I'm doing a huge community planted tank. Plants/tank have been going strong for awhile just switching stocking.. I'm going to get a big group of runnynose tetras. Ive always like ram cichlids since they look nice and stay on the smaller size compared to the monsters I use to keep. How many rams would work well in a 8x3x2
8x3x2 ram cichlids question
- Thread starter monsterK
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I've never mimicked what you are trying specifically...
I kept a colony of Apistogramma Cacatuoides in a standard 125 Gallon for several years. They are colony breeders as opposed to pairing species, so Rams will function quite different. But it was extremely interesting to watch the power shifts. Typically there would be 1 or 2 dominant males that would control half or all of the tank, then several sub dominant males that would control small sectors in the tank. The sub dominant males would function as dominant, until the actual dominant showed up. There were a multitude of females throughout the tank and they would breed with any/all of the males mentioned. There were always fry in the tank. The females made very good mothers. Often passing from between mothers.
I rotated several different fry predators in this tank to prevent overpopulation. Clown Loaches, Cories, several types of Plecos. There's a long list that could function in this capacity that are plant friendly.
I could only imagine a colony like this is an 8' x 3' would be even more exciting than they were in my 6' x 1.5'.
That said...
Rams, being strictly pairing species, will likely want 2-4 sq ft per breeding pair with buffers in between. The denser the plants and potentially driftwood are, the more you could fit.
Personally, I would add a couple of pairs without any fry predators. Then let the second generation grow up and become your Ram "colony". Being sibling tankmates raised in the same large environment together will (slightly) increase your potential for a successful group.
After that second generation matures, you'll likely want to add fry predators.
In my opinion... in that big of a tank, a large colony of colony breeders would create a more dynamic space. If you aren't interested in any of the Apistos, consider Geos. You're tank is big enough to keep a nice colony of bigger species like the stunning Sveni, or a quite large group of smaller Geos like Tapajos. Or Tapajos and Apistos.
I kept a colony of Apistogramma Cacatuoides in a standard 125 Gallon for several years. They are colony breeders as opposed to pairing species, so Rams will function quite different. But it was extremely interesting to watch the power shifts. Typically there would be 1 or 2 dominant males that would control half or all of the tank, then several sub dominant males that would control small sectors in the tank. The sub dominant males would function as dominant, until the actual dominant showed up. There were a multitude of females throughout the tank and they would breed with any/all of the males mentioned. There were always fry in the tank. The females made very good mothers. Often passing from between mothers.
I rotated several different fry predators in this tank to prevent overpopulation. Clown Loaches, Cories, several types of Plecos. There's a long list that could function in this capacity that are plant friendly.
I could only imagine a colony like this is an 8' x 3' would be even more exciting than they were in my 6' x 1.5'.
That said...
Rams, being strictly pairing species, will likely want 2-4 sq ft per breeding pair with buffers in between. The denser the plants and potentially driftwood are, the more you could fit.
Personally, I would add a couple of pairs without any fry predators. Then let the second generation grow up and become your Ram "colony". Being sibling tankmates raised in the same large environment together will (slightly) increase your potential for a successful group.
After that second generation matures, you'll likely want to add fry predators.
In my opinion... in that big of a tank, a large colony of colony breeders would create a more dynamic space. If you aren't interested in any of the Apistos, consider Geos. You're tank is big enough to keep a nice colony of bigger species like the stunning Sveni, or a quite large group of smaller Geos like Tapajos. Or Tapajos and Apistos.
