unwanted fish. Rams are not gentle fish with each other, and the smaller the tank the more aggressive they can become with each other as they are always in one another's face.An easier way is to observe the tank of fish in the store and look for bonded pairs; they are easy to spot if you study them carefully.
If you just put two fish together, trouble is likely. Two males will obviously not be happy until one is dead. Females sometimes do much the same, it depends upon fish. And a male/female that have not selected each other may sometimes work, if only for a few spawnings, but usually not at all, and the female is usually the loser.
Byron.
Not knowing your level of experience, I'll briefly describe "bonded." The fish must choose their mate, and they will bond, usually for life. There are two ways to achieve this; one is to purchase a group, say 6+, and let them select their mates, then keep one pair and dispose of the rest unless you have tank space. If you are restricted to one or two tanks, I would not go down this road unless you are certain of a home for the unwanted fish. Rams are not gentle fish with each other, and the smaller the tank the more aggressive they can become with each other as they are always in one another's face.An easier way is to observe the tank of fish in the store and look for bonded pairs; they are easy to spot if you study them carefully.
If you just put two fish together, trouble is likely. Two males will obviously not be happy until one is dead. Females sometimes do much the same, it depends upon fish. And a male/female that have not selected each other may sometimes work, if only for a few spawnings, but usually not at all, and the female is usually the loser.
Byron.
Thanks Byron. I want to try a single male. Though I also have some corys so that may pose a problem. Do you know if Bolivians tend to be less aggressive toward other fish?
A single Ram whether the common blue or a Bolivian will (or should) be fine in a community tank. It is the spawning that makes them more aggressive, though there are always exceptions as individual fish do not read our textbooks and may decide to behave contrary to the "norm."
But having said that, I myself prefer Bolivians. I have a male now that is well into his sixth year (which is pretty good for a normal 4-5 year lifespan) and he has been alone in my 115g tank of more than 100 fish of various corys and characins from when I first acquired him. It is fascinating to observe him; he clearly "owns" the entire tank, no question of that, as no other fish will get in his way. But aside from his dislike of spotted corys when feeding, he is very peaceful. And even then no physical interaction occurs, he just nudges toward the offending fish and it turns.
Both ram species are substrate feeders, which is why other similar fish like corys may be targets. But in my experience, outside of spawning, this is not a problem.
Byron.
Im goibg to add on to what Byron expkained but with my personal experience of both Bolivian Rams and German Blue Rams. The first time i got rams i got bolivians. They were a pain because at the time i didnt know they grazed for food at the bottom. And i also got 2 males and the larger more dominant one killed the other. I now have 2 male( again...) German blue rams. They are known for their amazing colors but since i have 2 males i have yet to see their full potential. Im now in the process of trying to find the less dominant one a new suitable home. Nonetheless both rams species ive experienced are great fish with loads of personality. I would listen to the advice Byron gave you because it is very helpful. Also, Bolivian rams also get a bit larger than Blue rams.
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Just to add to what was already said.
In one of my past tanks, I had a single male GBR with Cories in a 29 gallon without problems.
You'll be fine.
It's when they are protecting eggs is when they get aggressive, just like any parent would.
Basically I'm just reiterating to support the others.
In one of my past tanks, I had a single male GBR with Cories in a 29 gallon without problems.
You'll be fine.
It's when they are protecting eggs is when they get aggressive, just like any parent would.
Basically I'm just reiterating to support the others.
Thanks for the help. I always like hearing about other's experiences. There are only so many fish bios you can read haha
In my 34 gallon, I have a single GBR, a single Bolivian, and a single dwarf gold ram. I don't know the sex of them. They seem to be thriving. I have 3 very peaceful tiger barbs also in this community tank. The rams and barbs keep to themselves. On rare occasions I've seen the GBR and Bolivian "push" a barb away from their favorite spots, not nipping though. I think if each ram has an area for itself, all is good. But I have not seen much territorial issues between the GBR and the Bolivian. I have seen the GBR chase the tiny gold ram away though, but all the rams seem to pretty much ignore all other fish. So a single GBR in my limited experience seems fine in an appropriately sized tank.
As far as feeding, all my rams head to the surface and eat the flake food when I initially put it in and chase and eat the flakes in the water column. I found this to be better than sinking pellets because the rams take a long time to chew and swallow even small pellets. By the time they are ready to eat another pellet, all the other fish has eaten them! It's amazing how quickly the tiger barbs can eat the pellets, they are pigs! Another reason I've not used pellets much anymore is that for some reason these rams can't find the pellets very well on the PFS substrate. They seem to like the pellet though.
As far as feeding, all my rams head to the surface and eat the flake food when I initially put it in and chase and eat the flakes in the water column. I found this to be better than sinking pellets because the rams take a long time to chew and swallow even small pellets. By the time they are ready to eat another pellet, all the other fish has eaten them! It's amazing how quickly the tiger barbs can eat the pellets, they are pigs! Another reason I've not used pellets much anymore is that for some reason these rams can't find the pellets very well on the PFS substrate. They seem to like the pellet though.
The common or blue ram, Mikrogeophagus ramirezi, including all the artificial forms (gold, German, etc), will surface feed usually, or sometimes. The Bolivian (M. altispinosus) will not, at least in my experience with this fish over 20+ years and from my research. A fish literally starving might I suppose. Sinking foods in the water column are sometimes snatched, then spit out onto the substrate and eventually eaten, depending upon the size.
This is hinted at in the genus name, Mikrogeophagus, which is derived from the Greek mikr [= small], geo [= earth] and phag [= eat), so literally, "small eartheater."
On the nomenclature, if anyone is interested as I am in such things, these two species have gone through several name changes (the genus). Finally in 2003, the Swedish ichthyologist and cichlid authority Sven Kullander placed these two species in Mikrogeophagus, a genus that had originally been erected by Meulengracht-Madsen in 1968 but which was devoid of species. These are the only two species in the genus, to date anyway.
Byron.
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