German blue rams in 36 gallon

[adammorrill]

hello, i have a 36 gallon tank with a powder blue gourami and 2 cherry barbs in it currently. i am planning to add 5 more cherry barbs to make a school. i am wondering if i could add 1 or 2 german blue rams. if i could how much more room would i have for other fish and what kind? my tank is all artificial plants and there isnt that many either.

[bruinsbro1997]

Yes you could add a ram or two. Were you thinking bolivians or German ones?

[adammorrill]

umm im not sure i dont have any experience with them so which would be a better choice, i would probally like the smaller ones though. Also i think i am going to have to buy them online because my petstores dont have them

[aa108]

Originally Posted by adammorrill

umm im not sure i dont have any experience with them so which would be a better choice, i would probally like the smaller ones though. Also i think i am going to have to buy them online because my petstores dont have them

I think that bolivian rams are a bit less colorful than the german blue rams, but they are a lot hardier. a lot of german blue ram owners have them dying unexpectedly.

[absolutangel04]

Originally Posted by adammorrill

umm im not sure i dont have any experience with them so which would be a better choice, i would probally like the smaller ones though. Also i think i am going to have to buy them online because my petstores dont have them

They are the same size and have essentially the same temperament. Bolivians are less colorful, but still very pretty, especially once they get a little older. Bolivians are generally hardier. Both tend to be bit sensitive, so you need to watch your nitrates with them in the tank. Germans are typically more so. YOu have enough space foe a pair in that tank for sure. Alsom the fake plants are fine, but you shoudl add a few more if the tank is sparse. Rmas also like to have cave type things. I have terra cotta pots for mine.

[adammorrill]

ok i will most likely try to get the bolivians if i can find them and do you have any ideas on stocking plans?

[absolutangel04]

Originally Posted by adammorrill

ok i will most likely try to get the bolivians if i can find them and do you have any ideas on stocking plans?

You have a fair amount of stocking options. You could get another school, of most any smallish tetra. Lemon tetra, xray tetra, emperor tetra, cardinal, neon, black neons, purple passion danios, zebra or leopard danios, kerri blue tetras, bleeding herat tetras ot name a few. YOu could do a school of at 6 of these. More of the smaller ones.
You could also do gold barbs.
6 corys for the bottom (most any species would be fine) or 3 banjo catfish.
Bristle-nose pleco trio of pitbull plecos or clown pleco.
Any idea what you like?

[adammorrill]

i like the cory idea for the bottom but i also like loaches and for schooling fish i will probally do neon tetras or cardinals, and i know this probally sounds dumb but are cardinals and neons the same becuase they kind of look like it

[absolutangel04]

Originally Posted by adammorrill

i like the cory idea for the bottom but i also like loaches and for schooling fish i will probally do neon tetras or cardinals, and i know this probally sounds dumb but are cardinals and neons the same becuase they kind of look like it

What kind of loaches? Kuhlis are compatable with corys and your current stock. Zebra or yo-yo loaches would be fun too, but I would add them instead of corys if you also want the rams.
Cardinals get to be about 2 inches max and neons only get to be 1 inch. they are different species, but similar looking and both from South America. My recommendation would be cardinals because they are less sensitive than neons.

[Dale_I]

Originally Posted by adammorrill

...are cardinals and neons the same becuase they kind of look like it

If you look closely, Neons only have half red bodies, while Cardinals are red tip to tail.

[adammorrill]

ok cool so i think i will get corys and some cardinals and also i am thinking about taking out my cherry barbs because last night one of them was nipping at the gourami so i might get a different schooling fish besides them

[absolutangel04]

Originally Posted by adammorrill

ok cool so i think i will get corys and some cardinals and also i am thinking about taking out my cherry barbs because last night one of them was nipping at the gourami so i might get a different schooling fish besides them

I do not have experience with any barb species, but I do know some can be a bit nippy. Maybe once you get a bigger school the nipping will subside. But, if you do want to replace them, I would go with either black neons, lemon tetras, or x-ray tetras. They would provide some nice color variation since the cardinals are so bright. But, that is up to you and want you think looks nice.

[adammorrill]

yah im thinking about replacing them and x ray tetras look cool

[absolutangel04]

Originally Posted by adammorrill

yah im thinking about replacing them and x ray tetras look cool

Yeah, I think x-ray tetras look amazing. I really love see-through fish. ANd, you shouldn't have any nipping problems with them.

[adammorrill]

yah see through fish are really interesting and how many do you think i should get? Maybe 7?

[JacksonJigsaw]

I would keep a close eye if you get Rams and corys, usually I hear they do well together, but my GBR was picking on the corys and tore up a couple of their dorsal fins so I moved her. Just my 2cents.

[adammorrill]

alright i will watch for that when i get the fish thanks for the info

[absolutangel04]

Yeah, I think 7 would be fine.

[adammorrill]

ok yah i like large schools swimming around