Rams for planted tank?

[Obsidian]

I am in the process of converting a 25g eclipse into a heavily planted tank.... long story, on a different thread....

Anyway, I have evicted the big fish (2 large angels, a bg knifefish, and a swordtail). All that remain are 5 neons, 1 green neon, and 3 small cories. I have not gotten the tank fully done yet... I changed out the substrate to a fluorite/gravel mix and have 2 crypts, an amazon sword and a piece of bogwood planted with java ferns. I want to add some vals, java moss, and possibly another sword. Meanwhile, I have a handful of bulbs that are starting to sprout, but I don't know exactly what they are... aponotegen, lily, onion... So eventually, the tank will be dense. I will also be adding a co2 reactor and possibly another light strip (as eclipse lighting is not very strong).

Currently, I am thinking about getting some rams. I have spent about 4 hours over the last couple days doing research on them. But I'd like a little practical feedback from those who have them.

Must they be kept in pairs?
If I get two, will they get along?
Do they ever get aggressive... either with each other or other fish?
Do they tear up tanks during breeding? (I know that some cichids do)
Would I be better off getting dwarf gouramis?
Should I just stick with small rasboras and tetras?

Thanks in advance

 

[Emg]

Hello Obsidian

I have blue rams and I like them very much. I had a heck of a time figuring out how to sex them so that I could get a pair...bought 4 before I managed to get male...lol...I kept them all in a 29 gallon and let them figure out for themselves who got the fella. When he made his choice I did have to take the other two females out because the pair kept harrassing them until they would just hang in a back corner near the top. they have spawned 3 times so far and they do not tear up the plants. They look for a smooth place to lay their eggs. I have put a couple of smooth round stones in the tank for them. I have dwarf gouramis and otocinclus in the tank with them and they don't bother each other at all except for brief squabbles at feeding time.

When the rams were bothering each other they never tore each other up. I never did see any physical damage on the fish, the harrassed two just lost color and eventually I imagine they may have perished if I hadn't taken them out.

I think you should definitly get some rams for that tank...they're a beautiful fish and would surely be a great addition. The best advice I can give is to buy several...or at least one male and 3 or more females and let him choose his partner and then remove the others.

 

[WinterWind]

Rams are such beautiful fish!!! I wish I could get a pair but I only have a 10 gallon... They probably won't work in a 10 gal.

Anyways, when you guys talk about "rams", do you refer to the german, blue, bolivian? Or are they the same thing but different colours? Or entirely different?

 

[Ken]

I would get at least two, simply because they are so much fun to watch interacting with each other.

A male and female would be good. If you look very closely at the black spot on the side of a male, you may see flecks of blue around it, but in good light, you will see that there is about a 1/4 inch dot of pure black, like black velvet, with no other colors in it.

The females tend to have flecks of blue throughout the spot, but sometimes you have to look close in good light to tell them apart.

Females also tend to have more pink on their bellies.

As far as agression, they will constantly challenge and chase each other, and establish a pecking order if you have several, but their little battles are really pretty mild, compared to other cichlids.

Keeping more than one of the same sex tends to cause more sparring, but fighting rams are really not the same problem as fighting Africans, etc.

I think your plants will be safe. Mine pick at stuff on the surface of the plants, but they don't dig or nibble the plants themselves, but then all I have is java fern and hornwort.

Probably the most important things to remember is that rams require high water quality, meaning you may need to change water as often as twice a week, depending on your bioload.

 

[Obsidian]

Thanks all for the info. I do 35-40% changes 2X/week on my other aquarium already, so I'll just add this new tank to the list.

The reason I asked about the aggression is because I recently unloaded two angels that were tearing each other to shreds.

I am definitely going to get a couple of blues if LFS has them. I just need to finish planting the tank first.

 

[Emg]

Here's a picture of a male german blue ram...

This is a picture of a couple of females....

Not such a good side view of the females, but you can see the cherry bellies pretty good and also the blue speckles on the black spot. If the ram has a red or pink belly, it's a female. The males' fins are larger and thier bodies are a longer shape than the females. It's really hard to tell them apart when they are younger, but as they get older the differences are more noticeable. I also see a bit more red in the fins of my male, but I don't know if that's typical for all males.