Info on Rams

[dixaisy930]

I finally saw rams today in my lfs, and they were in with things like tetras and ottos. Are these fish able to be with other fish other than cichlids? I didn't see any carniage..

How big do they get, what do they eat, what kind of social skills do they have with their own kind (pairs, alone, groups)..how easy is it for them to breed...and what is a minimum tank size for them?

 

[Auratus]

I just got some blue rams about a week ago

They eat almost anything. The lfs I bought mine from fed them live bloodworms but I found that they moved onto cichlid flakes very easily, but I still feed bloodworms every other day. I have my very small ones in a ten gallon right now. I have five but I am buying them an 18 gallon this week. That still isn't really big enough for them. It's big enough size wise, but not temperment wise. They make their own territories and fight everyone else off. I ended up getting 5 males!!! That's not what I asked for but maybe when they reach maturity they might turn out to be females or something. it's hard to tell when they are young. You can keep them with smaller non aggressive fish like danios. But you have to have a big tank.

 

[EMdina]

Hi
I had three rams in a 30 gal...and they did fine until two of them paired off and layed some eggs...then the pair chased the third one terribly...he is now in a 10gal..living happily alone...
My rams are in with a school of Rummy Nose Tetras and Rosy Tetras and an otto...they all do great...the pair chased a lot when the eggs were layed, but there wasn't anything too nasty going on...now that the eggs are gone, they're back to usual...
I feed my granules (similar to flake), bloodworms and broken up krill...they love it all...
They're great fish...
Ericka

 

[Moe]

I would get a M/F pair. Anything more and you're asking for trouble unless you have a really big tank. They are good community fish, pretty much keeping to themselves. Mine will eat anything. I don't give them flakes though because they are really messy eaters. They spit out the flakes and make a real mess. They like the bottom region of the tank and need really good water conditions. If the water quality is not good they can be prone to disease. Check out this link for more info:
http/hjem.get2net.dk/Best_of_the_Web/blu...lue%20rams.html

 

[Jennifer_R]

Blue Rams are my favorite fish. Currently I only have one grown male left (out of two females and two males) my Amazon Leaf Fish ate the three smaller Rams a while back. I've been waiting for my IFS to get more Blue Rams in.

My male Ram follow my Kribensis (M & F) around, never too close to see him bite. He stops in mid stride, "flares" up and gets real bright; puts a smile on my face and makes me laugh.
When I had my Parrot Cichlid in my 100 gal. tank, he'd hide, then nip at the Parrots rear and "flare" and then they'd have a stare off, and the little Ram always won! The Rams stand their ground, and I haven't had any violent problems with them in my tanks.

My Rams (when I had four) were territorial breeders, pairing up and remaining a pair through breading cycles. The males keeping an area clear of other fish for the female.

I feed them bloodworms and flake food.

 

[dixaisy930]

Thanks for all of the great info...I really appreciate it. Do you think Rams would do alright with Bumblee bee gobies? They are pretty small though...maybe an inch big, but they just keep to themselves and never bother anyone. Would the rams just assume they are food?

What about jewel cichlids? I saw the tiniest babies at the lfs...so cute!

 

[EMdina]

I had mine in with Bumble Bees in the beginning...when I moved my fish to a bigger tank the Bumble Bees couldn't get to the food quickly enough- because the others were such fast eaters...and they ended up dying...they did great in the 10G though...
A lot of people say they 'have' to be in Brackish water but I"ve been told by two different LFS owners that is not true...they can do well in both...one of the two owners is someone I ask for info all of the time...he has owned his store since I was a kid...he knows fish...
My bumble bees did well until the food issue- which is why they say they do better in a species tank...with fish more their speed...but they are so cute...the bumble bees and rams were my favorite...now I'll only keep the rams (and some tetra schools)Ericka