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German (Blue) Rams are my absolute favorite fish, and I have had luck with spawning and respawning and so on. Recently I have had to remove all fish from my 29 gallon due to some sudden problems - I'm looking to slowly rebuild the tank, using only the plants I have in it and the flourite red soil.

So here's the thing - I want to make this tank a "Ram" tank - make them a primary focus so I might be able to breed them, not professionally, but I've had enough luck that I want to focus in on JUST that. What recommendations would you guys/gals make for this? Do I need anything in particular other than dense vegitation (which I have) slate (which I have) and hiding places (which I'm building)?

Also, should I go with 1 or 2 pairs of rams... and any other fish? I don't want ANYTHING that will uproot plants nor go after Ram eggs as I feel that is what perturbed the rams from successfully breeding in my last tank.

This was a long post - thanks for staying through it! Any info would be great :-)

-Jeff

If you're up for having a ram breeding tank, there's not really much you can safely house with them other than the usual small tets (cardys, neons, rummies, black neons, glowlights), and smaller loricariids for algae (BNs, ottos). Hatchets would actually be a very nice touch. If it were my tank, I'd do a double pair with two spawning areas on opposite sides of the tank with plants between them, and maybe a few ottos. The lower the pH, the higher your fry survival rate, or so the saying goes. Yeah. Also, I've had breeding rams beat up a BN before, so I'd watch the tankmates once they start a reproducin'. Rams don't seem to be very selective of where they breed, at least IME. Therefore, I'd do more of a DW/Rock/plant thing, maybe one side with layered slate, the other with a large hunk of flat wood. Yeah.

Last edited by Cup_of_Lifenoodles at 20-Nov-2004 01:42

Alright, so I'm thinking heavy plants in the center and corners - and a mix of flat wood and slate with a java moss carpet. Do I need an actual tank divider if I do have 2 pairs of rams? I would rather not since this is also a "good looking" tank. Which hatchets are you referring to? Common? I thought that the marbled ones would go after fry. Also, when the eggs are laid do I take them out? I always thought no, but I also thought that it might be what I was doing wrong. I also didn't want to take the piece of slate out that it was on, only for the rams to never try to breed again because of the disruption.

I can definitly do some Otos - I think the perfect tank would be rams and a heavily planted tank with swords and java...

Considering this is a 29 gallon, it gets pretty tall, so I wouldn't tihnk that the hatchets (common or otherwise) would have much of an incentive to come down and feast on your yungins. Plus, rams are pretty 'dern good parents, if I do say so myself. I kept two pairs in a 30 gallon, which has more width than your conventional 29, so I don't know how the territories will be divided.

EDIT: Spelling

Last edited by Cup_of_Lifenoodles at 21-Nov-2004 12:49

[font color="#000080"]Yeah you will defiantly need a heavily planted tank with lots of hiding spots if you are going to keep 2 pairs in there.[/font]
[font color="#008000"]Instead of Hatchets I'll go with Cardinals. A school of about 7 would look real nice with the Rams. Also I like the otto idea.[/font]
[font color="#000080"]The tank sounds like it's going to be real nice , you gotta send pics when it's done.

I will do my best to get pics up - I spent HOURS completely redoing everything... tied down all the Java Moss with fishing line to the stones/driftwood and built a tall section of the tank in the corner with slate imbedded into the fluorite. I also built a cave into the other side of the tank with slate – the top of it is clear, but the sides have java moss tied to it… I can’t wait to see how it fills out.

I really REALLY appreciate all the help – I think I’m going to go with Marbled Hatchets since I’ve always wanted some and then ottos… this is going to be interesting.

Last thing – how long until I actually put fish in the tank? The soil is all the same.. I’m thinking a week?

If you already have a breeding pair, and your main objective is to breed rams, I would devote the whole tank to the one pair. Yes, I know most folks will say you can fit some other fish in there, but if the point is getting the rams to breed and successfully raising the fry, why add other fish and decrease the chance of a successful spawn?

I would gladly go with only 1 pair, but what about the "dither fish" IE the hatchet fish? I thought they were necessary... I'm still a bit unclear as I have never done the "species specific" or breeding tank... until I came to have a pair of rams and realized how much I would like to breed them!

Thanks

I don't think you have room for many dithers, which the hatchets certainly aren't, as they'll be spending most, if not all their time cruising on the top strata. If you want dithers (there are definite advantages), I'd only go with one pair of rams, and something peaceful yet tough. Praecox rainbows or rosy tets are a safe bet.

Last edited by Cup_of_Lifenoodles at 27-Nov-2004 11:15

Ok, so I guess I'm a bit confused on the concept of a "dither fish" - it's a fish that resides within the same area (strata) as the rams, and acts as distraction for them?

Would a flock of ottos, some hatchets and a pair of rams be good for this tank? I'm just looking to get on with stocking it since the tank is just about ready!

Thanks for you all you help and patience!

I think that'd be a GREAT tank. Dither fish, IMO, aren't really needed in a ram tank, as male rams are not know for their "wife beating" habits.

dither fish are small fish that would be eaten if there were dangerous fish swimming around. if the rams see that the dither fish are swimming freely around the tank then they will know there is no danger nearby, that way they will be less shy and will be more willing to come out of hiding. dither fish let them know that the coast is clear

Cup, Devon - THANK YOU! Well thank you all really, but that cleared up a lot for me. I just spent the last 30 min testing and retesting and the tank is 100% ready - ideal PH, ammonia, nitrite dH (both GH and KH) and of course CO2... whew.

Ok, marbles are hard to find, but the rams are going in and the otos as well...

I will try to take some pics tonight - thank you SO much!