hmm... odd

[fish_newbie]

i have a 12g with 7 neons and just added 2 rams three days ago ..when i 1st put them into the tank they seemed to be perfectly fine but then the following 2 days all they have been doing is hiding ..and seem to be breathing heavily ..i wasnt too sure what was happening so i checked my parameters and they were fine but after, to my surprise i witnessed one of my neons ramming into my female ram causing her to swim franticly into the planted side of my tank trying to hide. i dont know if this is normal neon behavior ..maybe the lil guy was just playing around like he does with his schooling buddies? i dunno ..but id like to know if im doing anything wrong here.. if anyone has suggestions please reply

thanks in advance

 

[patryuji]

The tank is overcrowded...that tends to make fish more aggressive than normal.

German rams or Bolivian rams? Either one would be happiest in a 20 long or 29 gallon tank (larger foot print). Bolivians, being larger than germans, will really need more space than a 12gallon tank.

How was the NO3 (nitrate) concentration in the tank? Germans are said to be sensitive to nitrate and I have never really had high enough nitrate levels to test that.

 

[urville]

i have seen other fish go through this during acclimization to new tank and community. rams i thought were aggressive if attacked, if thats right, then i imagine their just you know "the new guy"

 

[chrism]

my rams (bolivian) wont take any messing. they will give my redeye's only a bit smaller than themselves a jab if they get in their way.

 

[robertmarda]

What size are the rams compared with the neons? I have seen a red devil run and hide from a guppy. At the time this happened the red devil was the newest fish in the tank and was about the same length as the guppy, a half inch.

I don't recommend mixing a red devil with community fish. I post this here to indicate that even aggressive fish will run from the most unlikely fish. And the guppy wasn't trying to kill the red devil.

 

[urville]

yeah just wait till he's bigger. what neons?

 

[robertmarda]

I resolved the problem by separating the guppy and the baby red devil and then the red devil stopped hiding out.

You may need to separate the rams from your other fish. Perhaps you can find a divider for your 12 gallon tank and divide it temporarily and then remove the divider a few days after the rams seem more settled.