Do Rams Need To Be In Pairs?

[MewMew42]

I bought a pair of rams a while ago and all was going well the even started to breed...but then the male started to lose its colour and seemed thinner than usual so i treated for internal parasites but then just now i found him at the top of the tank ='[

will she be okay on her own or does she need to be in a pair?

 

[Bebobb]

She should be fine. What is the tank size. My male ram is doing fine on his own. I read that female cichlids alone might get kinda pissy. I'm not an expert on this matter though.

 

[MewMew42]

its a 30g and she seems to be fine right now, I dont think he was okay from the moment i got him =[

 

[Bebobb]

She should be fine then. Maybe get another male and see if they pair up???

 

[MewMew42]

aye I'll give it a go! can't stand her being all lonely =[

 

[Bebobb]

Best of luck to you!

 

[ALW]

She will be fine on her own, if you get another male then pay close attention as all may seem well for a few weeks then he may turn on her and kill her.

 

[Bebobb]

She will be fine on her own, if you get another male then pay close attention as all may seem well for a few weeks then he may turn on her and kill her.

Now knowing this, keep the lone female!

 

[CichlidGuy]

I second Andywatson29 there, just because its a different sex doesn't mean they will pair up. gl with your Ram

 

[MewMew42]

fair enough, guess i was lucky to get a pair in the first place!

acted like an old married couple they did =]

 

[Chrs]

She should be okay

 

[Turguin]

She will be fine on her own, if you get another male then pay close attention as all may seem well for a few weeks then he may turn on her and kill her.

This happened to my rams. This might not happen to you though since mine were in a 10 gallon...the min size tank to breed rams. I bought a pair from the pet store. The female died from I don't know what. I got another female for my male sometime afterwards. They paired up and even spawned. Then after they spawned and ate all the fry...the male seemed to have chased the female to death.

With a bigger tank, the two would probably have their own territories established if they don't pair up.

 

[Bebobb]

She will be fine on her own, if you get another male then pay close attention as all may seem well for a few weeks then he may turn on her and kill her.

This happened to my rams. This might not happen to you though since mine were in a 10 gallon...the min size tank to breed rams. I bought a pair from the pet store. The female died from I don't know what. I got another female for my male sometime afterwards. They paired up and even spawned. Then after they spawned and ate all the fry...the male seemed to have chased the female to death.

With a bigger tank, the two would probably have their own territories established if they don't pair up.

Maybe it was something over the spawning. I read where cichlid pairs will get mad at each other when their fry is gone because they think it is the other ones fault that their babies are gone.

 

[snowflake311]

She will be fine on her own, if you get another male then pay close attention as all may seem well for a few weeks then he may turn on her and kill her.

This happened to my rams. This might not happen to you though since mine were in a 10 gallon...the min size tank to breed rams. I bought a pair from the pet store. The female died from I don't know what. I got another female for my male sometime afterwards. They paired up and even spawned. Then after they spawned and ate all the fry...the male seemed to have chased the female to death.

With a bigger tank, the two would probably have their own territories established if they don't pair up.

Maybe it was something over the spawning. I read where cichlid pairs will get mad at each other when their fry is gone because they think it is the other ones fault that their babies are gone.

I have a blue acara breeding pair where the male turned on the family when they hatched. So the female was guarding the fry from the dad. So yes crazy stuff can happen in the cichlid family. Now the fry are gone they are back to flirting and get alone. I need some target fish for them.

I have a male bolviana ram by himself in a 36 gal tank with a keyhole and a blue acara he's ok as the only ram but the acara picks on him at times. Rams do like to have friends but will be just fine as the only one.