German Blue Ram Swapping Partners?!?

I have a lovely trio of german blue rams. I got a female ram 2 weeks ago, and then 4 days later I came home with another male and female, unpaired. Two days after introducing them into my 20 gallon tall, the original female and the male paired. Everything was very peaceful, (the other female was still active and there was no physical violence, only a flare and that would be all), when two days LATER the male swapped females. I just guessed: maybe the male had not yet adjusted to the tank and the original female had claimed him? and so then he really decided on his partner. They laid some eggs, and there was a typical fanning behaviour from both parents. As I expected, it was just a "practise," and the eggs were soon eaten by the parents. The next day, to my surprise, he had switched females AGAIN. And just now he switched again. Now its everybody vs everybody. The females are constantly changing colours, and one minute the one female is with the male peacefully, and the next he is with the other female. I switched the light off and covered them so that they could have some darkness to figure it out. The tank is moderately planted, it has some: banana lilies, hair grass, blue stricta, and then a corner with lots of of a really tall plant. I just did a water change two days ago, and the tank is definitely cycled. I have quite a bit of bogwood, and some rocks creating caves. I had german blue rams in the past, and I am confused why this is happening. Any ideas on what's happening and how to stop it? Thanks a lot!

 

From what I know they can be harem breeders...
AquaticJ any thoughts?

It may be best to just take a female out if there's too much stress and aggression

 

Oh yes, the males can be quite the ladies men! My male had two different females lay eggs for him to fertilize in a 24 hour period. Your call on separation, it has to be done sometimes unfortunately. I did separate the one female because she was starting to get picked on.

Now I will say that a 20 tall would probably be too small for anymore than one pair.

 

The reason I had two females in the first place was so that the male could pick a "partner." I read somewhere that rams can be very picky about who they choose... Once there was a "pair," there was very little violence, and interestingly, if it did get a bit too feisty the male would separate them... I miss my old Abraham, he was the best boy... anyway, if I took one female out, would the male and female pair up? Or will they pair up eventually? I read that a 20 gallon tall is just about right for three rams... I appreciate your thoughts though! My tank is: 24lx17tx10w (that is: 24 inch long, 17 inch tall and 10 inch wide). I'm really attached to all three, so giving them back is not an option... I'm open to all OTHER options
(edit) How did it actually work out with your male, AquaticJ? And I always heard that german blue rams were monogamous, kayla.s? But if they were harem breeders, it would be ok, right? Sorry for all the arguing!

 

Oh definitely not monogamous! It’s common to see the males pick other females. As for the tank, it’s not that it’s too small for the fish themselves, but it’s the aggression you’ll likely see. A 20 long would be much better because you’ve probably noticed that they hang out on the bottom, so that extra 6 inches of length makes a difference.

He’s with the Gold Ram now, which I prefer because of how cool the Gold/regular Blue mixes look. we’ll see what happens when the next round of eggs happen!

 

I'm always learning something new! Currently all three fish are very colourful and there is no aggression whatsoever... They are all in the same "half" of the tank, which is unusual, they seem fine right now. I hope it all goes well. What do hybrids look like actually? I'd be interested to know!

 

Well you might get away with it, it’s not like its a 5 gallon or something

It depends on what genes the parents both have, but generally I’ve seen a gold head and blue body, hard to explain!

 

I feel sorry for the two females... I have this idea of buying another tank and putting one female in there; maybe an electric blue ram male with her? I don't really know yet. We'll have to see!

 

Everything seems fine lately... I think I'll leave it how it is, at least for now. I want to add more caves, driftwood and a lot more plants! Then they'll have lots of hiding spots. Thank you for the help everyone!