FishProfiles.com Message Forums

I scrapped the 5g hex for now. It's got a lot of little issues and I don't have a better location for it or a good use for it so I put a 10g in it's place. The 10g will be my ram breeding tank. That way I can move the pair out of my 20g and turn my 20g into a marine tank.

This is what I setup yesterday: [link=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v244/aqh88/fish/ram%20tank/ramtank.jpg]http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v244/aqh88/fish/ram%20tank/ramtank.jpg" style="COLOR: #C000C0[/link]

The current plants probably won't stay or at least don't have to. They are extras from other tanks and the plants that were in the 5g hex. The sword at least will outgrow the tank anyway but I have about 8 baby amazon swords left that I'm not sure what to do with. The tank won't have co2 but I can dose excel and I should have a hood for it in a few days. Right now it just has a small light over one corner. The substrate is a mix of fairly course black sand and a few scoops of eco complete from my 90g. I really have no idea what I want to plant it with but I don't really care about staying completely with 1 biotope.

Need to know what light wattage you-ll be putting on, then people will know if you're aiming for low-light, med or high-light. If you want reds, go high-light, 3wpg or more. If you're ok with mainly mosses, crypts and swords, stay with low-med light. My swords are both in low-light and they are doing fine, they're green and healthy but they haven't taken over the tanks yet! Once you've decided there are many here who can get you going in the right direction.
Good choice rams, I'm planning on a bolivian ram to move into the 10g I set up for Buddy my Betta when he goes on to fish heaven. Hope the ram likes harlies as friends not food!

"If you're afraid you'll make a mistake, you won't make anything."
-Family Circus

I don't have set lights. A 10g hood can hold up to 25w compact flourescents so depending on the plants I can put in from two 10w bulbs to two 25w bulbs. The only real restriction is that the tank will have no co2 but I can dose excel.

I would suggest plenty of low light small leafed plants. You could tie plenty of Anubias Nanna to those structures.

Have a look in [link=My Profile]http://
www.fishprofiles.com/interactive/forums/profile.asp?userid=6741" style="COLOR: #00FF00[/link] for my tank info

[link=Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos]http://photobucket.com/albums/b209/keithgh/Betta%20desktop%20tank/" style="COLOR: #00FF00[/link]

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

sham,

I think the main thing to consider when planting (and scaping) this tank is its purpose, breeding rams.

I think your rock bridge construction (is it stable? ) will most likely be the place to spawn, on top of the flat rock. If you are not too attached to it then I would suggest placing the larger piece flat on the ground in the way back of the tank. Around this area (flat or not) you will need to provide plants that make this section “private”. The fish will feel much more secure.

What plants to use? Good question, I would say go with any plant that doesn’t grow too fast as it might grow over the spawn place. I would start off the tank as a low to medium light setup and not add Excel (at least not a lot) as I don’t know what effect it might have on the Rams (sensitive) and the eggs.

Hope this helps at least a little,

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Would the rams spawn on a moss covered rock or do they prefer bare? Moss provides lots of hiding spaces and food for fry. You could cover the driftwood with the moss and also a few stones near the breeding rock. Other good spawning plants provide hiding spaces for shy fry. I think I have seen anubias nana petite recommended before as well as java fern, both varieties. They shouldn't grow too big too quickly for the tank if it has low-light and excel.
Good luck with the fry raising! It shouldn't be too hard getting the rams to breed, I have an idea they're like rabitts!

"If you're afraid you'll make a mistake, you won't make anything."
-Family Circus

Good luck with that, ill be in the same boat in about a month er so, i believe they like to spawn on the rock itself with nothing else on it.

I have heard some rams like a flat bare rock to spawn on and some like to spawn in the sand. Whenever I've talked to someone that had them spawn on a flat structure it was always raised up off the substrate. Also when I got this male ram he was digging pits in the sand and fighting off another male ram that kept coming near his hole. I was thinking that with a flat rock raised up they can spawn on it or in the sand underneath. I tried to make it as flat and stable as I could. They weren't interested in a flat rock hidden in the back of my 20g and the male keeps trying move the gravel behind a chunk of lava rock.

If that holds true then I need some tall concealing plants for the side with the rock but if I'm not adding excel or co2 it'll be easier if the light is kept lower. That probably eliminates hairgrass and vals. What about aponogeton or crinums?

Then I need bushy plants for hiding fry on the right side. There's a bit of tawain moss from the hex shoved among the rocks and driftwood but so far I can't get it to grow well. It seems to need high light. I'll have to move some weeping moss over. I do have an anubias that needs a trim. It's outgrowing it's chunk of driftwood but I'm not sure where to put it in the 10g. The amazon sword in the back also needs switched out for something. It will definitely outgrow this tank and it probably won't appreciate the fairly shallow mostly sand substrate.

If you-ve decided on low-light and don't plan on using CO2 or excel, then bushy plants would be java fern. I am very partial to the windelov variation, it keeps branching out from the tips creating a lacy type of bush. Best thing is you tie it to rocks and driftwood, tuck it in between rocks and it grows like mad with low-light and very little care. Crypts do well in low-light and I have had no problems with tenellus, I think it is a variety of val. Moss also does well with low-light, I'm using java moss but also would like to try willow moss. Christmas moss looks really neat as well.
Do you have a siamese algae eater? Apparrantly they should be called siamese moss eaters. I had thought mine was eating algae in the moss but it turns out they really like moss. I couldn't figure out why the moss did well in one tank and barely survives in the other. Tadaa! Now I know.For more info on moss visit this site and watch the SAE feeding frenzy videos.
http://www.aquamoss.net/

"If you're afraid you'll make a mistake, you won't make anything."
-Family Circus