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I have never had cichlids before and was thinking about getting a pair of german blue rams for my tank. Do I need a M/F pair or can I get two of the same sex? I've heard they can get aggressive during breeding so I'm not really interested in babies. Any other suggestions of smaller, peaceful cichlids? I want something colorful as a centerpiece. My last tank had gouramis but I'm looking for a change.

I was planning on keeping them with maybe some danios or some type of tetra, an apple snail, a small pleco, and some type of shrimp. (I'm not too concerned about the shrimp becoming food.) Will this plan work? I think my tank is nearing the end of its cycle so I need to hurry up and decide what I want!

ok frist we need to know wat size of tank u want cuz that is going too eather make the aggresion higher or lower yes they will have babies but i dont think they will survive i have a whole bunch in my tank and i see about have of them get killed a day u might some survivers that might suck but u can sell them to your LFS and mabey make some money.

It's a 46g.

If i were you'd i'd get a nice big bunch of them, about 5 or so. This'd probably increase your chances of getting a mixed sex bunch although i think you should aim for all females or at max 2 males in that size group.

Just provide plenty of hiding places and you should have no problems.

Yes, Paige, they can get territorial when they spawn. In fact, watching males spar for position is one of the fun things about these fish. The sparring matches are entertaining and no one gets hurt.

You can try to garner all one sex of rams. In fact, they are a bit difficult to sex so you may think you are choosing all male or female fish and still end up with one fish who will be very happy about the odds!

Most often, your LFS will have rams from Asia. In general, these fish will be male. I guess it's the way that they want to control the market.

You may also want to consider apistogramas. Closely related to rams, they are peaceful additions to the mid-level and low-level aquarium strta.



__________
"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

I only want two. I guess when I'm ready I'll just go to the LFS and get the two they catch first and see how they get along.

Sounds like and idea, but if you should happen to get a male and a female i would highly advise adding another female so that the male has somewhere to spread his agression.

if you are getting rams you should note that they are moderate to hard to care for, if the water isnt clear and clean they are highly susceptable do disease. i would sugest 1 male and 1 female, IME if you keep 1m/2f the more dominant female will pair with the male and then bully the other female alot!.
my blue rams breed quite often in small pits in the gravel, but the eggs are normally eaten by the male soon after the have spawned. my blue rams where only agressive to fish who came within a 10cm radios of their spawning site.
if you see a male next to a female you will easily spot the difference. If you go in a fish shop and they all look the same the chances are they all are of one gender.
The easiest way for me was to look at the fins the females dorsal and anal dins are quite stumpy while the males are more pointed.
this site may help you tell the difference in gender.
http://tropicalresources.net/phpBB2/fish_profiles_ramirezi.php
i would suggest putting either some neons or other peacful tetra's that are of similar size as the rams, such as red or black phantoms or diamonds. danios are fairly active fish and they may startle the blue rams.
hope this helps

I tend to keep an extremly clean tank. It's so much more enjoyable to look at when it's sparkling clear and I know all my water tests are perfect.

I just moved to a new town and the LFS is pretty much a cichlids lovers fantasy. I've always breezed by the cichlid aisle not really interested, but this store is row upon row. They have so many beautiful ones I had never seen before so I came home and looked them all up and to my suprise they were all cichlids...most are not fit for my community tank but the store seems pretty good and I think they'll be able to give good advice and help me out. Thanks for all your advice too...I'll definitely be checking that website out!