German Blue Rams

[Chronos313]

So it looks like I finally managed to get a pairing of Blue Rams. The male never leaves this females side and chases the other female away. He's not even bothered by the male and female kribensis in my tank either. I have a lightly planted tank with driftwood on either side. And I also have a piece of slate on one side. Any thoughts as to what else should be placed in the tank to make it a suitable place to hopefully have them lay eggs and eventually have fry.


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[Ricky 1]

Fabulous fish, your tank looks really good, have you tried raising the temperature?

 

[Chronos313]

Right now I have the temperature at 79f it was at 82 so I dropped it down a tad. I'm looking at getting a new light setup in the late fall once my supplier which is a small mom and pop shop gets them in once he's back from vacation. I just would like to make it more home like for them by adding natural environment decor. Any suggestions?


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[azmodan]

More plants and more cover. Can you tell us a little more about your lighting and if you dose ferts/carbon?

Additionally, leaves such as dried Indian almond leaves help provide flat areas to lay eggs, create structures for the rams to hide in, and the leaves themselves have many great properties (antibacterial/fungal, lowers ph, allows microorganisms to grow for fry to eat, etc).

 

[Ricky 1]

The German blue ram lives is the Orinoco River basin, in the llanos of Venezuela and Colombia. Los llanos means “the flat plains” in Spanish and is a large area of tropical grassland plain located east of the Andes in north-western South America. In this area, the water is warm and the temperature will typically stay within the 25.5-29.5 ºC (78-85 ºF) range. The water is soft and acidic with a pH-value around 5.
The sites where German blue rams have been found generally have slow-flowing water. The colour of the water can be anything from dark tea-colour to completely clear. German blue rams are normally only found where there is plenty of cover consisting of aquatic plants or submerged land vegetation. found this, hope it helps

 

[Chronos313]

Right now I'm just running the standard T8 lighting that came with the tank but I do plan on going to an LED setup. I'll get a picture of the lights in gonna get when I'm at the fish shop again, I do plan on getting more cover, I'm hoping to get more taller broad leaved plants. I don't do any dosing of ferts/carbon. I have two flat rocks so far and then the 3 pieces of driftwood as cover as well. The Anubis nana that I currently have are very recently purchased as I just got my tank back from my ex a little over a month ago so they are still growing. Same with the red wenditi. It's a progress that's for sure. My filtration is ample as in running two fluval C4's. And I do water changes every two weeks.


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[Chronos313]

Thanks Ricky. Thank god payday is this week to maybe pick up 4 more plants for 20 bucks


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[azmodan]

Java fern, anubias, and crypts would all work fine in your tank. Crypt balansae is a nice tall crypt. The crypts will need root tabs placed under them though, but they're easily found commercially or made (just do a forum search for DIY root tab).

Also remember that rams need low nitrates so try to keep them under 20 (which could require weekly PWCs, but that depends on your stock too).

 

[Chronos313]

Yeah the plants I get all come in these little black plastic plant holders that the roots are encased in some sort of fibrous material. I did a water test two days ago and my PH was 7.2, ammonia was at 0, nitrites were at 0 and my nitrates were at 10ppm. I feed every second day a mix of micro pellets and flake.


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[azmodan]

Nice. For your anubias make sure the rhizome is above the substrate. It's hard to tell by your pic but it looks like so might be planted a little too deep. Frozen food like bloodworms make a nice and healthy treat for rams too.

 

[Chronos313]

Okay I'll risen my hands with water after supper and I'll move the sand around so that the rhizome is above the substrate. Thank you very much.


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[azmodan]

Yup no prob! Your tank is off to a great start!

 

[Chronos313]

Thanks. The tank has been up and running for almost two years but for 8 months it was at my ex wife's til I found a place that would allow an aquarium so now it's with me and been going strong since day 1 and since it was pre setup I never had to worry about much just a mini cycle in the beginning due to all fresh new water


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[azmodan]

Whoops, sorry I meant looks like you're off to a great start with planting your tank. Let us know when you're ready to upgrade your lighting and we can give you lots of recommendations.

 

[Chronos313]

No worries. I appreciate the help. So when I buy my plants they are already in root tabs is what you are saying correct?


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[azmodan]

Sometimes with store bought plants there are some osmocote pellets in the rock wool wrapped around the roots but normally what you do after you buy plants is remove the wool and plastic pots and place the roots directly into your substrate. From there you will need to supplement any heavy root feeding plant (like crypts or swords) with additional root tabs. You can buy commercial ones such as API or Seachem root tabs (easily found on Amazon) or make your own. Jetajockey, a mod here on AA, also makes and sells his own called Ru tabs which are very good. Once placed into the substrate root tabs only need to be replaced every 2-3 months, depending on the specific brand/size and your particular plants.


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[Chronos313]

No worries. I appreciate the help. So when I buy my plants they are already in root tabs is what you are saying correct?


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[Chronos313]

What is the purpose of a root tab? Pardon my noobiness there.


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[azmodan]

Root tabs are used as a fertilizer to provide nutrients for plants to grow. The tabs utilize a slow release method that allows for the nutrients to gradually be released for roots to take in. In nature root feeding plants can take in their nutrients from nutrient rich soil, silt, and so forth, but in tanks with substrates like sand (which is inert, which in our context essentially means that it cannot retain nutrients) then we need to supplement root feeders with root tabs. Other plants such as anubias, Java fern, mosses, and many stem plants get their nutrients instead from the water column (not the substrate and their roots) so people often supplement those with fertilizers added directly into the water in their tanks. This becomes essential for certain plants and higher levels of light but isn't mandatory for low light plants such as the ones you have.


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[Chronos313]

What is the purpose of a root tab? Pardon my noobiness there.


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