Rams/Butterfly Cichlids

[PetCrazy]

Alright, here is the deal. I've been talking to Youkai about this somewhat, but I'm still thinking about it.

I've been contemplating what to do about this 44 or 55 gallon corner tank I have in my herp room. (Pentagon/Diamond shaped, tall tank, whatever you want to call it)....Now at first I was thinking of putting arboreal geckos in there, but I think I'm settling down on the herp collection and will stick to ground geckos (asides my cresteds), so guess what? I've got the 'Ineedmorefishyitus"bug...

Especially after seeing bolivian rams at work.

Now I have only seen the bolivians in person, but I've seen many photos of Microgeophagus ramirezi, (Blue rams?) and have found them stunningly beautiful (In my humble opinion) especialy for a small fairly peacefull cichlid.

Concidering the size of this tank, I think it should be sufficient for a few of these fish. Concidering they claim that you can keep a few in a 25 (min 10, but come on, none of us are the 'minimum requirement' types,.)....so this should be quite roomy. And I have it on hand, so why not. Besides, I'm not thinking a massive amount of fish here, I quite preffer the aquascape idea and have plants be a more dominant effect. And since Rams aren't nearly as destructive as most other cichlids, I could get away with it. (And this hood allows two fluorescent tubes for lighting, which would be needed in this case)

Now this is just an idea, whether I'll go through with it (or even find the rams I want in the first place) is another question. But hey, it could start an intereting discussion here none the less.

I was wondering if anyone else has any experience with Rams and what their setups were like.

And what other fish, if any, that you may have kept with them. (Catfish, compatible algae eaters, etc) As well as any fabulous ideas on the tank setup anyone would like to share.

Oh and no worries, if I am going to do this, I am deffinitely not going to jump in without any precautions. I will study, and prepare well ahead of time.

Thank you for your thoughts

[Youkai]

I actually had those!
They did very well in a warm, healvily planted 27 gallon with a couple of banjo cats and some hatchet fish. They were showing breeding behavior when....the tank cracked down the middle. I had to give the fish away since I didn't have any spare ones at the time. :(

[Shane Tesser]

I won't quote fish types that are compatible as there are many. But ram's are incredible fish...very curious. They should have some caves in a tank, or hiding spots. I had gold rams year ago, way back when they were really pricy, now they are down to about 10 bucks in my area. Any Ram you want you should be able to order... their not too hard to get, but sometimes are a little expensive. Their isnt too many plants that cross my mind that they are really tough on, i dont remember them really digging any up either....you know what, im gonna go buy some too. I miss them, darn now im expanding all over again. Check out www.fishgeeks.com for some info. Its a really informative site. No thats not a joke, lol, s.t.

[PetCrazy]

Youkai, sheesh, why didn't you send them my way???

Shane, yeah, I've bought a book on Dwarf Cichlids, and was reading up a bit more on them. I had found quite a bit of info in many of my other aquarium books, and on the net, but it's always nice to have a book that specifies towards that type... They did state quite a few fish that were compatible, and moreso fish that were compatible 'personality wise' as well as enjoy the same water requirements.

I was just on the island visiting a good friend of mine, and we saw the ramirezi in one of the nearby stores. So at least I know where to get those possibly... Though I'd hate to have the fish wait three hours to get to my tank at home. So, I should keep looking for something more local.

Wooohooo, if you get them, show us all some pics then. That would be great!!

Thanks for the link, I really appreciate it. btw

[PetCrazy]

Alright, seems not too many are into these little guys, but then again, the general fish lover population isn't aware that dwarf cichlids are out there either..

Ah well
Just here to say that I think I'll keep a spotted raphael catfish in that tank setup too. Since they like the same pH and temperatures pretty much, and the cichlids won't bother him if they ever feel like harrassing him. He's got enough artillery to discourage them.

What do you think?