GERMAN BLUE RAMS IN COMMUNITY TANK

[Ray.M]

Hi,

I have a 300 litres community tank (4'x18"x2' deep) with discus.
I want to add some Blue Rams for there intense colour and character.
Is it better to have say 2-4 male rams so that they don't pair and become territorial or are they territoral anyway?.
I have peppermints, corydias & whiptail and don't really want them to be terriorised!!!!

Thanks,
Ray

[kristina]

Do not place more than one male in a tank. This of course is the rule and there are exceptions but if you are new to dwarf cihlids take my advice and don't go with the exceptions. The exception would be in a heavily broken up tank where at most you would have 2 males who could each have their own territory that has little to no visibility of the other territory. Even then you can expect to see extreme territorial display and in some cases death. You could try a trio (1 male 2 female) as the females will form different territories within one males superior territory. This can still pose problems between the females but your luck will be better as females 'may' tolerate eachother slightly more and will rarely attack visciously. If one does happen to go missing however don't be surprised.

A short diversion... A friend of mine decided to get some "friends" for his lone ram. Went to the shop and saw a deal for 5 rams $50. Asked the guy if they would get along to which he replied, "well they're in this tank together!" and so he bought them and took them home. As soon as he told me I knew what was going to happen. 5 male rams in a 2ft tank. The original lone male was older and naturally larger and dominant. All other 5 died within 3 weeks.

[jluna]

i'd only go with a pair. aesthetically, a mated pair can't be beat. if you have more, they tend to subdue their colours and hide quite a bit in order to not draw the attention of the alpha pair. seeing you're after intense colour, just have the alphas! this is one of my old pairs in a 3-footer.

[Vspec]

great stories, great shots guys!

[steph]

I would go for 2 pairs in a tank that size.

Rams arent harem forming fish so too many females and they will get picked on. You will get some interesting territorial displays, but with that much floor space they should be fine. Mine used to have a 4 way staring match in the middle of the tank as each pair faced the other one, but unlikely to harass the other occupants very much.

Cheers

Steph