German Rams And Bolivian Rams

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C

Connor AND Liam

Gambusia
MFK Member
Jun 20, 2008
247
0
16
Levin, New Zealnad
Hi all im thinking of getting two pairs of GERMAN BLUE RAMS and two pairs of Bolivian Rams. Is this a good idea or not and what would the chances of me being able to put them in the same tank and what size tank would you recomend.

Thanks Connor
 
German Blue Rams can be difficult to keep depending on where they came from. Some stock from Asia have been bred using hormones and typically are either diseased or sterile. It sounds like you're new to fish keeping (correct me if I'm wrong) and if so, I would suggest you start out with something easier to keep. Bolivian rams are slightly easier to keep/breed, but still have fairly specific requirements.

Apistos in general are great to keep and breed because of their small size and willingness to breed, but I'd say to get some cichlids or even live bearers to start then once your comfortable with the process and keeping tank conditions stable, move on to more complicated fish.

If you're dead set on rams, keep in mind they're typically fairly expensive compared to some easier fish, so be sure that you've got your tank parameters right for them, and buy stock from either a local breeder or a known source that doesn't use hormones!

I'd keep the blue rams separate from the Bolivians. 2 pairs of blue rams would require a 20gal (75Liter) and the same for 2 pairs of Bolivians. A tip would be to use peat in your filter for either if you're trying to get them to spawn. You might think about using rain water for water changes to get softer water and keep the nitrates as low as possible for the blue rams. Do this with plants or some other chemical filtration like seachem de-nitrate, purigen, phos-X or nitrazorb.

Check out these forums for rams too:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/phpBB/viewforum.php?f=50

and they have good info on their library pages here:
http://www.cichlid-forum.com/articles/new_world_list.php

http://forum.apistogramma.com/
 
Yeah I am pretty new other then keeping goldfish which i accidently killed even though they are the easiest fish to keep. Over here in new zealand i can find some german rams for pretty cheap. Would a 40 gallon with a divider do for the fish or not
 
Rams from European breeders are usually safe, but probably the most expensive.
And, if you are interested in breeding, keep each pair in it's own 10 gallon. They usually spawn of flat rocks, though some spawn in pits, and I had a pair lay eggs on lava-rockish rock.
Or, the pairs of either german blues or bolivians in a 55 with some tetras and cory cats would look nice. Just remember, german blues like their water on the warm side. (80-84 F)
 
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