Help Me Take Care Of My New Ram Cichlid

29831143_124642351714554_970415287_o

• kdellatrix
• Mar 31, 2018
• 1

Hello, this is my ram cichlid which I just got today and I wanted to ask you a few questions:
1. Can you tell what is the gender of this fish? The seller I bought it from said that he/she is too young to be sexed, but he also said that the thinks it's a male.
2. Can I keep this fish in the same aquarium where my danios and neon are? Again, the seller told me they can be kept together, but the danios seem to eat all the food before he can find it. I feed them baby shrimp and when I feed my ram I try to make the shrimp go to the bottom, so he can find them before the danios eat them.
3. At what temperature should I keep the water? It's currently 26 degrees celsium, but my aquarium is next to a sunny window, so I turn the heater down to 24 during the day.

I'd be REALLY thankful to you if you help me take care of my new ram cichlid. I'll keep you updated!

 

29831143_124642351714554_970415287_o

• kdellatrix
• Mar 31, 2018
• 1

Hello, this is my ram cichlid which I just got today and I wanted to ask you a few questions:
1. Can you tell what is the gender of this fish? The seller I bought it from said that he/she is too young to be sexed, but he also said that the thinks it's a male.
2. Can I keep this fish in the same aquarium where my danios and neon are? Again, the seller told me they can be kept together, but the danios seem to eat all the food before he can find it. I feed them baby shrimp and when I feed my ram I try to make the shrimp go to the bottom, so he can find them before the danios eat them.
3. At what temperature should I keep the water? It's currently 26 degrees celsium, but my aquarium is next to a sunny window, so I turn the heater down to 24 during the day.

I'd be REALLY thankful to you if you help me take care of my new ram cichlid. I'll keep you updated!

Unable to see the picture

 

Here are some more pictures :

 

I'm 95% sure that your ram is a female. Male rams don't have the pink that you see on the belly.

 

It's a female.
Danios and neon tetras both need cooler water than rams, but 26 Celsius is fine for the ram.

 

Greetings and welcome to Fishlore

How large is this aquarium?

Rams need several things:

1. Very high water quality in an established aquarium. They generally do not do well in a newly setup aquarium.

2. They need caves to call their own. They will not do well in a bare aquarium.

3. Plants. I have never seen a ram do well in an aquarium without plants.

4. A varied diet. Ours are fed in rotation: omega one flakes, frozen brine shrimp, frozen blood worms and they like to nibble on the algae wafers for the ABN and ottos.

As for temp I do not know metric. But for the ram you want the water warmer than the danios and neons like. You will have to keep the water at the low end of the ram's liking and the high end of the neon's and danio's liking. Set the thermostat to the proper temp and leave it. Constantly changing it is asking for trouble.

I do keep Rams. Some of the ones we have.

1. A blue variant of GBR.



2. A redish variant of GBR. These are in with neons. Temp is 75f



3. Gold ram.



4. Bolivian ram.

 

The aquarium is 20 litres. I tried to feed the ram flakes, but the neon and the danios ate all of them. I’ve had this aquarium for almost a month and I’ve made 2 water changes since then. The first one was a 50% water change and the other one was full. I did make one mistake though - I cleaned the sponge filter the same day I cleaned the aquarium so yeah.. So today I was at the animal market and one person told me I had to buy bacteria for my filter, but unfortunately he didn’t have any. Are there different types of bacteria? What kind should I buy? Also, I was thinking of getting some plants today, but I didn’t know what kind to buy so I didn’t buy any. Will it be too late to buy plants next week on saturday? That’s the only day this market works. I don’t use any lighting for my aquarium. Should I buy special lights so the plants grow and are there plants that don’t need lighting?

 

Sometimes fish won't eat for a couple days after being added to a new tank. Give it a few days and she should start
eating.

The bacteria the guy/girl told you about has to do with the Nitrogen cycle. I suggest you do some reading up on the nitrogen cycle as you will learn more from that than me trying to explain it.

20 liters is about 5gals, which is very small for most fish species, rams, danios, and most tetra species included. Antoher suggestion, research the species of fish you plan to keep before buying them. We've all made this mistake. I've certainly bought my fair share of fish only to have them die because they are not being cared for properly, which was entirely my fault.

 

The aquarium is 20 litres. I tried to feed the ram flakes, but the neon and the danios ate all of them. I’ve had this aquarium for almost a month and I’ve made 2 water changes since then. The first one was a 50% water change and the other one was full. I did make one mistake though - I cleaned the sponge filter the same day I cleaned the aquarium so yeah.. So today I was at the animal market and one person told me I had to buy bacteria for my filter, but unfortunately he didn’t have any. Are there different types of bacteria? What kind should I buy? Also, I was thinking of getting some plants today, but I didn’t know what kind to buy so I didn’t buy any. Will it be too late to buy plants next week on saturday? That’s the only day this market works. I don’t use any lighting for my aquarium. Should I buy special lights so the plants grow and are there plants that don’t need lighting?

I hate to be so blunt but the best chance of survival for the ram is to take it back. Your tank is way too small and severely over stocked if you have danios and neons in it. It's too cold for a German ram and you also don't seem to know about the nitrogen cycle, which will surely result in the death of such a sensitive fish.

The very first thing you need to do is read this link Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle

 

I hate to be so blunt but the best chance of survival for the ram is to take it back. Your tank is way too small and severely over stocked if you have danios and neons in it. It's too cold for a German ram and you also don't seem to know about the nitrogen cycle, which will surely result in the death of such a sensitive fish.

The very first thing you need to do is read this link Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle

Hello & welcome to Fish Lore! I know the above post may sound harsh but I tend to agree.

Rams are such stunning fish & we made the same mistake when we first started keeping fish years ago. wrong temp. didn't cycle the tank. added too many fish.

not surprisingly all our fish died including the stunning ram. it wasn't so stunning dead (sorry I still twitch remembering this).

if you can afford it, you could upgrade your tank (you should buy the apI freshwater master test kit) & either

A. keep both tanks, but put the filter media from your small tank into the bigger tank with your ram. this gives any bacteria in your small filter a chance to stay alive & keep your ram happy, & you can increase the temp. however it means you'll need too start cycling your smaller tank with neons & Danios from scratch.

B. upgrade tanks & rehome your Danios & neons & sell your smaller tank or keep as a hospital tank for the future in case .

if neither works for you, then rehoming your ram & sticking with your nano tank may be the solution.

 

How big should the new aquarium be?

 

The minimum for just the Ram, in my personal experience, is 20 gallons (75L). I wouldn't keep Rams (excluding the Bolivian Ram) below 80 degrees F (27 C).

 

How big should the new aquarium be?

uh oh! looks like you may have caught MTS (multiple tank syndrome)

I'm so glad you're considering this for your fish's health !!!

Lunnietic we may need to support this newbie as she falls in love with more fish

in all seriousness, try to get the API master test kit. you'll need to monitor ammonia & nitrite in your new tank even if you swap media (sponge/filter media) from your 20L.

 

I'm gonna agree with the seller that it's a male. There's not a lot of pink (if at all) in the 2nd set of pics you posted. The pink on females is very noticeable even on a small GBR like you have.

10g is the smallest but 20 gallon long would be much better, especially since you have danios and neons (how many of each?).

A small cave or flower pot on its side would help him be less stressed.

I wouldn't do more than 30% water changes. 50% or 100% can shock all the fish if the pH, temp, hardness, etc isn't the same or close.

 

I have 3 danios and 1 neon. I’m thinking about getting a 50-60 litre aquarium and putting the ram in it with another ram (if I buy one) and keeping the danios and neons in the 20 litre tank. Is this idea good and is there a way to keep both the ram and the danios and tetras in the 50-60 litre tank?

 

I have 3 danios and 1 neon. I’m thinking about getting a 50-60 litre aquarium and putting the ram in it with another ram (if I buy one) and keeping the danios and neons in the 20 litre tank. Is this idea good and is there a way to keep both the ram and the danios and tetras in the 50-60 litre tank?

get a 60Lmin (if you can, get 80L). but look up temperatures for nano fish. cardinal tetra look a lot like neons but can handle higher temps. rummy nose tetra as well.

 

This is what my neon looks like. I’m pretty sure it’s a normal neon tetra, but what do you think? I actually am considering rehoming it because it’s gotten really aggressive towards other fish lately.

 

Looks like a neon... cardinals have a brighter red streak imo... but I'm not an expert at fish ID lol. we're getting cardinals because they live longer & aren't as susceptible to neon tetra disease

 

What is neon tetra disease?

 

I have 3 danios and 1 neon. I’m thinking about getting a 50-60 litre aquarium and putting the ram in it with another ram (if I buy one) and keeping the danios and neons in the 20 litre tank. Is this idea good and is there a way to keep both the ram and the danios and tetras in the 50-60 litre tank?

50-60 liter isn't enough to house two rams, only one. If you want to do two (as in a mates pair), a 20 gallon long is the min (76 ish litre). I believe someone already mentioned this, but the neons and the danios are both way too active for a 5g, a 20 gallon would be the min for them as well, and they'd also need to be in groups of at least 6 of their own species.
The danios, neons, and ram cannot be mixed in one tank because the GBRs require warm temps at least above 78F, but ideally around 84F, IMO. In the same way, danios and neons require cooler temperatures, Ideally, below 75F.

This is what my neon looks like. I’m pretty sure it’s a normal neon tetra, but what do you think? I actually am considering rehoming it because it’s gotten really aggressive towards other fish lately.

Yes, it's a very normal neon. They can get nippy/aggressive when kept as singles or in too small a group, the same would go for the danios.
It's understandable behavior.

What is neon tetra disease?

It's a non-curable disease that neons seem susceptible to, but will affect any fish that ingests any body part of a live/dead infected fish. There have been cases where someone's fish had similar symptoms, but ended up not being NTD, in these cases they were typically referred to as fake NTD, but if your fish do get the actual thing, no known cure is available.

Edit: Which is why it's important to quarantine fish, especially when they're coming from an unreliable source (e.g. Petstores).

 

I have 3 danios and 1 neon. I’m thinking about getting a 50-60 litre aquarium and putting the ram in it with another ram (if I buy one) and keeping the danios and neons in the 20 litre tank. Is this idea good and is there a way to keep both the ram and the danios and tetras in the 50-60 litre tank?

Both of your tanks are too small to keep the fish you want. Neons and danios are both active fish that would require a 20 gallon long, the same goes for the german ram which is quite a bit larger and territorial fish. Like others have said, you can't keep them together because they require different temperatures. Neons and danios are cooler water fish, that need the temperature to be around 23/24c where as German rams are warm water fish that require a temperature of 27/28c. If you want to keep both species, you'll have to get 2 20 gallon longs (80 litres and 75cm long), if you can re-home the danios and neons you'll just have to get 1. Fortunately neon tetras have warm water counterparts that look nearly identical, cardinal tetras and green neon tetras look practically the same and can handle the warm temperature German rams require. You could add a small group of 8 alongside your German ram in a 20 long.

You can then sell off your 5 gallon to make back some of the money you spent or convert it to a betta or shrimp tank. It's absolutely imperative that you learn the nitrogen cycle before hand. Since you won't be able to do a fishless cycle I recommend picking up a bottle of either Tetra Safestart, Seachem Stability or Dr Tim's One and Only. These are bottled bacteria products that are known to work and will greatly speed up the cycling process for you, other bottled products are (usually) shams.

 

75 litre is the minimum for a pair of rams. I know they are absolutely beautiful fish. If you do not wish to everything, by a larger tank. This way you can up the schools on the neon tetras, and on the danios up at least 6 a piece. This will easy the aggression and make the neon be more at peace. They will lash out like yours is when they are alone or in too small of a group.

75 litre tank is an minimum for a pair of rams. Like others have said they are extremely sensitive to new aquariums, and should be kept in an aquarium that is fully cycled. (A fully cycled aquarium will keep your parameters constant).

I also highly reccomend keeping the fish away from the sunny window. Sunny windows will warm the tank to a very uncomfortable temperature for both the neons and the dainos. It will also cause algae issues later on. Temperature swings can actually be very deadly for fish.

I recommend holding onto the 5 gallon for a QT or hospitial tank for your fish, granted it is a very small size but fish should be QT'ed before adding them into a tank.

 

If I keep the neon and the danios in the 20L tank will they die? And if I rehome them and keep just the ram in there can it survive?

 

If I keep the neon and the danios in the 20L tank will they die? And if I rehome them and keep just the ram in there can it survive?

They won't die immediately if that's what you're wondering, but the size and dimensions of a 20 litre tank just aren't suitable for the active nature of both the neons and the danios.
Stress is very likely to happen in such small confines, and they definitely won't live happy lives (isn't that what we want for our pets?).
And IMO, even without the danios and neons in there, the 5 gallon would still be too small for a single ram.

I would suggest rehoming either the ram OR the danios & neons and upgrading to at least a 20g, preferably long, and building a stock around the fish you decid to go with.

 

Yeah, I'm gonna get a bigger tank, I just don't know from where. I guess I'm just gonna have to leave them in the 20L until saturday when the animal market opens. I also found a really good offer about a 190L tank, I think I might get it.

 

Yeah, I'm gonna get a bigger tank, I just don't know from where. I guess I'm just gonna have to leave them in the 20L until saturday when the animal market opens. I also found a really good offer about a 190L tank, I think I might get it.

That's a lot of space, you could build a proper community in a tank that size. Definitely get it if you can.

 

I'm still thinking about it. It seems like the best offer, though. How much ram pairs can I keep in it?

 

I'm still thinking about it. It seems like the best offer, though. How much ram pairs can I keep in it?

I would encourage you to get it if it has a reasonable price tag, and if it's in good condition. Do you know the dimensions of the tank? If it's a standard 48" tank (50g/55g), you could safely do 2 mated pairs in there.

 

Rams can get quite large and would easily outgrow the tank you currently have. They can get to be between 5-9 cms a piece. There would not be much space for the little guy to turn around in. And you couldn't have many hiding spots for him to hide in either.

 

The sizes of the tank are Length:80; Width:40; Height:60 cm and Volume 190L
In dollars it would be around 20 dollars.

 

The sizes of the tank are Length:80; Width:40; Height:60 cm and Volume 190L
In dollars it would be around 20 dollars.

More than worth it if it can hold water.

 

What do you mean ,,if it can hold water''? I talked with the owner and he said it's all in great condition, no leaks. Here's a picture:
He also said that the tape on the sides is because of the wallpaper which was on it.

 

Some aquariums you buy used have leaks, cracks, etc and are not able to hold water. Beautiful looking tank.

 

The sizes of the tank are Length:80; Width:40; Height:60 cm and Volume 190L
In dollars it would be around 20 dollars.

That's an amazing deal. A used tank of that size would cost $50 at least.

 

The only problem is that the seller is out of my town. He's still pretty close, though. I asked a shipping company if they can ship it and I'm waiting for a response. Also, I don't know where to put such a big tank, any suggestions?

 

Grab the bigger tank, around here 20$ is a great price, you will thank yourself for it. The sooner you get it the sooner it will be cycled, and if you anyone with a tank you could get some filter media from that would help jump start the cycle.
If there is no cracks but just needs to be sealed that a easy fix. Grab it.

I would put it wherever you spend the most time.

 

The sizes of the tank are Length:80; Width:40; Height:60 cm and Volume 190L
In dollars it would be around 20 dollars.

In a 80cm long (30"ish) tank, I would just go with one pair of rams. Here in the US, most tanks around 190liters have a standard shape that's longer and slimmer. In most cases, the dimensions of a tank are more important than the volume of water it can hold, especially when dealing with aggressive/active species.
80cm is about as long as a 20 gal. long here in the US, and though that tank you're looking at is wider by 3" or so, I'd still only do one pair in there, but you could definitely build a beautiful community in there with other compatible fish.

What do you mean ,,if it can hold water''? I talked with the owner and he said it's all in great condition, no leaks. Here's a picture:
He also said that the tape on the sides is because of the wallpaper which was on it.

Especially since you're aren't going to see it in person before buying it, I would ask the seller to send you some pics of the tank filled with water, to make sure it can hold.
And if not sure if it, I'd also ask if there are any chips or nicks in the glass (scratches?), especially in the corners and ask for pics (if any).