Thoughts on new GBR

[kjacks]

I wanted to add my new experience with gbr .. i havent had mine long but 2 days go i bought 1 from petsmart for $6 i watched the poorly managed tank for the one i liked the best n actually found one with some spirit.. it kept tryin to get my attention n boy it worked bc i came in for some tetras on sale for $1 n walked out with him/her.. everytime another fish would get close it would chase it off.. get it home acclimate it for around an hour taking alot of precautions bc the water there was ice cold in the low 60s bc i checked it .. mine stays around 78-80f .. anyway my lil ram is not shy it hasnt hid not once n constantly is searchin out my betta n the 2 otos i have n my tank doesnt bother them just simply looks at them .. but my betta is gettin moved bc she just dont like the new tank or its other members she is a loner .. hides under the rock cave i made n has since before i added the ram. excited to watch my ram grow n hope i have not health issues



How can i tell if its a male or female
I know it looks dark in this picture but its just poor lighting the fish isnt dark like that at all has a gorgeous blue sparkle most of the time

 

[severum mama]

You have a female.

Nice looking fish, but definitely keep an eye on her. Many pet store specimens have a pretty shoddy survival record and a few days isn't much of a predictor.

 

[Bruna75]

Just wondering what is a good predictor, I have had mine for about 2 months and she is as happy as can be, she even survived a round of ich, it wasn't on her but she was in the same tank that was treated. I check my tank every morning to make sure she is still swimming about, everything I read has said they are hard to keep, especially with high ph, (mine is 7.8) I am just wondering when I can stop obsessing about finding her belly up:/

 

[Bman024]

She is pretty! I have had bad experience with fish from chain stores. Wish you luck and hope she stays healthy! I am getting a pair of GBR's next week myself! So excited!

 

[Borderlesscott]

If you get past 3-5 months with a the Ram you should be fine, I've found they either go quickly or around a few months later. Don't fancy the Betta chances in the tank with the Ram, you may also end up hand feeding the Betta to ensure it gets food.

 

[kjacks]

Thanks i kinda thought it was a female but wasnt exactly sure.. umn lets see if i can remember everything that was said.. (prolly not might take a couple posts) well to address the betta.. she (the ram) hasnt bothered her but my betta seems to b different thn my male betta was n she dont like bigger tanks so im gonna buy a small tank like a 1-3g for her with a filter n heater .. its cute though how the ram will swim by her n sit alil space in between them jst lookin then move on .. my betta ddnt like the tetras so she hid until they were removed..

If u look close enough on the right sidw of the rock u can see my white betta Pearl thats when she realized the tetras were gone n she came out of hiding .. ok lets see if i can get this accurate mine is a female bc she has the pink belly , n if she has blue spots on her black spot on the side, then her head is more slanted then rounded n dorsil fins are shorter then males while pelvic fins are more black then males..

 

[kjacks]

She is pretty! I have had bad experience with fish from chain stores. Wish you luck and hope she stays healthy! I am getting a pair of GBR's next week myself! So excited!

Thanks.. i have had some rough ones too but its petsmart or walmart here unless i order online which i have done n prefer .. glad i bought my africans online n not petsmart my labs are much orettier then the ones they have

 

[kjacks]

While im thinking on it what are good tank mates for gbr if i wanted to add a bolivian would they fight or if i ended up with a male would they still breed (which i wouldnt want 2 happen ) i have a 20g high ..

 

[phishfriend]

That's a beautiful female!! super nice! I second severum mama. keep an eye on her! You should get her a nice male.

 

[kjacks]

I might b bringing her back.. she is a fin nipper n is killin my other fish off even my otos .. is that a common thing for rams or should i try a different ram and see what happens

 

[phishfriend]

I might b bringing her back.. she is a fin nipper n is killin my other fish off even my otos .. is that a common thing for rams or should i try a different ram and see what happens

Try a different ram. The only other fish in my DT besides rams, are oto's and they get along fine unless an oto gets into a spawn site but then it just gets chased off.

 

[kjacks]

Well i took the ram out of my tank n put her in a 10g i had as a spare.. i know thats too small but i cant leave it in that tank to kill my others fish . I used tank water from the 20g n even put the better heater n the 10 so the water temp wouldnt drop too low .. im not sure if that was a good idea bc shes not lookin good now ..she is gettin dark like a black color way more then she was .. mayb i stressed her out too much moving her . I really hope she dont die

Edit: just me panickin as usual im a worry wart with my fish.. shes fine now just needed to give her alil more time to regroup..

 

[kjacks]

Called petsmart this morning will b bringig her back .. the lady i spoke to said i should have known better then stick a gbr in a community tank they are aggressive n shouldnt b in a community like that. I just told her their website n info in the store said peaceful community tank fish so y wouod they say that if they werent communoty compatible. She didnt say anything.. think im gonna try to get some more otos n i think all i saw was bolivan rams left at petsmart yesterday then friday try back n get anothe ram .. im gonna miss the lil gal..

 

[Bruna75]

I have a Bolivian ram in with my gbr, they get along fine, they are the most peaceful fish in my tank after the panda corys. I cant believe the lady on the phone told you that especially since it says it in their store they are a community fish:/

 

[kjacks]

Even when i got there the guy that was there when i bought her asked y i was returnin her sinc i just got her .. i told him what happend n he said not to go by the site i shoulda aske him bc they r really aggressive fish n will kill anything in the tank with them. If i wanted to add i shoulda added all of the fish together .. which i had added he gbr last then had fish killed n added 2 albino cories that she tried to eat.. im adding more plants n another hiding spot n gonna try again but i wanna wait til mayb friday or alil longer so i can get more opinions from here..

 

[phishfriend]

I'm sry. but he's a bit mistaken. Yes,rams are a dwarf SA cichlid and yes they can be aggressive but usually only when breeding. I really think it was just that ram. Another thing to think about is an adjustment time. It takes a day or two for them to settle in. I'm not suggesting you leave a fin nipper in the tank for 48 hr. Just that a bit of chasing may happen at first.

 

[kjacks]

Yea i told my husband i didnt think.they were roght that i have read to many people sayin the opposite n i know the people at my petsmart dont have a clue whats going on i asked today hat temp they kept the tanks bc the water seems ice cold to me she said 68° F is what they keep it at.. n well they dont even know corydoras are cories.. but anyway thats besides the point.. i woulda left her if it was just some chasing but i saw the nipping so i knew it would get worse.. i want a ram so ill prolly b going back n just lookin to see if i can find one thats not so dominate i guess is the right word n just see if i can pick a more laid back one.. we really liked her i hated to bring her back

 

[severum mama]

They are generally pretty peaceful, actually. The chain store got that right at least. I've kept many specimens in pairs, with other fish. Aggressive rams are an anomaly, with the exception of breeding pairs.

 

[Borderlesscott]

I've kept and bred various deferent types of Rams along with my dad over the years and noticed an increase in aggression and health issues with Rams originating from breeders in Singapore. They tend to be the Rams most people want due to there super colours, research on this has shown questionable practises used on the fish and I've stopped keeping them. The more natural looking Rams tend to be more peaceful. I've only had 3 Rams that where a complete nightmare, 2 from the start and one male that turned crazy after a failed spawn. All 3 would just constantly chase, harass and attack other fish all over a 4 foot tank. It can happen that you get a rouge fish, though they are in the minority. I've only one German Ram at present and I won't be getting any more for the foreseeable future, I've switched to Bolivian's - which I have to admit are sweethearts compared to Germans, though often overlooked as they don't look as flashy in the LFS - few weeks at home and they look as impressive, possibley more so than most Germans IMO.

 

[kjacks]

Me n the hubby have been talkin n readin .. i showed him pictures of the rams.. he likes the long finned ones but i think we are gonna try again with a gbr.. mayb not from petsmart this time . While we both think all variations are beautiful there is just something that draws us to the gbr.