New German Blue Rams

[sherlock1315]

Hi everyone, this is my first thread here and I just got 2 new GBRs. I'm just trying to get some information on these fish and I don't know how old mine are, how colorful they will get and of course how long it will take for them to get colorful. They're in a 55 gallon tank.
Any advice is great!

Thanks!

 

[rich311k]

Plenty of plants and wood for cover. Warm water, plenty of water changes and they should color up and do well for you.

 

[sherlock1315]

Thanks for responding! Do you have experience with these fish and have you ever had them breed in your tank? How can you tell the gender and how can you tell how old they are???

 

[sherlock1315]

I'm keeping them with a 2 in. (accidentally stunted) african cichlid. ( He was kept in a 20 gallon and somehow got stunted...) Anyway, he has been chasing all my fish... Bigger fish. and is claiming the whole tank! What do I do?!
Thanks

 

[siva]

Well an African cichlid shouldn't be in a community tank. I think the only thing you really can do is get it out of there... Those rams are very sensitive. You do not want them stressed right now. It's not uncommon for them to die quickly after purchase so the easier you can make this transition on them, the better.

To sex them, check the black spot on their side for any blue sheen on it. If it's an opaque black then it's a male, if there's any blue sheen on it then it's a female.

 

[sherlock1315]

Thanks! I did a 1hr accimilation and still one died the today but we got a full refund and they told me about the cichlid but i have no where else for it and i took it out and put in a temporary vase for a day or two till i get give it to someone with a 55 cichlid tank... I first had 4 cichlids in a twenty gallon. ( this was not meant to be forever by the way!) Then 3 died randomley after a few months. So I kept him and he survived.. He was living in there but recently i got a 55g about a month or two ago. so i had to give the 20g to my cousins leaving the cichlid with no home and i was forced to move it to the 55. but at first it was a temporary home in a big bucket with no top and it jumped out for 20 mins. this was tonight... but he seems to be doing ok so ill update on him but my GBR. Yes I did some research and found that the females will have black on their pelvic fins. they will also have red on their stomaches but im sure you knew that. The male is alive doing great. I got the water check and they said everything was literally perfect except ph so I bought ph down and acid buffer.
Thanks! ill try to update as much as possible but my laptop charger broke last night.

 

[sherlock1315]

I've heard the rams are just about the hardest freshwater fish to keep!
im no beginner but not to experienced.

 

[siva]

Well so far they are the only fish I cannot keep alive. I've had four and none have lasted a month. The blue sheen on the black spot is a more fool proof way to sex them than those other indicators, btw.

A cichlid in a vase..sounds pretty harsh. Maybe you have a Petco? They will adopt it out for you.

 

[sherlock1315]

I'm keeping it in the vase fo just about 1 day total but right now theres someone who wont answer but im checking!

 

[sherlock1315]

BUt even 1 day isnt very good.

 

[sherlock1315]

Ive got petco petsmart and aquatek tropical fish

 

[sherlock1315]

Ill make a new thread about my pleco growth.

 

[Sparky74]

I've heard the rams are just about the hardest freshwater fish to keep!
im no beginner but not to experienced.

I am a noob and I have yet to lose a Ram.

Lots of water changes and lots of hiding places. That's all I've done. I don't touch PH ever. I think screwing with it makes things 10x worse. I'm also on well water, which probably helps greatly...Bethlehem tunneled 20 miles to get water from my backyard, so it has to be good

I think schooling fish help bring the Rams out of hiding. Mine swim happily with the schools.

Good luck with them. They are one of my favorites

 

[siva]

I am not a noob and while I haven't lost a bolivian yet, I've lost 4 out of 4 GBR's I've tried..none of them lasting even an entire month. As far as rams go, bolivians are much easier to keep for most people. Blue's and golds are quite sensitive, and electric blues are even worse. Anything other than a bolivian should come from a local breeder, if at all possible.

 

[siva]

Ive got petco petsmart and aquatek tropical fish

Petco will take any fish and find it a home for you. Just bag it and bring it in. The pleco too if it's too big for your tank.

 

[jpchin]

i have 2 blue ram females for about 6 months now. they do take a bit of care to keep. i do a water change every 3rd day. i also use ro water i buy at a grocery store to get a good ph (6.5) which rams need to do really well. they can live in a higher ph but imo they don't thrive like they should. mine have magnificent color! also good food and live food will do wonders. i feed live black worms a couple times a week. all the fish eat them. my tank is planted with live plants. my fish never hide (imo that's over rated) they swim with all the dwarf gourami's, sail fin mollies, glo fish and x-ray tetras. all your water chemistry should be spot on and watch nitrates. they like between 10-20. use liquid tests not strips. good luck. theyu are worth all the trouble!

 

[sherlock1315]

Awesome! My male is still alive.+ All of my parameters are perfect according to my API test kit and my LFS.

 

[sherlock1315]

Update: Day 4 I think. Male is still alive and thriving!

 

[sherlock1315]

Thanks everybody!

 

[Tracie6283]

I know I'll probably get some comments, but we have about 6 blue rams in our community tank and everyone is happy as can be. We actually have two pairs spawning right now! They are beautiful little guys and so far arent that hard to keep for us. They get along with everyone! Good luck with yours! They are super pretty when they color up. We had them in a tank with white rocks and they had no color. Now they are in a tank with black sand and that seems to have helped with the color