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After a tough search in all the LFS in my town, Finally (lloks like) I'll be able to get some Rams, I'm planning to get 4 of them (2 pairs), they will be in a 29g and my question is, do I need to get some dither fish for them?, I'm planning to leave this tank for themselves, but not sure if dither fish are necessary

Thanks in advance

[font color="#000080"]UPD: Finally I got the Rams , got 5 of them, they are too small to sex them, even the coulor isn't present in some of them, now to wait and hope evereything goes fine this next days with them. [/font]


Last edited by hcelizondo at 12-Nov-2004 10:21

2 pairs in a 29 might not be a good idea, but I'm not sure, might want to wait for another member to chime in on that one. Also, what kind of Rams? If they are Blue rams, and they decide to breed, they might turn agressive on some of your fish. To answer your question, Rams seem to do good with tetras.

HTH

Last edited by Tetra Fan at 08-Nov-2004 17:04

it would be German blue Rams, Microgeophagus Ramirezi. It will be a planted tank, rocks and places to hide, If s necessary to go with the dither I'll use Black neons (maybe 6 of them) but I would like to leave the rams alone

You may not need dithers, depends on the fish. I had one female that was out all the time but the male was shy. I'd wait and see, you can always add them if you need to.

When it comes breeding time, I think, if there are enough suitable spots for them, 2 pairs ought to be okay in a 29. If not get a few target fish for them to get cranky with.

Good luck, Mike

As for dither fish, they may or may not be necessary, depending on your rams's personality. If they happen to be shy, then I'd suggest using tetras. They should work out just fine.

Last edited by sirbooks at 09-Nov-2004 18:36

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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."

I've kept rams with rummies, danios, and silvertip tetras without a problem.

If you want these fish to eventually spawn, I'd suggest either pencilfish or ottos. Neither will be a threat to eggs and fry, and the pencil fish at least will act as both a dither and a target (the ottos more a target since they just tend to hang out during daylight hours). Mind you, you'll probably end up pulling the eggs or fry anyway...

I had a single pair in a 20 gallon, and with plants and rocks, they were perfectly comfortable swimming about and greeting me for their daily rations.

I'd suggest keeping a school of tetras for the rams. Rams usually use the fish as lookout, and without them they get stressed out.

Rummynose are a good size, as well as lamp eyes, etc.

I would second BigDaddy's suggestion. Tetras are notorious egg eaters, and Rams are not the most vigilant parents. You're more likely to have success with pencils and/or otos, and I believe that no dithers would also be fine. Just provide plenty of plants, hiding spaces, and some slate pieces for spawning purposes.

I like the idea of the pencilfish, I've never kept those, but I would like to, maybe some golden will make good contrast with the Rams, 6 of them perhaps??

That should be fine, as they like to be kept in shoals. Pencilfish *can* be e to aggression amongst themselves, but it usually isn't severe.

With just six pencilfish and four rams, you have quite a bit of room for error in the tank. The rams will likely leave each other alone, and the pencilfish will be busy doing their own thing. Your bioload won't be overtaxed, and you won't have to worry much about tank pollution.
Are you planning on getting any other fish?

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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."

HC,

I see no need for dither fish. I like the idea of the rams by themselves in the tank. You may want to start with 6 fish to see how the fish apir up. If you choose to go with more than 4 fish, I would recommend a ratio of 1 male to 2 or 3 females.

If you have a match, the pair will become extremely territorial. Be alert for fish cowering in corners and provide heavy planted areas and hiding spots. You may want to use rock to build a small cave or two for hiding or breeding. In lieu of those spots you can use the clay pots used to breed ancistrus.

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

I don't like to overstock and besides the fact that rams need really good water a good practice would be that, and I like the idea to fill the upper level of the tank with pencils and the medium-bottom with the rams, it will be my first time with Rams. Hopefully they will be here tomorrow(as the guy at the LFS told me), so today I'll be working at the tank re-planting and will add some little pots