German Blue Ram in a planted tank with....?

[Liz Sagara]

1. Rummy Nosed Tetra?
2. Marble Hatchet Fish?
3. Cardinal Tetra?

This will be a 20 gallon long heavily planted with T5 RO lighting no CO2 using Eco-Complete Substrate. Will have Dwarf hair grass, Balansae crypt, Anubias Nana, Weeping moss and Java Fern. It will have driftwood and river stones and peat moss. Temp will be maintained at 80. I will have a pair of German Blue Rams in the tank with some Japonica shrimp. So keep in mind that the PH will be at 6.5.

 

[Liz Sagara]

Not with all three I was thinking one of those three options. Pro's and con's of each? I want the rams to breed will they do this with those other fish in the tank? I have heard and read though that ram's are shy and do better with Dither fish.

 

[Dav]

They do better with small fish like neons anykind of tetras, ive seen meany planted tanks with rams , angles and mixed tetras, id take a look on youtube wacth some videos that might give you some clues.
Goodluck.

 

[peacock madness]

neons or cardinals, the neons stay smaller, but the cardinals have more color..

 

[Liz Sagara]

So a definite no on the Rummies? Darn... I liked those guys.

 

[peacock madness]

well im kinda doin the same thing right now, but its still on the drawing board, with the green plants, with all the green from the plants, you wanna have color pop out.. the rams have good colors to start, but the neons or cardinals will really pop out nice, especially if you have nice lighting. plus a good school of them will be nice to watch and active as well

 

[Liz Sagara]

And they won't bug the Rams or the other way around?

 

[peacock madness]

well from what ive seen with my previous tanks no, they just stay tight and schooled, and the rams do their own thing.. im planning to do my new tank with my soon to be empty 55. i hope to have 6-8 nice rams and a big school of cardinals.. if you wanted a lil diff color you could even go with some lemon tetras too, ive seen some nice bright yellow ones that add yet another color to the tank, but with yours being only a 20 your stockin is a lil more limited..

 

[Liz Sagara]

What about Serpae Tetra's? Cherry Barbs?

 

[RedDwarf]

I don't see any real problems with any of the three species you plan on picking from. The hatchets are mostly top water so there won't be much interaction between them and the rams. Rummy nose will get a bit larger than the cardinals but they shouldn't be a problem mixing either one. In a heavily planted tank, the rams will be off doing what rams do towards the bottom of the tank while your tetras will occupy the upper half of the tank.