Just Got My First Ram!

[Mattyfelts]

Just got my first german ram! I'm so excited, hopefully he eats some fry! Pictures to come!

 

[The Trooper]

Aren't they shoaling fish?

 

[Mattyfelts]

Aren't they shoaling fish?

um they are cichlid, i beleive they can be left alone or put in pairs. Everyone on this has recommended one to start

 

[Abiduwhabi]

They are an excellent fish and one of my favorites. They will be ok in a community tank in a group or by themselve. They crack me up the way they interact with the other fish, I heard one woman explain it as a lot of bark and no bite.

 

[The Trooper]

Ok, i was just checking, they are beautiful fish. I've had 3 in the past - sadly they all died, i might try them again once i get my new 215l set up, would love some babies!

 

[bribo12]

um they are cichlid, i beleive they can be left alone or put in pairs. Everyone on this has recommended one to start

Yep they are a dwarf South American cichlid. They do best singly or in a pair. Definitely a cool fish, I miss my pair. Good luck with it!

 

[The Trooper]

See that makes sense, because before mine died 2 were always together and 1 was always flying solo.

 

[Mattyfelts]

Thanks for all the love guys! Ill post some pictures soon as hes settled haha, just looking at him hes already being hilarious haha! love their eyes!

 

[Luananeko]

I love GBRs, they're such characters I have two girls in my 75 gallon and they've even teamed up to shoo away my full grown Red Tail Black Shark when she got a bit pushy! Every time they hear or see me near the tank they both come right to the front, dance, and beg like they've never been fed in their lives... Silly fish!

Since your first one is male, I'd avoid adding any more later after his territory is established. Even adding another female later is 50/50 on whether they'll get along since there's no guarantee they'll pair up. If they don't pair, he'll just chase her out like any intruder.

 

[Mattyfelts]

I love GBRs, they're such characters I have two girls in my 75 gallon and they've even teamed up to shoo away my full grown Red Tail Black Shark when she got a bit pushy! Every time they hear or see me near the tank they both come right to the front, dance, and beg like they've never been fed in their lives... Silly fish!

Since your first one is male, I'd avoid adding any more later after his territory is established. Even adding another female later is 50/50 on whether they'll get along since there's no guarantee they'll pair up. If they don't pair, he'll just chase her out like any intruder.

im not 100% on him being male (he is juvenile) i just say he because its quicker to type than she, sorry no offence to the females! But yes he/she is quite the character! ill go try to get a picture now

 

[Luananeko]

im not 100% on him being male (he is juvenile) i just say he because its quicker to type than she, sorry no offence to the females! But yes he/she is quite the character! ill go try to get a picture now

Ahhh, totally makes sense Yes, they can be tricky to sex as youngsters... I had a group of rams I got a while back that I ran into problems with because I ended up with 3 males and 1 female instead of the 2 pairs I thought I had!

 

[Mattyfelts]

Ahhh, totally makes sense Yes, they can be tricky to sex as youngsters... I had a group of rams I got a while back that I ran into problems with because I ended up with 3 males and 1 female instead of the 2 pairs I thought I had!

lmfao yes! i have only one, he/she is about 1 inche long! maybe a little bigger, i hope it eats fry !

 

[Mattyfelts]

There's the newbie! Haha whatta cutie

 

[Mattyfelts]

It is a girl i do beleive ! Does anyone know if she will eat fry? (they are about 5-10 mm)

 

[Luananeko]

Can't confirm or deny the gender off the pic, but yes, she should happily gobble up any tiny fry she finds. You'll still have some fry survive to adulthood if there are plants or other hidey holes in the tank, but their numbers should be reduced.

 

[Abiduwhabi]

It is a girl i do beleive ! Does anyone know if she will eat fry? (they are about 5-10 mm)

Who knows, as other have said there are near impossible to sex as a juvie. I have a pair that I've had for 2 months and still question what they are lol.

They will eat pretty much anything they see that will fit in their mouth.

 

[Mattyfelts]

Can't confirm or deny the gender off the pic, but yes, she should happily gobble up any tiny fry she finds. You'll still have some fry survive to adulthood if there are plants or other hidey holes in the tank, but their numbers should be reduced.

I'll give those away, cant really have to many more fish! but good i have about 12 so hopefully they are limited! Um well yeah in the picture you cant see it, but her black spot has the shiny blue/teal scales in it! Does anyone know what colour variation she is? (german blue, gold, electric blue)

 

[Luananeko]

She's a german blue. Gold wouldn't have the blue scales, and electric blue would be all blue, not yellow with black like that.

Sadly the blue scales inside the black spot are not a guaranteed sign of gender at that age... That assumption was how I got into my problem with 3 males The best way to be sure is when she gets a pink belly, that's a sure sign of a girl.

 

[Mattyfelts]

She's a german blue. Gold wouldn't have the blue scales, and electric blue would be all blue, not yellow with black like that.

Sadly the blue scales inside the black spot are not a guaranteed sign of gender at that age... That assumption was how I got into my problem with 3 males The best way to be sure is when she gets a pink belly, that's a sure sign of a girl.

Her belly is pink already (on the sides) i have another picture if you want to see! and WOOOOO THANK GOD i was praying it would be German Blue, my favourite !

 

[Luananeko]

Congrats! You should be fine adding a male later if you want to then. Since he'll be the newcomer, he won't consider the girl as an intruder. Girls tend to be much more accepting of adding a boy to their territory rather than vice versa. In fact all the unpaired mature girls I've had tend to be quite welcoming of a boy since they're wanting to breed at that stage