Blue Rams Questions

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bs6749 said:
If you get GBR's you will need to buy them in multiples of 2 and you should buy them in sexed pairs, meaning one male and one female. A 10g tank is large enough to support one multiple of 2 but since you have fish in there already you won't be able to safely keep them in the same tank. Corys are ideal tankmates for rams but not together in the same 10g tank as it's too small. A 10g is fine for a pair of GBR's and that's what I used for my breeding setups.

I fed mine NLS Cichlid Formula (1mm sinking pellets) and they were the right size. I have a feeling your convicts are getting large pellets which would be okay for the rams if they can fit them in their mouths. You may have to break apart the food if it is too large for them.

Do not use water that has been "softened" by salts in any aquarium. You will need to use tap water and/or purified water in ratios and also dechlorinator if you have city water.

That substrate isn't really ideal for corys but it is okay. Ideally, you would have sand since corys have barbels and would like to sift for the sand for food. You don't need driftwood in the tank for corys nor for GBR's but I'm sure it would be appreciated by them and you if you had some in the tank. Live plants or fake, it makes little difference to them. Live plants can be beneficial for removing nitrates from the water and they also have the benefit of not damaging the fish if they rub into them. Some of the plastic plants can be damagind to fish as they are sometimes "sharp".
Click to expand...

Are you not liking my advice or are you simply ignoring it? I'm not going to tell you that you can keep a pair of GBR's in a 10g tank with cories because it is too small to work.

Also, Mike is very new to fishkeeping in general. I don't know if he's ever kept a ram in one of his tanks so he may have no experience with them.
 
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Thank You and no I'm not ignoring your advice, I am simply searching all of the advice everyone gives me before even buying fish. I dont want to buy them and then find out they wont work in my aquarium.
I will not have any Convicts in the tank with other fish, they are in there now just to keep the tank going.
The New Spectrum Food that I do have is the 1mm sinking pellets.

Thanks for clarrifying Mikes comments I didn't initially ask questions to get answers from Wikipedia or some old youtube tv show. I wanted answers from people who have had this type of fish and what they thought, but Thank You for honest knowledgable answers.

Sharon
 
Bs6749 has offered you some great advice. I will stress that some plastic plants have sharp edges and can damage the fish's fins or scales. Try for silk if you are going with fake plants. I would also recommend sand for substrate with cories.

Do take a look at our planted tank section. Low light plants are not that difficult and do have beneficial properties. Not only that but they do look great!
 
Silk Flowers. now why didn't I think of that? Thanks so much. I will be changing to sand also I just now have to research on what types and what I like to look at as for colors or natural looking.
Once I change to sand I will definately get a few Cory's, Not sure on the Rams as I want them to be happy and I only have a 10 gallon to put fish in right now. Maybe I will do something else of color like Tetras or something else.
I will keep researching until i find what i like that will definatley be ok in a 10 gallon.

Thanks everyone,
Sharon in Minnesota
 
I wouldn't give up on the rams. If you get one male and one female, they will make a very pretty pair. You can get decent silk plants for aquariums even at places like walmart. I used silk before switching to live plants. Live plants are addicting though. Just a forewarning. :)
 
The two fishes I keep coming back to for show case, species tank worthy are rams and honey gouramis. A 10 g for two honeys and some pygmy cories is practically a dream scenario for me; well, it's actually my desired 2nd tank if my wife ever assents. That would be better for me than a 125 oscar tank, IMHO (And a lot less work & cost).

So you can really do something fun in a 10 g. The situation here is that you've to do something about the ram decision. Some are saying yes, some are saying no. I think size wise, it works. The danger is that with these, where they are yet cichlids, that there's no outlet for aggression or territory if there's a poor match or no pairing. And you wouldn't have room at all for dither fish to accompany them--they might be a lot shyer than you're anticipating.

No one's suggesting it can't work absolutely; no one's happy your plan isn't instantly a recipe for unquestionable success. Let's just make sure you're OK with hearing that a new plan might be better.
 
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hi,
okay lots of questions.
1. 1 blue ram per 20 gallon. but i have two in a 20 gallon. so for 10 gallon 1 is enough. but its better to get a pair cause the male enchances its colour to show off to the female.

2.rams are peaceful fish so they will not disturb corydoras.

3. yes you can feed them new spectrum but my blue rams go crazy for (tetraMin granules).

4.plastic plants should be fine. but they prefre real plants.

5. they dont like hard water. so try to get a PH tester and see what your PH level is. if its higher than 7.8 then the blue rams will be very stressful which could lead to death.

6.they like anything that they can get cover or just swim through.

7. take the shiney marbles out. cause they could lead to higher PH levels.

just make sure you have good enough lighting to show of there colour, have good water quality, have a good biological filter.
oh and one more thing. the temperature of the aquarium should be around 27-29C cause blue rams love the warmth and there colour shows more.

well good luck with everything.
 
I agree with everything SLD said except IMO 2 GBRs in a 10g is fine. I know quite a few people that keep 2 GBR's in a 10 gallon including 1 person on this sight. MAKE SURE YOU KEEP UP WITH YOUR PWCs. GBR's need there water to be crystal clear.
 
IMO 2 rams in a 10 gal will be fine. I would not add the cories to that, perhaps 3 otos instead as cories really should be in groups of 6 at the least.

Instead of plastic plants try real or silk. The plastic plants have rather sharp edges sometimes.

Rams will prefer a lower ph but a stable higher ph will also be fine if they are tank raised rams. I have bred rams both german blues and bolivians several times and my ph is 7.8.

NLS food is fine, they should as all fish should, get a variety of foods not just one type all the time.

Consider pool filter sand as one option for a substrate. It does most bottom dwellers much better and looks more natural as well. Not to mention it costs far less than even gravel does. You can usually find a 50lb bag for around $10.00.

Water changes are a must on a regular basis, rams are sensitive to water parameter changes and will fair far better with good parameters.
 
Yeah I got 2 GBR's in my 10 gallon and they are fine. Little aggeresiveness but thats only because they are male and female. Plus I got 5 red-eyed tetras, 3 neon tetras, 2 ottos, and going to have some shripm or goby in there soon and they are all doing great. So you should be fine. But I do suggest adding a black background and doing and having a more natural colored gravel so it will show of the rams colors the best.
 
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