Rams

GuppyGirl1230

GuppyGirl1230

Snails, Guppies and Corys, OH MY!!!
Jul 14, 2010
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Westminster, Colorado
Real Name
Maribeth
I found some beautiful rams, electric blue, german blue, clown and gold angel rams. My question is how many can I put in a planted(heavily) 100 gallon tank? Should I go species specific, like ONLY german blues? I really love these fish, so any advice would be great, thank you!!

Maribeth
 
I would be disinclined to mix hybrids like golds and electric blues with German blues. The electric blues are expensive, so why mongrelize them? I once kept Bolivians (clowns?) along with German blues with no issues except for the compromise in water temperature. I think 79 or 80 degrees works for both.
If you keep only GBRs I think a group of six could sort things out and coexist in a well planted 100 gallon. Or maybe six Bolivians and a pair of GBRs?
 
gmh said:
I would be disinclined to mix hybrids like golds and electric blues with German blues. The electric blues are expensive, so why mongrelize them? I once kept Bolivians (clowns?) along with German blues with no issues except for the compromise in water temperature. I think 79 or 80 degrees works for both.
If you keep only GBRs I think a group of six could sort things out and coexist in a well planted 100 gallon. Or maybe six Bolivians and a pair of GBRs?
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Thank you! Yes, I agree, I don't want to interbreed the different species. I really love the clowns, and the german blues. So six to eight maybe?

Thanks!
 
FYI, there are only the two species of Rams(currently)
Mikrogeophagus Altispinosa-aka Bolivain Ram, butterfly ram

Mikrogeophagus Ramirezi- aka blue ram, GBR
angel rams are often Balloon rams (a genetic variety of the GBR) or Veiled Blue rams(long finned variety)
the Electric blue is a color variant of the Blue ram.
as far as keeping them together..you can..but keep in mind there are some differences between the 2 species in terms of conditions. there is overlap in temperature but basically the Altispinosa (bolivian) prefers sightly cooler water than the Ramirezi(GBR)
also the more you keep together of the species you increase the chance of pairs forming and aggression as a result.

disruption with structure in the tank will help to reduce the issues.. usually line of sight disruption(aka cover)

you may still need to deal with possible aggression issues and may need to remove some of the rams.
 
Star_Rider said:
FYI, there are only the two species of Rams(currently)
Mikrogeophagus Altispinosa-aka Bolivain Ram, butterfly ram

Mikrogeophagus Ramirezi- aka blue ram, GBR
angel rams are often Balloon rams (a genetic variety of the GBR) or Veiled Blue rams(long finned variety)
the Electric blue is a color variant of the Blue ram.
as far as keeping them together..you can..but keep in mind there are some differences between the 2 species in terms of conditions. there is overlap in temperature but basically the Altispinosa (bolivian) prefers sightly cooler water than the Ramirezi(GBR)
also the more you keep together of the species you increase the chance of pairs forming and aggression as a result.

disruption with structure in the tank will help to reduce the issues.. usually line of sight disruption(aka cover)

you may still need to deal with possible aggression issues and may need to remove some of the rams.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the FYI, I didn't know that. I think I will stay away from the angels/balloons, I don't like anything balloon. I thought they were very peaceful... did not know they would get aggressive.:shakehead: I need to do a little more research. Thanks
 
drunkenmastera said:
the electric ones are the most prettiest out of all of them. But yea, they are the prettiest.
You can try to breed them. That would be awesome.
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I was thinking about it lol, I think if I do rams, I will do one kind only, and the electrics are up there on the list lol. I don't have any buyers though.. I would have to make sure to plan on selling them, or giving them away. Now, I am all worried about aggression because of the pairing and breeding. I did some research but nothing said that they get aggressive until the previous post. IDK, I really want peaceful fish I can keep with plants, and I wanted cichlids. These sounded perfect... :(, we will see...
 
They do not get overly aggressive, I think you are worrying a little too much. Especially if you are putting 6-8 in a 100G. Just make sure to give them lots of plants, caves, hiding spots and you will be fine.
 
abcdefghi said:
They do not get overly aggressive, I think you are worrying a little too much. Especially if you are putting 6-8 in a 100G. Just make sure to give them lots of plants, caves, hiding spots and you will be fine.
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Ok, thanks:thm:
 
You should be ok
but be aware the aggression will vary from fish to fish.

they are cichlids afterall and they will act like any cichlid.

you can keep several in a 100 just be aware they will become very territorial if pair bonds form...as will just about any Cichlid..they tend to be conspecific in aggression(within the species) but I have seen Ramirezi harass the dickens out of angels and Discus in large tanks(think 100-200 gallon) usually just to chase the fish that is invading the territory.

but you can easily try to diffuse the situation by providing lots of cover and hiding places.

there are cases of imbalances of of sexes..I find the females to be more aggressive towards other females when pairs form up.

Like mentioned you should be fine but you do need to be aware of possible aggression issues.
 
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