Rams

[Jesse]

Okay, I think I know what I am going to get for my 33 gallon. I want to get some blue rams. How many could I sqeeze into my 33 gallon? Also, would they eat feeder fish, like guppies? Thanks for your help!

 

[Alia]

I think Graeme has some blue rams. He may know who else has them. Why don't you PM him?

They are pretty fish. I'm thinking of getting a pair myself. Good luck!

 

[Jamnog]

i would have perhaps four maybee five in the tank but im shure you could squeeze a few hundred in but they wouldnt like it not being able to move and all. and depends on the size of the feeder fish as to if they would eat them best to keep them in a seperate tank and siphen off the fry once in a while. one awfull thaught crosed my mind you could cut a hole in a breeding trap and float it in the tank and just put the pregnant ones in the tank.. sounds kinda cruel tho and evil.

 

[Waterloo Kid]

My three Rams can be quite vicious at times and it's only due to the fact that I have a large tank that they don't end up hurting one another. I'd stick with three or, at a push, four. Watch out if they pair off though. Fireworks will happen and a 33g wont be big enough for even three. Mind you, I have yet to see a female Rame on sale! Make sure that you get decent quality fish too. Many are too inbred and are stunted and/or mis-shapen. You've got to keep the water in top quality condition for them to flourish and even then they have a tendancy to drop dead for no particular reason. Make sure there are plenty of hiding places and plants (one of mine has made its home in a dense patch of Vallis).
My Rams tend to like vegetable foods more than live insect type foods. They love peas! Saying that I have seen them eat newly hatched brine shrimp and fry. They only ever chase the tetras for fun. They wont eat that size of fish.
My adviswe would be to keep as few as you can. They will pay you back by being fitter, healthier specimens.


WK

 

[WorldNation]

i think 3-5 would be fine in a 33g. jsut make sure the ones u get arent imported from tailand or anything, and they've bene at the store for some time before you buy them. sometimes, the rams will be died, or injected with steroids, and if you happen to get one of those, they'll be dead within 2-4 months.

 

[YeW]

Hi Guys -

I would not recommend P. ramirezi for beginners - they are temperamental. Mainly due to the way they are raised at the fish farms.

Here are a few dwarfs that would be heaps hardier and IME just as interesting

Nanacara anomala
Pelvicachromis pulcher
Papiliochromis altispinosa (bolivian rams)
Anomalochromis thomasi
Cleithracara maronii (Keyhole cichlids)

HTH -

 

[CFC]

Hi Guys -

I would not recommend P. ramirezi for beginners - they are temperamental. Mainly due to the way they are raised at the fish farms.

I couldnt agree more,Rams are quite tough to keep,they were one of the first fish that my mrs "had to have" and 3 times we bought them just for them to wind up dead a month or so later,have since learnt they they can only survive in soft water are very intolerent of even small ammounts of nitrate and suffer from bacterial infections easily.I would recomend a species tank for these fish rather than a community with just a small shoal of tetras to serve as dithers.

 

[recDNA]

Is there any fresh water fish more delicate than Rams? They have a short natural life span for a cichlid too.

 

[teknikz]

ive got 1 ram n he is super ace!!!!!!

he's got a proper personallity n comes up to the front of the glass everytime im near it

gonna get a few more next week as my 180 litre tank has just finished cycling

Tek