Planted 20 gallon stocking, maybe with Gold Ram?

[blazingnate]

I have a 20 gallon tall planted aquarium with a male and female German ram, a dwarf gourami, and 5 neon tetras. I want to add more fish,specifically a pair of gold ram cichlids. Should I get a male and female and hope they pair? Two females or a male and two females? I'm afraid their may be aggression from adding just females since my German blue rams have paired and bread.

Also I want some ideas of middle and top swimmers to add to make the tank look more full. Thanks

 

[Toad]

I honestly don't think the footprint of a twenty gallon is going to give two sets of rams enough room, especially if one set is already breeding. I would stick to your original pair, up your neon's to 6, and if you are looking for something to hang out at the top check out marbled hatchet fish. They stay smaller than the silver, and stay at the top very nicely.

 

[absolutangel04]

Personally, I would not add any more rams to your tank. There is just too high of a chance for aggression.
There is just not a ton of floor space in a 20g high, and since you already have an established breeding pair, I would just let them be.
For middle or top swimmers, you have more choices (assuming your filtration is good). One suggestion that pops to mind is harlequin or espei rasboras. They stay smallish and wont overwhelm your filtration, but tend to stay a little higher in the tank than neons do ime.

 

[blazingnate]

Thanks for your advice everyone, I may hold off on the gold rams. What if I were to add another dwarf gourami possibly a powder blue? Also, are there any fish that are closer to the size of a rams I canadd that will be mid or top level swimmers? How about any rainbow fish?

 

[absolutangel04]

For rainbows, look into the praecox, threadfin, and Celebes rainbow. They are great fun. I am actually getting Celebes rainbows soon for a 20g high of my own.
I would not do another dg in that size tank. Some dg do fine with others, some are super bossy. It's risky. Females are nearly impossible to find on the market, so you generally would just be adding another male, and that frequently doesn't work.

 

[blazingnate]

what about a Boesemani rainbow fish? is a 20 gallon too small? I have already been thinking about adding another female to my tank because my male GBR will pick on the female a lot. I can tell it stresses her out alot. Would adding a female gold ram take some of the attention off the female i have now and help him calm down? I know for most of you this would just be speculation unless you've had this same experience.

 

[Toad]

Are you sure it's not breeding behavior?

 

[blazingnate]

I'm pretty sure. When they are mating, they kind of swim around each other and he will peck at her and she'll peck back, but lately i've noticed he will take off after he whenever he sees her and nip at her fins and sides and such such. He doesn't inflict any real damage, but she gets stressed and her colors have been fading when he does it. He has always done this at night when the lights goes out, and i'm not sure why. I wonder if adding a female gold ram will take some of the pressure off the current female and I think a gold ram will look great in the tank.

 

[Toad]

I'm pretty sure rams aren't harem breeders so it would be whatever pair forms vs the odd one out, although I've never really bred rams.

 

[blazingnate]

well i'm not sure concerned about breeding as I am about having the fish i want in my tank and for those fish to live happily and healthy. I have used the stocking calculator and with my tank and filter It says i should be fine with the 2 rams added, i'm just worried they won't live in peace. I would prefer adding a pair of the gold rams or at least a female.

 

[Toad]

What we are saying is the chance of having two sets of rams in this tank is probably not going to work out, the size is too small. And whether you want to breed or not, if you have a male and female they are usually going to try.

Try removing the male, rearrange the tank decor and then put him back in, it can throw off any territory disputes if that's what's causing his aggression. If it doesn't, and you really want gold rams, take these guys and trade them for gold rams.

 

[blazingnate]

ok, that's not bad advice, thanks!

 

[Kimlafeiet]

I would absolutely not add another ram to the tank. A 20 tall is really probably too small for your single pair. They would most likely kill any other ram(s) you tried to add.
As far as top dwellers, Danios, White Cloud Mountain Minnows, Raspboras are all top dwellers, but your tank is pretty well stocked already. Depending on your water change schedule and filtration, you might could add a small school of minnows or raspboras. A boesmani rainbow is a schooling fish, gets too big for a 20. They are very active swimmers and need at least a 4ft tank.
Agree with Toad though, rearrange the tank to see if it helps with agression. I had a pair of GBRs in a 37 gallon, and the male got continually agressive with his mate and also all the other fish in the tank. I ended up having to move him into my 55 gallon without the female.

 

[Dnoel5787]

what about a Boesemani rainbow fish? is a 20 gallon too small? I have already been thinking about adding another female to my tank because my male GBR will pick on the female a lot. I can tell it stresses her out alot. Would adding a female gold ram take some of the attention off the female i have now and help him calm down? I know for most of you this would just be speculation unless you've had this same experience.

Definitely too small for Boesmani, but Praecox rainbows are really beautiful. They are schoolers, though, so I would suggest at least 1 male, 2 females or 3 males. 5 would be ideal, though. You just don't have room to add that many fish with your current stock. Gouramis might be your best bet. Pearls are top swimmers. Finicky, IME, though.