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Rams are QUITE prolific. Once the water is found to be acceptable, they churn out babies as fast as convicts, shelldwellers, and other "aquatic rabbitgs". At the height of breeding fever, I had three separate fry tanks, two of which had dividers. With basic math taken into consideration, that would be five different stages of developing fry at any given moment.

Thanks for your help, now all i have to do is convince my mother to let me get it Though, i think shes given up on preventing me from bringing more animals home.

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

I understand where your comming from on that. Then, I'd add a guppy or two to make you existing ones happier(not really schooling fish, but seem to do best with at least 3) And, if parimeters are ok, add a pearl. I'd definitely go with a pearl because opalines are a bit more rowdy and might go after the guppy's tails.
EDIT: and without a doubt, get 2 rams. A pair usually does much better than just one and if you do not want fry, you could remove the eggs or feed the fry to some other fish. Otherwise, some stores might take them.

Last edited by djtj at 24-May-2005 10:19

The only thing is id rather not have baby angels. Also, Im pretty sure the 2 guppies are moving into the 30gal hex, as im thinking of moving my female bettas into the 5 gal.

So im thinking

3 otos or 6 cories
1 (maybe 2) Blue/gold rams
6-8 glowlights
2 guppies

If Im not stocked:

Gourami of some sort
-or-
2 Angels*

Ive never seen them much bigger than a nickel, so sexing will be tough. Right now bringing 6 home and letting them pair isnt feasible.

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

Gouramis are fine alone. In fact they can even be a bit nippy with each other (females are less nippy, but they are still nippy), in smaller tanks (30gallons still is small in the big picture of things). I 100% suggest gouramis as they are the best fish out there. Pearls are also less agressive than opalines.

But, just to add on what cory said, only adult angels live in pairs and usually these pairs work better if the fish themselves choose each other. If you are buying babies, (dime, nickle, quarter, etc. size), it is suggested to buy 6+, get a pair, and get rid of the rest. If you still want a pair of angels, I'd go to the store frequently and stare at the tank for a while, trying to see if any two fish seem to pair up. Buy them.

In a 30 gallon with really good filtration and dilligent care, you could have:
2 angels (or 1 pearl gourami)
2 rams (germans AKA blue or golds are smaller)
6 tetras
6 cories

This might be overstocked, but the real determining factor in how many fish you can have is not surface area, but how much care you are willing to put into your tank. Obviously, you can only bend the rules so far, but if you balance out more fish with more filters and more cleaning, you will be safe.

Last edited by djtj at 23-May-2005 20:28

How about a pearl or opaline gourami, can they go singly? With all of these smaller fish, Id like something a bit bigger to stand out.

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

They like to be in male/female pairs. A mated pair might not tolerate other angels in the same tank.

---

I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

Really? Ive never heard them to be particularly social.

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

go with the first one and up the guppies one or two. Angelfish like buddies

Would a 30-35 gal hex have the same stocking capacity or would there be more/less. Space is tight at my house and i think a Hex tank would be better.

Im thinking:

2 rams
4 otos or 6 cories
2 male guppies
6-8 glowlights
MTS

-or-

1 ram
4 otos or 6 cories
2 male guppies
6-8 glowlights
1 angel or gourami of some sort.
MTS


Last edited by katieb at 23-May-2005 14:56

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

Im rescuing a glowlight and plan on moving him and the other inhabitants into a 20 gal or more tank. Since my new tank will be bigger, i want to have a nice community. This is what Im thinking:

20 gal:

6 Glowlights
3 otos
2 male guppies
1 P. Bridgessi
1 Blue ram


Is this stocked or do I have more room?

Last edited by katieb at 23-May-2005 15:40

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

Well the glowlight is with me now, can't wait to see what it does when it actually has a school

Last edited by katieb at 18-May-2005 18:53

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

If it's a 20g long that's the same length at a 29g, which I had four male rams in at one time. Lots of plants, hiding places...occasionally they'd face off, kind of do a stare-down thing but otherwise I had no problems with them.

Sounds like you'll have a nice tank

~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is water at the bottom of the ocean

"Are rams prolific?"

Not usually. They often need very high quality, soft and acidic water, as well as lots of live and frozen foods. However, I will admit that we've had two ram spawns at work, and I know that a few members here have had them spawn as well. It is possible to breed rams, just a little on the difficult side.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Sweet, now all i have to do is find a place to put the tank :%)

Are rams prolfic? If i get a pair, i have no clue what I'll do with the fry. *Crosses fingers for 2 females*

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

Sounds cool, the stocking.

Rams are getting harder to sex nowadays due to their being churned out by fish farms, regardless of parental skills or the differences between the sexes, to include that marvelous male fin spike. Color is all that matters to them.

Gold and blue rams can be sexed in the same way. The biggest difference between the genders is that male rams have a "spike" at the front of their dorsal fin, while females do not. The second and third rays of the dorsal (in males) are extended beyond the rest of the fin, and are often very tall indeed. However, as I mentioned, it is getting harder to tell males from females in this way, especially in young fish. The male dorsal spikes are getting shorter and shorter. The best way to ensure that you're getting a true pair is to look for the ram with the tallest dorsal spike, which should be a male. Then look for a ram with no spike, and a very pink belly. Chances are that it will be a female.

The following thread should help you a little more.

[link=http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/forums/Cichlid%20Central/50289.html?200412170058]http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/forums/Cichlid%20Central/50289.html?200412170058" style="COLOR: #808080[/link]

Hope that helps, sexing rams can be too confusing.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

Pomacea bridgesii is a type of apple snail that stays small and won't eat plants(unless theyre dying). I thought it would be good to list the scientific name, as some apple snails get baseball sized and I didnt want confusion

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

What's a 1 P. Bridgessi? Is that just a facy name for an apple snail?

Books, how does one sex a blue ram? The ones at my LFS are usually sold around an inch long. Also, does the color morph matter? I often see the blues and golds together and one of each might be nice.

I think ill start out with:
6 glowlights
3 otos
2 guppies
1 apple snail*
1 blue ram

Then Ill bump it up to:

8 Glowlights
5 otos
2 guppies
1 apple snail
2 rams

*He can stay behind in the 5 gal.

I'll do graffiti,
If you sing to me in French.

It sounds like you have a little wiggle room in there. You could add some extra glo-lights and ottos; making them happier, but not overtaxing the beneficial bacteria. Also, another ram would be cool. They usually like being kept in male/female pairs, one of which would be perfectly fine in your tank.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."