Not sure it I'm in the right area of the forums but I have had plenty of tanks before with a variety of different fish from gouramis too dats... I'm getting back into it with a 30 gallon for my daughter and have always wanted a pair of German blue rams I'm in the middle of setting the tank up it has cycled for 2 months just put a few danios in the other day... Was wondering if anyone has had experience with keeping them... Something I have read says there easy others say they die within 4 months... I was just wondering if anyone has had experience with them and what there opinion is... Thanks in advance
German blue rams
- Thread starter Beave
- Start date
Ive kept them many times and dont find them to be difficult or frail. They need warmer water than Bolivian rams but are more energetic and interesting imo. They can be quite the character and spend much of their time establishing territory and squabbling
Heres one I have now in a community tank.
Heres one I have now in a community tank.
The energetic and interesting is what has always attracted me to them I have just always had aggressive fish that would eat them... Since I'm going with a community tank now is my chance to get them
I would consider them a true dwarf cichlid. Still has a fair amount of cichlid traits just toned down to a mini size. One of my favorite community fish and they have made me really want to get into more dwarf cichlid species.
+1 to warmer water - 82 as a minimum, I've read of good success as high as 84. Those high temps are going to be tough on most other community fish though. You could do cardinal tetras & some species of cories will tolerate the temps.
Its also true that rams have a relatively short life span. You're looking at around 2 years.
Its also true that rams have a relatively short life span. You're looking at around 2 years.
. I think the 4 month thing you read is because of people putting them in new tanks. Something about them requires a well established tank.
There are several reasons for the shortened lifespan of new rams.
1. They are a short-lived fish anyway, usually only averaging around two years.
2. A lot of LFS rams are farm-raised fish that are hormoned before export to really boost their colors, and hormoned fish often have shorter lifespans. It happens in discus, too.
3. Rams do not handle stress well, and being moved from exporter to LFS to home aquarium in the span or a week or two is a lot for them to deal with.
4. As mentioned, rams are best in warm water, 82 - 85F, and they may not do well for extended periods of time in an LFS that keeps their tanks in the mid 70s.
5. Rams do not like dirty water, so frequent water changes are preferred. They do best in low nitrate/low DOC water. Not all LFS do frequent water changes on their overstocked tanks.
Basically, with rams, if you take an easily-stressed little fish and put it into a community system with sub-par water quality that's too cold, it ends up being a recipe for disaster. I often see them covered in ich at my LFS. They're susceptible to all sorts of things once they're stressed out.
The best suggestion I have is to find someone who is breeding rams on a small scale and get good, healthy stock directly from them. A lot of discus keepers also keep and breed rams because they love discus conditions -- warm water with frequent water changes.
1. They are a short-lived fish anyway, usually only averaging around two years.
2. A lot of LFS rams are farm-raised fish that are hormoned before export to really boost their colors, and hormoned fish often have shorter lifespans. It happens in discus, too.
3. Rams do not handle stress well, and being moved from exporter to LFS to home aquarium in the span or a week or two is a lot for them to deal with.
4. As mentioned, rams are best in warm water, 82 - 85F, and they may not do well for extended periods of time in an LFS that keeps their tanks in the mid 70s.
5. Rams do not like dirty water, so frequent water changes are preferred. They do best in low nitrate/low DOC water. Not all LFS do frequent water changes on their overstocked tanks.
Basically, with rams, if you take an easily-stressed little fish and put it into a community system with sub-par water quality that's too cold, it ends up being a recipe for disaster. I often see them covered in ich at my LFS. They're susceptible to all sorts of things once they're stressed out.
The best suggestion I have is to find someone who is breeding rams on a small scale and get good, healthy stock directly from them. A lot of discus keepers also keep and breed rams because they love discus conditions -- warm water with frequent water changes.
We'll I'm waiting now too make sure I have stable water conditions and in the mean time keeping my eyes open for someone selling them... I still have to setup the tank with plants a another hiding spot or 2... Still getting a few things before I go in search of them
Check on aquabid. There is a breeder there who has some very nice gbr and really know the fish well. My current one isnt from them but my previous ones were and they were noticeably more colorful than my current petsmart pickup