Ram Cichlid questions!?

[Runitis]

Hi i recently seen a whole bunch of rams lately and they are really appealing to me! I know they aren't mosters but sti9ll theu look nice and i have a small tank. Im suppose to be borrowing my friends unwanted 20g long tank and was considering breeding rams and doing my first low tech planted tank (think thats the right term i just want hard to kill plants like moss javafern and anubias).

Q1) What i understand is all the rams are classified under the same name, so by breeding will i get a mix of variants like jack dempsys (EBJD, gold, regular)?
Q2) Or is it whatever variant i choose (gold regular eletric blue) is that what all the fry will be?
Q3) Can i mix breed to get all different variants
Q4) Can i mix all the kinds of rams as a community
Q5) Whats your experience with rams

Thanks MFK!

 

[ryansmith83]

"German" blue rams, gold rams, electric blue rams, and the "powder blue" rams on Aquabid are all variants of Mikrogeophagus ramirezi. There are also Bolivian rams, M. altispinosus, which grow larger and are usually hardier. They do not cross-breed with the varieties of ramirezi.

You can mix all types of rams, and all the variants of ramirezi will freely spawn with one another. As far as I know, breeding blue to blue will get you blues, gold to gold will get you golds, etc. In other words, most of the varieties breed true. I don't know what the fry from various crosses will look like. I know that the powder blues on Aquabid are from line-breeding fry from golds and electric blues.

A 20 long is a bit small for a group of adults, so I'd suggest trying for a trio in that size of a tank. Get one male and two females. The males will be larger, thinner, and have longer dorsal spines. Females are short, plump, and have red/pink bellies (except for electric blues). If you want a "community" of rams (six or more) you'll need a larger tank, like a 40 breeder or even a 55. They do establish territories and males will chase and fight, so the larger tank footprint you have, the more you can keep per tank. You can round it out with tetras, cory cats, or any small, peaceful fish that will tolerate the warm water which rams require.

As for water, keep it around 84 - 85F and be diligent with frequent (at least weekly) water changes. They are sensitive to water quality. They don't appreciate nitrates, and filtration will not remove nitrates. Plants will absorb some but you'll still want to provide plenty of clean water.

Remember that rams are a short-lived cichlid, maybe two years or so. I think this adds to their reputation for being sensitive and delicate, when in reality they just don't last long compared to larger cichlids.

 

[Runitis]

Thanks for the great info!! looks like ill try for a trio!!

Sent from my cave