Rams or Apisto's

[Matt in MN]

I cycled and planted my 55, and have added my 3 small (for now )
clown loaches from another tank. I'm planning on 4 keyhole cichlids, 9 rummynose tetras, 9 cardinal tetras, 2 SAEs and possibly a pair of Rams or Apisto's. I've never kept dwarves before, so I have a few questions.

1) Should I worry about the dwarves bothering the clowns (sounds like a circus!)?

2) Which are easier to keep - Rams or Apisto's?

3) If Apisto's are a better fit, which species do y'all like?

ph~6.4
dGH~5
dKH~6

 

[Voodoo Chilli]

1. Clowns shouldn't have any trouble with dwarf cichlids. (Actually, it may be the other way around).

2. Rams (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi) and any of the Apistogramma species are relatively easy to care for (with some exceptions), providing the water quality is kept high. This means frequent water changes and a STABLE pH. In my experience, dwarves will not tolerate ammonia or nitrites- and pH fluctuations can be deadly. Heavy nitrates are also detrimental to their well-being, which can be controlled by the water changes.

3. If you're looking for some great beginner Apistogramma (and other dwarf species), I'd suggest: A. cacatuoides, A. macmasteri, A. pulchra, Mikrogeophagus altispinosa, or Nannacara anomala. These are all great species that aren't exceedingly difficult to care for.

One thing you may want to consider is keeping dwarf cichlids and keyholes together. Keys will get a good bit bigger, and although they're peaceful for cichlids, they will be aggressive during breeding. They'll share the same space in the tank, so there could be territory/aggression issues.

 

[Catalina]

Clowns shouldn't have any trouble with dwarf cichlids. (Actually, it may be the other way around).

When you say this Voodoo, do you mean that the clowns are more likely to bother the dwarves? I am thinking about putting clowns and rams in the same tank, but I am having some major reservations. First of all, the tank is smaller than this one (29 gal). I have witnessed clowns kill other fish at my lfs, and if you think they will bother the rams, then i think i'm just going to go with the clowns.

 

[JTAM963]

Could a pair of rams be kept in a 20 gallon tank with corys as the bottom fish? I was just wondering because i want to keep cichlids but a smaller size because only a 20 gallon tank. If not then ill make it a community tank.

 

[Vanilla Magilla]

I have 2 Clown Loaches with 2 Rams, no problams at all.

 

[Voodoo Chilli]

I've also seen clowns get really aggressive and harrass/kill other fish, but my main concern with them and rams together is what occurs when the rams spawn. They'll occupy the same tank space. The eggs/fry can be an attractive food source to the clowns. If the rams aren't large enough to keep the loaches away, the eggs disappear and the rams get really edgy, which is stressful to them. Of course, even if they do keep the loaches away during the day, they'll probably get eaten at night. Rams do have to sleep, afterall.....

I've kept cories and rams together, but only if the tank was large enough. Unlike the loaches, rams usually have no trouble keeping cories away-- and if there isn't enough room for the cories to retreat, you may lose some of them, as they are simply too gentle to take much physical abuse from other tankmates.

 

[Vanilla Magilla]

what occurs when the rams spawn

Good point, I have 2 male Rams.