Lucy

Ok Folks, as it goes with love sometimes, I'm sure my hopes to own either of these will be dashed.

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile3.html

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/p...CID=C12188x007

My tank is 30g. http://www.fishlore.com/fishforum/ge...empty-30g.html

I plan to have drift wood and plants.

My pH is a steady 7.6. I don't have a test kit for hardness, I'm fairly certain it's pretty hard.
Would drift wood help with this?

The store that carries them is over an hour away.
On some fish they indicate they're tank bred, with the GBR's there's no such note.

I've read they prefer an established tank, does this mean just cycled or up and running with other fish and for how long?

So fellow Fish Lorians, do you think this is doable?
If so, can those 2 be combined?

How many would do best and what m/f ration? Can they be kept without others of their own kind?
What else do I need to know?


So many questions!!! Best to have the answers so I don't make a huge mistake.

Thanks for any and all opinions!

Martinismommy

Lucy......Those fish are gorgeous!

Bede

I have no advice but I wanted to say that I loooove the German Blue Rams too. Andy had a male GBR that was just a fabulous fish. I will say that they are sensitive to changes in the water, VERY sensitive. Andy did a water change and forgot to plug the filter back in, I think it was off for 4-6 hours and it killed his healthy,beautiful male GBR that fast. We were sooo sad. I'd love to keep a pair myself, they are just gorgeous fish.

Butterfly

A good ratio is 1m/2females. Now the problem is telling which ones are which They like planted tanks and driftwood. The driftwood would bring the ph down about 1 point but the hardness is different it is how much minerals are in the water.
I keep Rams in the same ph and they do fine even breed(now if they would quit eating them )
Most Rams are tank bred, wild caught would be quite expensive.
Check with the store when you buy them and see what their ph and hardness is this will let you know how slowly you need to acclimate them.
They are good with fish swimming around above them in fact need them to feel safe but I would be careful about bottom dwellers, they will claim the whole bottom of a 30G.
Hope that helps
Carol

Lucy

Thanks Carol, it does help. I thought they were mid dwellers, so that's good to know.

Butterfly

They do tend to swim some mid ways and will come to teh top to eat but the bottom belongs to them and they will protect it especially when spawning. Although they do no harm they do keep my four inch BN in line
Carol

Slug

Once they do pair however, they will only form a 1m/1f pair so the lone fish might take a beating unless it can find its own area. In a 30gal i wouldn't think it would be a problem but cichlids have minds of their own.

Sexing is quite easy once they are older. The best method is the blue spangles. I hate sexing by "pink belly", its not as sure as the spangles. When i say spangles i mean the blue dots on their body, specifically around the black dot on their side.

If there are no black spangles inside the black dot = male
If there are black spangles inside the block dot = female

Butterfly

I don't have a problem with the extra female getting a beating but I sure did the extra male. He got moved real quick.
I must have strange Rams because both have spangles and since I have had two sets of fry(lunch) I know them to be a pair. I have best luck buying four and watching real close and moving any that are being chased away.
I've tried looking for purple bellies(female), longer first dorsal spine(male), presence or absence of spangles so I do the group and only when I can watch them closely.
Their such beautiful and personable little fish they will be a great addition to a tank.
carol

Lucy

How would just 1 work? Along with other compatable fish, of course.

dking271

My Rams are thriving in 7.6-7.8 PH with pretty hard water (haven't tested it in a while). Mine are also breeding in these water conditions, and I currently have between 50-70 wigglers, which should be free swimming by tomorrow. The spangle method is not 100 percent fool proof, nor is just sexing by the pink bellies. The most sure proof way that I have found, is by looking at the pelvic fins. On male GBR's, the pelvic fins will be long enough to stretch beyond the anal opening. A female's pelvic fins will not.

In a 30g, I would try 1m/1 to 2 females. They do fine alone with compatable fish, but sometimes loners can be shy. I find that stocking some kind of dither fish really helps with the high strung shy ones. My breeding male is the boss of our community tank. The entire dynamics of the tank change when I have him in our breeding tank, where he is temporarily housed.

Butterfly

I just went and looked and you are right! Wahoo! Thats so cool!
Carol

freshwaterguy

sure is interesting and useful that there are several ways to sex GBRs.

I have had my 2 males & 2 females for 3 going on 4 weeks and they are so cool - and touch wood so far they have survived 3 water changes with my PH a constant 7.5 in quite soft water.

Fry next perhaps!