just bought 2 german rams!!!!!!! now with pictures

[mr funktastic]

i just bought 2 german blue rams and they are stunning. i was wondering if anybody had any specific tips for keeping them. any special foods that help there colour or cetain things for them to hide in. i was also wondering on the price of them. how much have u payed for them? whats the most/cheapest u have seen them for online or in a fish store? any advice is welcom

 

[rubysoho]

congrats!!! Any pics???

food: variety is best! bloodworms, shrimp pellets, algae waffers, veggies, etc... You won't need those crap color enhancing foods if you make sure they have a healthy and balanced diet.

price: around here they are $8 but I get them for less because I'm friends with a person who works at the store. I've seen them anywhere between $5-$22 online and in stores.

other advice: I think you said you did this already but just in case, look up that German Blue Ram thread. There is tons of advice in there, or you can check out my "general care" website.

 

[mr funktastic]

ya i browsed really quickly through that thread but i didnt really have time to read alot. now i am gonna tell u sumthin that i will probably get ragged on for but i dont do the proper release method. i only adjust for temperature which i usually leave the bag floating for about 30 min or so then cut the bag open tip it over and let them wander out on there own. from what i have read alot of people loose there fish withing the first 2-5 days of keeping them. i paid 15 bucks a peice for them but it was worth it. i will definatly work on getting pics for everyone they are stunning. the one has a very orange nose and face area which looks awsome. how do you sex them? the guy at big als said that he didnt see any femals in the tank and just scooped the 2 i pointed out. i was really hoping to get a pair but i dont know how to tell the differece. thanks in advance

 

[Titus]

deffinately should take the time to read the long arse thread on them.

oh and you shouldnt pour water from the store into your tank... tsk tsk.
congrats though.

 

[Jchillin]

I would suggest reading the thread. It was designed for this very reason. In regard to your acclimation, without adjusting the LFS water to your tank water, you could have the very same problems we all are looking to avoid.

The losing the fish in 2-5 days or first few weeks are best prevented by proper acclimation and having a mature tank at the onset.

 

[mr funktastic]

well the water at this fish store is just impecably clean and alost matches my water perfectly. i have never lost a single fish within a month of adding it except for a guppy i got one time but it was toast when i bought it. i didnt realize how bad it was till i got home then it did the dying dance lol you know the spiraling and swimming up then floating down kinda thing. but ya i have never had a problem with doing this. i know that these are a type of cichlid so i was wondering if they had the dame digging habit at the others? i have quite a few plants in my aquarium right now and i dont want to loos them.

 

[Jchillin]

German Blues will not disturb plants. They actually prefer it this way as it provides them with a hiding place and a secure location for spawning. The only time they even want to disturb the substrate is when bits of food are present.

 

[mr funktastic]

thats good news. i currently have like 20 giant hygro stems in there in little bunches of 3 to 5 and they are growing nicely. and a pet store near me is selling amazon swords for 5 for 5 bucks!!!!!! that is unfreakin believable so i was gonna pick up like 5 or ten of those to put in maybe give trachygh a few lol(we are neighbors)

 

[Jchillin]

That is a nice price! Are they fully mature swords? If so, that's even better.

 

[mr funktastic]

i am not sure i think they are about 4-6 inches so no i dont think they are

 

[Jchillin]

They look fabulous. No, they shouldn't be that big...they usually max at 2-3".

Take a look at my fish and plants clicky, I think we have something in common. You'll know it when you see it.

 

[rich311k]

Nice looking fish. Amazon swords have along way to go mine are well over a foot, but that is still a great price.

 

[mr funktastic]

lol wow are tanks are similiar!! i will take an updated pic of mine i have done alot since my last pic. and are u talking about the rams getting to 2-3 inches? i didnt think i asked that lol. we both have angels and pratically identical gravel and our plecos look like brothers lol. i dont have any platties any more. i got rid of them but i do have a few guppies with fry how may rams do you have in there and what size is your tank?

 

[Jchillin]

I guess you were talking about the swords sizes then? Yeah, I was talking about the gravel and tankmates...coincidence perhaps? My tank is 75 gallons and I have 4 GBR's in there.

 

[mr funktastic]

lol ya i was talking about the plant sizes sorry bit of confusion there lol but ya. i really like your tank lol we have good taste. i will work on getting better pics of my fish but untill then thats all i got. how much light is needed for the amazon swords? i dont have a very high light tank but my stuff seems to be growing ok

 

[Jchillin]

If you saw mine, they are growing in a low light tank as well (just about 1.1wpg).

 

[mr funktastic]

ya i only have a 15 watt coralife daylight bulb in there and i want to upgrade to atleast 1 watt per gallon.

 

[severum mama]

Congrats on the great find! Your rams are really beautiful, and few rams I see locally have that kind of color. 15 bucks isn't a bad price for them. Not great, but not too bad either. Just to echo JC, they do really prefer planted tanks so it sounds like you have a great setup for them. They like caves and driftwood, and other places to hide like that too. Keep us posted on how they are doing, and I hope you have better luck with them than I did. I think you got better stock than I did, so I'm sure you will.

 

[mr funktastic]

thanks i really like these little guys and my 2 always seem to stay together which is good. i already asked this but does anyone know how to sex them? i cant see any real difference in them except one has a really orange face lol. i just put an updated pic of my tank in the gallery if the advisors have prossed it yet. but ya i will work on getting a really good pic of them for my gallery so people can maybe dertamine the gender

 

[Meredith]

As they get older, the female will get a pinkish hue on her belly. Also the males get a bit bigger than the girls.