Best Tank Mates For German Blue Rams - 20 Gal?

[Scottyhorse]

Hi there. I m going to buy a 20 gal kit after Christmas. I know for sure that I want GBRs in there. I am thinking I'll get two... Anyways, what other fish would be best in there?

I was thinking for the top level a school of hatchet fish or silver dollars. For the middle a school of tetra or rasbora? I am not sure.. I would really like your guy's opinions. The only other bottom dweller I would have are some shirmp, because I hear that rams will get aggressive to other BDs when they are spawning. Although, I would like something to keep algae down....

I am going to be getting my rams from severum mama or Gunpowder Aquatics - Tropical Fish Farm - Gunpowderfish.com

Then the rest at petsmart probably. My tank is also going to be planted, so no fish that will uproot them. I alread have problems with floating plants

 

[Tippytrampoline]

Hey!! Congrats on soon getting new buddies!! I have a 29g tall tank, and my GBR's by no means stay near the bottom, lol. I keep mine with a school of 6 gold neon tetras, two angelfish, and a yoyo loach. Everyone seems happy, and the movement and color is wonderful. Everyone is always all over the place. Please post pictures as soon as you can!

 

[Scottyhorse]

Hey!! Congrats on soon getting new buddies!! I have a 29g tall tank, and my GBR's by no means stay near the bottom, lol. I keep mine with a school of 6 gold neon tetras, two angelfish, and a yoyo loach. Everyone seems happy, and the movement and color is wonderful. Everyone is always all over the place. Please post pictures as soon as you can!

Oh cool!! I am super excited!! I would love to get an angel, but since I am only getting a 25 gal at the max, I decided it would be best not to. Although they are so adorable when they are small.... It will be hard to resist!

I love gold neon tetras! They are sooo pretty. If the pet store has them I want to get a school of them for sure. I bet they won't though hehe.

I will post pictures as soon as I set it up!! But you will have to wait a
while! where did you get your rams from?

 

[Borderlesscott]

Strongly advise not putting the Rams in until the tank is cycled, start with a small group of Tetra first, Rams really don't do we'll in new tanks and health problems can develop even after the tank is cycled properly due to them being put in to early, as well as a strong possibility of one or both dying during the cycling process.

 

[Scottyhorse]

Strongly advise not putting the Rams in until the tank is cycled, start with a small group of Tetra first, Rams really don't do we'll in new tanks and health problems can develop even after the tank is cycled properly due to them being put in to early, as well as a strong possibility of one or both dying during the cycling process.

Oh yeah, I was going to add them last. Probably 6-8 weeks or more after the tank has cycled.

 

[Tippytrampoline]

I was going to get mine at an exotic pet store, but the owner was being incredibly evasive, rude, difficult to work with, an eventually I just went to petland. I haven't really had any issues with the fish I've gotten from them! The neons I got at a reef store nearby.

 

[phishfriend]

Oddballfish.com. They have breeding them for a while from what I'v learned. Have talked to a few people that have great experiences with them.

 

[Scottyhorse]

Oddballfish.com. They have breeding them for a while from what I'v learned. Have talked to a few people that have great experiences with them.

Thanks! I'll check them out.

 

[DavidAl]

Please scratch the silver dollars off your list. They get too big for a 20g; and besides, they like to eat plants.

Cardinal tetras are a good choice to keep with rams. As others have suggested, wait till your tank matures before you get them.

David

 

[Scottyhorse]

Please scratch the silver dollars off your list. They get too big for a 20g; and besides, they like to eat plants.

Cardinal tetras are a good choice to keep with rams. As others have suggested, wait till your tank matures before you get them.

David

Okay, I will take them off. What else could I do for the top? Also for the middle? I want to do some sort of tetra, but not neon or cardinal. They are too common. Maybe I will though. Depends on what they have.

 

[Tippytrampoline]

Rhombo barbs are super pretty, an also small, but hard to find. They'd be a fun addition though!

 

[Scottyhorse]

Those barbs are pretty. They look just like snakes!

 

[Lardeelion]

Hey!! Congrats on soon getting new buddies!! I have a 29g tall tank, and my GBR's by no means stay near the bottom, lol. I keep mine with a school of 6 gold neon tetras, two angelfish, and a yoyo loach. Everyone seems happy, and the movement and color is wonderful. Everyone is always all over the place. Please post pictures as soon as you can!

Tippy...your angelfish are happy in there? I'm starting a 29 gallon and I want a pair of rams but was advised against adding angelfish. Wasn't sure exactly why - their size?

 

[aaronjohn20]

Tippy...your angelfish are happy in there? I'm starting a 29 gallon and I want a pair of rams but was advised against adding angelfish. Wasn't sure exactly why - their size?

I've got 4 angelfish with 1 of each kind of ram (bolivian, golden, and gbr)

 

[Lardeelion]

I've got 4 angelfish with 1 of each kind of ram (bolivian, golden, and gbr)

Anything else in there? Dither fish?

 

[aaronjohn20]

Anything else in there? Dither fish?

Well its a 46g bf but there's also 6 cory cats, a betta, pictus cat, banjo cat, 4 maybe 5 mickey mouse moons, 2 variatus, and a pleco.

 

[Tippytrampoline]

Tippy...your angelfish are happy in there? I'm starting a 29 gallon and I want a pair of rams but was advised against adding angelfish. Wasn't sure exactly why - their size?

I wouldn't know why they would advise against it, the gbr's are pretty large, and stay near the bottom, the angels near the top, and even during feeding they rarely interact. They mostly ignore each other. If anyone has any clue as to why it wouldn't be recommended, I'd like to hear it, because the lfs where I got them from keep their baby angels and rams all in the same tank together? I dunno. I've had a very long day and my brain is simply not processing. ?

 

[Lardeelion]

Well I'm not quite sure I trust my LFS anyway. They have beautiful fish but they also told me 3 pairs of dwarf cichlids would fit well in a 29 (that sounds totally wrong, though I know nothing about dwarf cichlids). I was really surprised they didn't endorse the angel idea. I trust the people here more than just about any LFS.

 

[Tippytrampoline]

Well I'm not quite sure I trust my LFS anyway. They have beautiful fish but they also told me 3 pairs of dwarf cichlids would fit well in a 29 (that sounds totally wrong, though I know nothing about dwarf cichlids). I was really surprised they didn't endorse the angel idea. I trust the people here more than just about any LFS.

Honestly, I wouldn't trust my judgment either. My setup was mostly a trial and error. I had little to zero experiences advice from anyone, and just kind of went with it. I figured that if I got fish that came from the same region of the world for my tank, I'd at least be doing myself a favor and making it less complicated. And from what I've found, an issue hasn't arisen. Actually, my yoyo loach is the one doing most of the chasing ad mouthing and showing the most interest in his tank mates. But then again, neither the angels nor the rams have officially paired off yet, and if / when that happens I plan to move the rams to their own setup, alone with some shrimp.

Again. Loss of thought process. Random.

 

[Scottyhorse]

So I won't get an angel then.... So what do you guys keep in your tanks? So far I have this:

2 German Blue Rams
A school (5-6) of some sore of pristilla tetra, like an X-ray
1 Hummingbird terta
1 Upside down Cat
Then I was thinking a Betta maybe.. A female possibly? But I don't know if the betta and rams will get along. So I guess no.

So what else could I add? I would add some otos, but I am worrying about aggression from the Rams.

Would I be maxed out with this? If not, I am just thinking a few more fish, not another school. Would a couple zebra danios be okay? My friend has 2 in her tank, and they are soooo funny to watch!