help for blue ram

[jibboo]

I just picked up a blue ram and the guy at the lfs said that they used peat added to the tank.

Now, I have added this guy to my community tank (redtail shark, platys, yo-yo loaches, some other botias, guaramis) and it has lots of live plants.

So, my question is ... If i add the peat ... will it hurt my other fish? And if I do add the peat ... can I just stick it in a filter bag (aquaclear 300) so that its not sitting in my tank visible somewhere?

Lastly, I believe my ph is around 7.2-7.4 and my temps are around 75 f ... should I be worried about raising the temp at all or adjusting the ph?

thanks for any insight you can provide for me.

I'll be posting a pic of the blue I picked up so you can help me in sexing it (the lfs only had 1 when I got it and if I can keep this guy happy for a week, I'm going to attempt to get a pair when their shipment comes in next week).

 

[afilter]

Rams are great and can do well in a community tank with less aggressive fish. I think you are OK there. Just keep an eye on the other tankmates. The ram is a very shy and peaceful cichlid.

As far as adding peat you can, but I would not bother unless you are going to estabish a species tank or try to breed. It will slightly discolor the water (brown tint). There also use to be a product made by tera called black water extract that basically did the same.

Ideal water conditions are similar to discus. I would bump the temp up to atleast 78-80. One thing to keep in mind is that they do not have a real long life span(about two years).

Post a pic when you get a chance.

 

[FawnN]

All the ram owners I know have never used peat with their rams and they still breed like crazy.

I wouldn't bother with it. But I would slowly raise your temp up to at least 77-78 and if your fish don't seem to mind that, try going up a little higher. Rams do a lot better around 80. As for your pH, it needs to be pretty steady, because I found out that they are pretty pH sensitive.

Can't wait to see pictures.

 

[jibboo]

thanks for the advice ... I'll let you know how I make out ... hopefully I can raise the temps a hair at a time and everyone will continue to be happy.

Will try to post a pic tonite. I'm hoping this works out, as I'd like to get rid of the guaramis and try something different. Anyone want 3 gold gurarmis? Fortunately, I got those guys really cheap.

 

[jibboo]

here's some quick pics I took when i got home ... it looks like this fish is finally settling down a little bit and starting to color up better:

 

[afilter]

Looks nice, also looks like you have a good setting with live plants and drift wood. Rams are one of my favorite freshwater fish.

Are you looking at getting more?

 

[tetrin]

wow....nice...congrats...

btw...nice tank too...

 

[jibboo]

thanks, yeah ... I was specifically hunting for a blue ram and my one lfs only had gold rams ... they were out of the blues and then the other lfs had 1 last blue ram. The guy said he would order more in on this coming Tuesday and he'd call me if they came in ... so, yes I'd like to get more. It also gives me a week to make sure I can satisfy this little guy health-wise and tank-wise.

So far he seems to be hanging out mostly around the bottom and he'll sit under the log for a while, then he'll move under the driftwood, then he'll move behind a plant ... these are odd fish to me (never had cichlids before) ... its like he just sits there suspended in the water ... not moving ... while my other fish (platys, rainbow & guarami) are all actively swimming around.

He's a nice fish and he seems to be getting more comfortable with my tank as he is venturing up higher in teh tank and showing a lot more color as well. When I put him in, he was very gray ... ie: not much color showing at all ... but as you can see in the pics today, he is starting to look a lot happier (colorwise).

Can anyone tell me what they feed their rams?

 

[afilter]

Typical behavior for Rams. As all cichlids do they tend to stake out a territoy. Territory should not be a problem though like other cichlids as rams as not very aggressive.

As for feeding, they should take flake or bits. I believe I feed mine a stable of good flake food supplemented with occassional brine and live black worms. Knowing what I know now I would avoid frozen brine as it has little nutritional value.

Have fun,

 

[FawnN]

Very nice looking Ram. It looks like he is coloring up quite nicely.

I feed my rams, flakes, blood worms, brine shrimp, and they will even snack on the shrimp pellets I drop for my pleco and frogs.

 

[Menagerie]

Nice ram and tank! My rams love flake, blood worms, mytsis shrimp, algae wafers, peas, zucchini, broccoli, small pellets, spirulina, and newly hatched brine shrimp if I have some around.

Cichlids have great behaviors--they can "sit" in the water not moving, then dart away. My rams love to hide in drift woods and plants, so I will say that yours is doing well!

 

[jibboo]

Currently, I do a rotational feeding of flakes, shrimp pellets, algae wafers, bloodworms, spectrum, and tubifex. So, hopefully I'll find that the ram will start eating whatever I throw in there. I try to mix up their diet as much as possible right now.

 

[jibboo]

thanks menagerie ... I am hoping to get at least one more (hoping to be able to sex this guy ... so I can get this one a partner).

Does anybody have an idea from the pics what sex this ram may be?

And or, what I need to look for in mate.

 

[Rxblade123]

I think female Rams have a pink abdominal area. I had 3 Blue Rams and the 2 stronger ones made the last one miserable. Because of this I moved the 3rd Blue Ram and put it into my 46 Gallon. The 2 Rams in my 10 gallon will from time to time liplock and thats about it. Probably challenging each other. The dominant fish looks very nice (so does the other one though). Really long fins and best coloration. My Rams stayed in one place, but now they start to explore the tank and swim around more.

 

[FawnN]

If I had to make a guess, it looks like a male too me, because of the slender body. Female blue rams tend to be rounder.

 

[jibboo]

Is there a difference between a "blue ram" and a "german blue ram" ?

 

[Rxblade123]

German Blue Ram tanked raised?

 

[FawnN]

German Blue Rams are mainly tank raised in Germany, while the Blue rams are mainly caught in the wild, but other then that they are the same species.

Now the bolivian rams are a totally different species, which I know little about.