Best substrate for German Blue Rams?

[Alice B]

I just bought 3 GBR, I have a well cycled sponge filter and can start with 50/50 tank water from my 40 long, going in a 15 gallon for their quarantine. They might stay in the 15, so I need to know the best substrate for them. If they don't stay in the 15 they will go in my 29 with my bronze corydoras and it's half sand, half largish gravel undergravel filter.
for now, this is my christmas present to me and they will be quarantined all by their lonesomes...
sponge filter, maybe some live plants

 

[GaryE]

The Genus is Mikrogeophagus, which translates to micro-eartheater. All of the eartheaters do well with fine sand they can sift for food. Rams aren't the busiest of the group for sifting, but it is their destiny...

 

[Alice B]

if that is their destiny do they like tan play sand?

 

[sharkweek178]

if that is their destiny do they like tan play sand?

Yes. It's natural looking, non abrasive, and non toxic.

 

[Byron]

I agree. A soft sand (must be soft, play sand meets this need) is good. As you have three, be vigilant for any hierarchy issues. I realize this is a QT, but depending how long they are together, who knows.

 

[Alice B]

That's true on who knows and they were too young to sex. They got light play sand, big sponge filter, one plant, one custom built rock cave and at the moment the water is too cloudy for a pic but they are checking things out. I put a few pieces of frogbit in for more shade too

If they and my little trilineatus (sp) corydoras can live together, after quarantine is over I may move the corydoras in with the GBR. They might get along?

 

[GaryE]

Rams have a bottom temperature range of 27 (going up from there), coming from their sunlight savannah like home waters.
Meanwhile, the suggested high for C. trilineatus peaks at 25, and goes down to 22-23. .

So that would be a problem - not behaviour, but environmental needs.

 

[Byron]

Thanks @GaryE I missed that and it is crucial to the life of the rams. Heat. The preferred range is 82-86F (28-30C) and never below 80F/27C, aqnd as Gary mentioned no Corydoras can manage with that temperature long-term.

 

[Alice B]

I set the heater at 82 in the Ram tank, I have it at 74 -(F) in the Trilineatus tank. Good point. Are there any fish you would suggest with similar environmental needs?

 

[I Like Rare Fish]

The Genus is Mikrogeophagus, which translates to micro-eartheater. All of the eartheaters do well with fine sand they can sift for food. Rams aren't the busiest of the group for sifting, but it is their destiny...

^
Thin white sand is what I recommend, but my Gymnogeophagus, smaller Geophagus (earth eaters) like their pool filter sand.

Contrary to popular belief, pool filter sand does the job of you rinse it well and don’t plan on having lots of plants.

 

[GaryE]

^
Thin white sand is what I recommend, but my Gymnogeophagus, smaller Geophagus (earth eaters) like their pool filter sand.

Contrary to popular belief, pool filter sand does the job of you rinse it well and don’t plan on having lots of plants.

I use filter sand, but also a local quarry's very clean, chemically inert sand. You don't need to find aquarium shop sand - sand is sand. But you do need inert sand for softwater species like rams.

I can't really comment on tankmates. I haven't had rams for 15 years, since I had a wonderful group of wild types. I'm not a fan of the German, Singapore or Israeli lines - I prefer the Venezuelan and Colombian ones. But I do tend to avoid fish that need that level of warmth - those tanks take a lot of heating. No more Rams and Discus for me. Tankmates for C trilineatus are easy!

 

[Slaphppy7]

I wanted GBRs, until I learned of their temp requirements....Bolivian rams work great with the temps I maintain (74-76F)

 

[Byron]

This high temperature is a limiting factor in finding tankmates for the common or blue ram, Mikrogeophagus ramirezi. Paracheirodon axelrodi (cardinal tetra) and P. simulans (green neon tetra) work, but not the common neon tetra P. innesi. And the rummynose tetra species. Interestingly, all of these along with the rams live in the lower half/third of the aquarium, though P. simulans in my experience will shoal higher up a lot of the time. There are some others, I would have to dig into my profiles for specifics.

 

[Alice B]

I don't mind keeping them in a species tank, with plants. If the plants will tolerate the heat. I think Anubis will because my 38 hex seems to stay bout 80 degrees and that plant is needing propagated again, its about 2 feet tall.

I do keep semi-fancy guppies, they tolerate heat fairly well?
I have a very chilly living room right now, cold front coming thru, so I put styrofoam insulation on the back wall of the tank and about to do the wall nearest the door. And some on the lid.
For quarantine they are solo. If they start to breed they are still solo. I had 4 in a 10 gallon years ago, and they were laying eggs on the one tiny flat stone in the tank, and the heater went berserk and got too hot and killed them. Broke my heart, that was prior to 2009 I think, and these are the first rams I've bought since.

 

[Ichthys]

Blue Rams do best in soft water. Guppies won’t last long in soft water, and 82 degrees is a bit hot for them. Rams don’t dig for food like the eartheaters they’re related to so substrate doesn’t really matter. Corys however should always be on sand.