Questions re: butterfly cichlid/ rams.

[annka5]

I've jsut started keeping tropical fish (well, I've 6 tetras in my tank for 3 months and am looking to add some more...). I've an encycolpaedia of fish but the names are in latin with few common names listed, so

Are butterfly cichlid (Apistogramma ramirezi) and German blue rams the same thing? The pictures on this forum and the one in my book looks the same, but...

I want to keep the 6 tetras, a pair of dwarf gourami and a pair of butterfly cichlids in the same tank (the demensions of which is: length 50, width 35 and depth 48 cm) or will the cichlids bully and harass the others? Is the tank big enough for this? I was hoping it wold be OK as I think butterfly cichlids live mostly in the bottom zone?

Will they all like the same light levels - do butterfly cichlids not need quite bright lighting? They seem compatible in terms of temparature and water composition, but am not so sure when it comes to temparament and light levels.

If I add the gourami then leave the tank to settle for a bit and add the cichlids last, will this mean they won't see the others as invading there territory to start off with (or is my amateur fish psychology just dumb?).

Last thing - I don't really have the space (definitely not in the current tank, or for another tank) to cope with any offspring. Do they breed easily? If so, is it a bit mean/asking for problems to keep a male on its own? Everything I've seen about them seems to assume that you keep a pair.

THANK YOU in advance for any help and advice.

 

[bluefire]

yes a ram is Apistogramma ramirezi

 

[Griz]

If my calculations are right, you have about a 22 USgal tank. That is a fine size to keep a pair of small South American cichlids such as Apistogrammas. Google ramirezi, cacatuoides and borelli. These would be the most commonly found species and are the best to start with anyway. Water quality is important with these fish so research well and ask questions. Apistos don't like too much light IME, so low light would be fine. They like a temp around 24-25C, neutral pH (acid is better), and prefer soft water. They get along well with tetras and many other smaller fish. They also like a tank with lots of nooks and crannies. I can't help you with gouramis but someone who can should be along shortly.

 

[Vip]

Rams and Butterfly cichlids are 2 differnt cichlids, butterfly cichlids are a little bit agressive while rams arnt, the males get to be about 6" and i dont know if they can go with gouramis

 

[Griz]

I did a bit of looking and there seems to be a few different fish that are refered to as Butterfly Cichlids. West African fish (Anomalachromis thomasi) and Central American fish (Herotilapia multispinosa) I did however run across descriptions of Ramerizi where butterfly was used as a common name. I guess the moral of the story is: beware of any fish labeled as a butterfly. Make sure you know what you are getting.

 

[lucky62]

I did a bit of looking and there seems to be a few different fish that are refereed to as Butterfly Cichlids. West African fish (Anomalachromis thomasi) and Central American fish (Herotilapia multispinosa) I did however run across descriptions of Ramerizi where butterfly was used as a common name. I guess the moral of the story is: beware of any fish labeled as a butterfly. Make sure you know what you are getting.

Way back in the 1970s , when I started in the hobby rams were classed as apistos , and were also called dwarf butterfly cichlids [ though very rarely called that now ]. Thomasis are African dwarf butterfly cichlids .

Herotilapia multispinosa aka rainbow cichlid


There were no German/blue/dutch/whatever , there were just rams and some were gold .

I saw my first bolivians about 8 years ago .

 

[annka5]

Thanks all. It's really good to get some information like that - difficult to do any research when you're not sure of the name of the fish you want to find out about!!