German Rams hard to care for?

[Pyramid_Party]

Hi,

everywhere I read they talk about Rams being hard to care for. It kinda scares me to even give them a try. I see some being sold at my LFS for like $10 each. The water in my town is hard and alkaline, which is opposite to what Rams are suppose to live in. Also, what else could you tell me about them? Diet, personality, tank size needed etc? How many for a 20 gallon long? Thx

 

[JK47]

Hi,

everywhere I read they talk about Rams being hard to care for. It kinda scares me to even give them a try. I see some being sold at my LFS for like $10 each. The water in my town is hard and alkaline, which is opposite to what Rams are suppose to live in. Also, what else could you tell me about them? Diet, personality, tank size needed etc? How many for a 20 gallon long? Thx

Rams are stellar fish. The "German" part is incorrect though. Most a farm raised in asia. I think they get a bad rap for two reasons. #1 they have a very short natural lifespan. Around two years. #2 they like water temps far higher than most. They like heatsand lots of it. A good pellet like NLS or Omega one protein is a great staple for them. Microgeophagus are a really neat fish to keep and fairly easy to breed. I have been wanting to keep a group along with dwarf crenicichla (dwarf pikes) latelly but no space.

Stay away from the "baloon" and like verieties those poor line bred fish can't have any longer of a life span than ma natures version.

 

[we4wieners]

I have heard the same and upon more resarch found that they are much easier than talked about. I am in the process of picking several up tomorrow and hopefully creating a pair. I have a 30g that is heavily planted and awaiting them. I will post as I go along and let you know how it goes. I am looking at hte Blue rams.

 

[stephcps]

I bought two different groups from LFS...all died. I bought a group I finally found from a local hobbyist...still goin strong. I think the imported fish are just weak. So, before you spen 10 bucks a pop...buy some nice tank raised fish. It'll save you money in the end. They are really spectacular little fish!! Full of attitude too!!

 

[PostalPenguin]

I would only purchase the rams from local breeders or a reputable LFS. A lot of the rams in the larger stores are hormone pumped before they are sold to show off their colors.

I purchased 3 rams with brilliant colors from a store and they were all dead within a week despite perfect water conditions. Bought two from a breeder on another forum and they lasted until my tank crashed for other reasons.

 

[FIN01]

I have kept a few rams and find them quite easy to care for. Excellent fish for a number of reasons. They worked out quite well in my dorm room tank a few years ago.

 

[pat3612]

I have a pair of electric blue rams and I dont find them hard at all I have hard water too and it does not seem to be a problem.

 

[Aquanero]

I have found Rams to be pretty easy provided they are purchased from a good sorce and their needs are met. Most Blue Rams found in fish stores are Asian breed and treated with harmones which causes them to look good at the store but crash soon after being purchased. This is part of the reason they get a bad rap. Also if you buy an adult Ram you don't know how old it is and could be nearing the end of it's short life. Blue Rams are best bought as juvi's from a breeder. If you can't find a good source for Blue Rams, Bolivians are a good option.

 

[we4wieners]

I got my Rams today, very small fry. 1 male 3 females...hoping to find a pair in there. When will they chill out? They are real skiddish...

 

[Pyramid_Party]

Are they easy to breed, and can they live and breed in hard/alkaline water? ANyone got experience breeding the electric blues? I hear it's hard to find females cause most dealers don't wanna sell them.