keeping rams

[sharkmom]

Love rams but I can't keep them alive for any longer then a few months, what r the best tank mates I have a variety of fish danios,one angel,black skirts, alot of community fish trying to get away from semi aggressive. Have 150 gal tank

 

[melosu58]

This forum is for community announcements and news. Move to the FW general discussion.

 

[CleverBs]

well what are your water Parameters? also keep in mind that Rams only live for about 2-3 years regardless so if you are getting older ones they could be dying from that. however i doubt this is the case. Rams are sensitive to your water and you want to have soft acidic water for best results. I would need more information on you water conditions as well as how they act before they die. do they show signs of death or do you just wake up one day and they are dead? also keep in mind that alot of rams are injected with hormones to make their color come out at a young age and this ends up killing them very quickly and most dont make it past a year. when buying rams try and find out how old they are and if they are younger then 6 months they shouldn't be showing much color, and quite honestly they should be very colorful in the pet store because they often keep them in bad conditions so their color will dull, if they look dull they probably arnt injected however if you buy them and they are extremely colorful well they are more then likely injected. PM me you water conditions and what not and I may be able to help.

 

[bruinsbro1997]

What are your water parameters???

What are the tankmates as of now???

 

[sharkmom]

Will have to test water have not done it in a while everyone is in good health will do it tomorrow

 

[mfdrookie516]

IME, and from everything I was told prior to having GBR's... they die for absolutely no apparent reason. I figured I'd try it myself. I got a pair. One died within 2 weeks. The other died after about 2 months. I can honestly say, my water was in tip top shape, as it always is... and that just confirms what everyone told me before. Even breeders say they are one of the hardest fish to keep alive.

 

[sharkmom]

Very hard to keep alive they r cool looking and I wish they lived longer

 

[jpchin]

i really don't know why so many rams die but i've had mine for the last 10 months and they have grown from about 1 1/2 inches to over 3 inches. they are very colorful and are a great addition to the community tank. when i decided to get rams i built my 45 gal aquarium around their needs. i keep the ph at around 6-6.5. my water is very soft. my temp is around 79-80. i do a water change every 3 days. i also have other fish that like the same ph and soft water. i very often hear that you don't need to keep the ph low and that they will adjust ot other water conditions. i think that is why so many of them die. everything you read about the rams requirements say that they should be kept in a low ph and acidic water. that's what they need to reach their full potential and to be healthy. that 's what the profile sheets tell you and what i believe and practice. maybe that's why my are still alive?

 

[sharkmom]

I will work on my ph what r there tank mates

 

[bruinsbro1997]

I will work on my ph what r there tank mates

I'm keeping mine currently with chocolate and gold honey gouramis, pristella and rummy-nose tetras, platies, cories, bettas, and angelfish.

I've been keeping mine in a pH of 7.4-7.6 and there's nothing wrong with them.

 

[CleverBs]

I keep mine with Peal Gourmies (5), Serpae Tetras (15), Cardinal Tetras (10)

I have 4x GBR and 2x Electric Blue Rams

 

[sharkmom]

What size tank do u guys have.going fish shopping next weekend going to find a new fish store we only have pet smart

 

[kdpuffer]

I keep my pair of gbr in a 29g with 10 cardinal tetras.

 

[CleverBs]

My tank is a 75 gallon Planted

 

[bruinsbro1997]

My tanks forty gallons and planted.

 

[jpchin]

i keep mine with dwarf gourami's, x-ray tetra's, dalmation mollies, and glo fish. also have s.a. bumblebee cat fish. good luck. keep the water parameters the way they frefer and you'll be rewarded with some of the most beautiful freshwater fish you can get.don't be surprised when you first get them because they aren't that colorful when they are young. but when mature the males are beautiful. here's a pic of mine.

 

[h2oskierc]

i keep the ph at around 6-6.5.

Is your water naturally that acidic? Mine comes out of the tap 8.1-8.3 pretty consistent (my tank stays right there as well), and my GBRs lasted about 2-3 weeks. The first one to die (female) I had no warning. The second one started rapid brathing, and I euthanised him.

 

[jpchin]

Is your water naturally that acidic? Mine comes out of the tap 8.1-8.3 pretty consistent (my tank stays right there as well), and my GBRs lasted about 2-3 weeks. The first one to die (female) I had no warning. The second one started rapid brathing, and I euthanised him.

no it comes out of the tap at about 8. i mix ro(reverse osmosis) water with my tap.(it takes a while to get the right combination but i now know to mix about 2/3 ro to 1/3 tap) that will give me a ph of around 6-6.5 which is what i want. if you want more info i'll be glad to share with you. again i think you should try to give them the best water conditions you can. if you goggle german blue rams you will find quite a bit of info and it all tells you they like acidic, low ph water. they also like "fresh water" which is just another way of saying they like frequent (i do mine every 3rd day) water changes. it's a bit of work but well worth it imo.