rams for the general population???

LMOUTHBASS

My hypocrisy goes only so far
Jun 17, 2003
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Boston , MA
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Mark
i have a community tank but am starting to gradually go towards more interesting fish - in other words i am graduating from platies, swordtails, guppies etc and now have
gouramis, pictus,angels,cories,
a little bit harder but still easier fish to care for - i am keeping with the community theme for now but want to get some cool fish - everything i pick now is interesting to me - the main theme of my tank for now is angels and cories a nice mix - as well as loaches , i have neon rainbow fish in my q tank when they are ready they will be my schooling fish - however i want a school of some type of tetras as well - also with the semi aggressive theme i'm going for i have heard there are some less aggressive cichlids i saw some rams at my lfs that were simply awesome looking i belive they were reb belly bolivian rams? not sure though but for some reason that name sticks out at me -
if not what type of rams or cichlids other than my angels can i add that will not torment the other tank mates ? thanks
tank is 55g
 
Rams will be fine in your tank... (Blue, German Blue or Bolivian will all work). You might need to watch out when they breed, but 55g is probably good enough even when they breed...

In fact, I have a tank that contains pair of blue Ram with less than 1 inch platy fries as well as other species. Absolutely no problem at all...

Some complain that they are sensitive to water conditions, but so far, they've been super easy for me. (Could be lucky with both my LFS and the tap water conditions)

What is your water parameter like?
 
also depends on the source of the rams... rams are a popular fish like angels and to some extent discus ie lots of them are produced and for the most part without thought to keeping the genetic hardyness there and so puppy mill type fish are very dificult to keep for very long
 
Originally posted by SnakeIce
also depends on the source of the rams... rams are a popular fish like angels and to some extent discus ie lots of them are produced and for the most part without thought to keeping the genetic hardyness there and so puppy mill type fish are very dificult to keep for very long

Yup, this sure is true... Because of this, I try to look for locally bred Rams if I can - mix from more than one source.
 
If you can, get European bred rams. They are soooo much more healthier than asians (the ones the LFS usually gets). They are also much more colorful.

You can buys some from http://southernapistos.com

They are a bit pricey and shipping is expensive (it's overnight shipping), but they are well worth it. My brother bought 2 pair from here and both pairs arrive healthy... they paired up and spawned within 3 days after arrival. He also sent a pair af A. borelli for free.

Below is a picture of what his rams look like... my bros are just as nice looking.

ramgreat1.jpg
 
No ink. Just amazing fish.
 
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