Ideas for stocking

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Evaunitone

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Dec 12, 2009
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For a fairly densely planted tank, I want to have some rams, so I may add peat to the filter, we'll see. The tank will hopefully have a pH of 7or lower and I'm wondering what other fish / inverts I could have in there. I will have MTS, the two rams, and then I was thinking I could have several mollies (although I'm afraid they would take over the tank). I also want to have either cories or shrimp for the bottom of the tank. Opinions? Other suggestions? I could have a school of tetras, but I've never really been into the tiny fish, though I've never tried them.
 
Shrimp won't work with rams unless you are talking about bamboo shrimp. Cories would do just fine but make sure that you plan for 5-6 or more of them as they are schooling fish.

What size is the tank? The size will help to tell you what you can and cannot have in there.

Rams don't need a particular pH. I've spawned and bred wilds and domestics in 8.0 and a GH of over 300ppm.
 
Oh, Rams don't need a low pH? I was planning to put peat in the filter, but if I don't need to do that then that's even better. I thought rams were hard to care for. Sounds like you didn't have problems.
 
Are there no shrimp of any kind (other than filter shrimp which I think would be too hard to take care of) that can go in a planted tank with rams? Like one or two big shrimp?
 
Oh, Rams don't need a low pH? I was planning to put peat in the filter, but if I don't need to do that then that's even better. I thought rams were hard to care for. Sounds like you didn't have problems.

They don't need a specific pH. They will do well in a range of 5.0-8.5 or higher. The main thing you need to worry about is where you get your rams from as there are many rams out there that come from Asia and nearly all of those are exposed to growth hormones and hormones to get the fish to color up more quickly. This leads to dead rams about 6-8 weeks after you get them home from the fish store. I've seen this happen MANY times and it haas scared people away from rams for good. Look for a local breeder or another good source but do not buy Asian rams!

Are there no shrimp of any kind (other than filter shrimp which I think would be too hard to take care of) that can go in a planted tank with rams? Like one or two big shrimp?

I've tried ghost shrimp and red cherry shrimp with rams and the end result was the same. The rams ended up eating the shrimp, which I was pretty certain would happen. The ghost shrimp were over an inch long too. You would have to have a heavily planted tank just for the possibility of it to work, otherwise it's a no go on the shrimp.
 
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