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Centre piece fish

Have you considered any of the Dario species such as the Scarlet Badis?

I have but rams are my favourite :lol: also i've heard the badis are avid shrimp hunters?
Also rams are good for snail population control. They actively hunt for the egg sacs.

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I have a weak spot for rams so if i see any healthy ones i may fold and buy a pair, but a group of them would be cool and i'm weighing it all up. :thumbup:
 
Also rams are good for snail population control. They actively hunt for the egg sacs.

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did not know that! Very interesting! Do you have a link to source or know if any other fish which do the same?
 
Most dwarf cichlids, gourami, anabantoids etc will keep snail populations in check - though I’ve mostly seen them take out the infant snails rather than preventing their appearance - at least with ramshorn snails (which are ubiquitous in local shop & hobbyist tanks)

I suppose if you fed heavily the fish might be less interested in snail hunting
The ponds snails must not be as delicious as I have to collect those myself (fortunately they’re much less common than ramshorns)
 
did not know that! Very interesting! Do you have a link to source or know if any other fish which do the same?
Just personal experience with them. Watched them looking on the underside of leaves looking for egg sacs. And they tear them apart. Same with any egg sacs on the glass.

I know they are hunting as my moss balls get covered in sand from them sifting etc.

Other fish that will do the same. Platties, Mollies, guppies, most dwarf cichlids,

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Anyone kept multiple colour morphs together? Like a pair of GBR and a pair of gold rams? I would assume the colour morphs are more susceptible to the diseases that commonly occur
 
The colour morphs are more susceptible yes, the gold ones especially. The “ shape morphs” are more susceptible e.g. balloon or long fin. I have kept them together successfully in the past.

the good looked a bit plain when kept with the classic gbrs so maybe just go with normal and blue?
 
Cool thanks, I think i'll go have a look for some tomorrow and see if anyones got any healthy looking ones. Won't be buying as of yet until i decide if i want a pair or a group but will be good to go look at some fish again! Haven't been fish shopping in ages :lol:
 
What temperature do people keep there planted tanks with rams in?
Im running my tank at 26 degrees.. A little hot for my plants and a little cold for the rams.

I spotted some dark knight rams.. Amazing looking fish, photos don't do them justice.

I thought I would stick with my standard German rams for a while before adding any extra. I also wasn't sure if mixing would be a good idea.

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Anyone kept multiple colour morphs together? Like a pair of GBR and a pair of gold rams? I would assume the colour morphs are more susceptible to the diseases that commonly occur

Yes you can keep multiple strains together. I have Standard Blue, Electric Blue, Gold, And SB Electric Blue Together. With No Problems at all.
The Weakest Strains I have Kept have Been the shortlived Pink Rams. They Died shortly after Spawning. And Have never seen them again after that. This was in 2004-2005.

What temperature do people keep there planted tanks with rams in?
Im running my tank at 26 degrees.. A little hot for my plants and a little cold for the rams.

I spotted some dark knight rams.. Amazing looking fish, photos don't do them justice.

I thought I would stick with my standard German rams for a while before adding any extra. I also wasn't sure if mixing would be a good idea.

Dark Knights are another Fad, and they honestly look like a sickly ram. And from some of the breeders they are surprisingly aggressive towards each other, and other ram colors. The ones you see in listings have been color enhanced with hormones and then photoshopped. And the one above in reality will never look like that. As its natural coloring does not show thru the black that much.

I am keeping mine @22 and they are fine, I prefer to keep my tanks at a cooler temp and always have.
 
Was just about to post the Same about the black rams as Gill, (hormones, aggression etc) as a result they will be very sensitive at best.

I’ve personally kept Rams at 24 degrees with no problems but see no reason why others can’t replicate Gills success at 22 degrees. We often keep fish too hot overall - another option is to follow a seasonal temperature pattern but that’s another topic I won’t delve into now!
 
Yes you can keep multiple strains together. I have Standard Blue, Electric Blue, Gold, And SB Electric Blue Together. With No Problems at all.
The Weakest Strains I have Kept have Been the shortlived Pink Rams. They Died shortly after Spawning. And Have never seen them again after that. This was in 2004-2005.



Dark Knights are another Fad, and they honestly look like a sickly ram. And from some of the breeders they are surprisingly aggressive towards each other, and other ram colors. The ones you see in listings have been color enhanced with hormones and then photoshopped. And the one above in reality will never look like that. As its natural coloring does not show thru the black that much.

I am keeping mine @22 and they are fine, I prefer to keep my tanks at a cooler temp and always have.

Thanks for that Gill. I hate running at 25, co2/o2 and evaporation is crazy, so glad i can knock it down lower. I'm going to get on the hunt and visit a few shops today.
 
I really can't make up my mind if i want a group or just a pair of GBR. I would love more than a pair but i worry that when my scape is more grown in there won't be enough space for territories. But i think i want 2 pairs, GBR and maybe the electric blue or the gold depending on stock health.

Also i need to start thinking about amano shrimp (i have 4 fully grown) and maybe otos. How many of each should i be looking to get? I've held off buying loads of amanos as i didn't want them to ravage my S.repens and rotala, but it's getting the to stage where i will need their help :lol:
 
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If you want to go with a lower tank temperature, I encourage switching out M ramirezi for other dwarf cichlids from naturally cooler waters (there are few fish specialists that would recommend keeping M ramirezi below 24/25C)
As you’ve the remaining female, obviously continue to keep her, but I’d not bring in a group ... of course the S resplendens would be happy at 22 :D

There are some stunning photos of Apistogrammas Bitaeniata sp. ‘Shishita’ in these ukaps journals

Rain Forest

Fallen Tree

Disobedience II

Aquascaping workshop


For more Apistogramma information

Apisto Sites (Martin & Tom C)
- fish photos, wild fish adventures and more

Apistogramma.com for discussion on keeping various species
 
Thanks, my female currently lives in my old tank, i was thinking of buying a group and adding them all into my new scape at the same time. But i cant cant decide whether to buy one male GBR for my female andthen buy a pair of gold or electric blues Or buy 2M 3F GBR to join my female.

I won't be turning my temp down too much but if i can go lower than 25 i will go down to 24.

I've had apistos in the past but they seemed very aggressive compared to the rams and am worried they'd hunt my shrimp even more.
 
For Amano’s, I’d resist until the MC is more established, as they will begin rolling a lot of soil once their numbers are up
(the males will remain much smaller and seem to be more diligent workers as well o_O)

Other Caridina and Neocaridina shrimp will help keep things clean, and once established, will likely breed sufficiently to outpace fish depredations
(Check the swap forum for shrimp ;))

How many Otocinclus do you currently have?
(I’d go with 5-6)
 
Or buy 2M 3F GBR to join my female.
I’ll reiterate that I’d add more than 2 males - if they are not well matched, you may end up with one dominant male that will harass the subordinate male ... with at least 3 males, an aggressor must split his time and energy (plus chasing after the girls)
I suggest adding 3M 3-4F (but would wait a couple months, establishing carpet and shrimp first - loads of baby shrimp will live beneath the MC carpet)

(FWIW Nuno M kept shrimp in his auascaped tanks, along with his A bitaeniata - he mentions that while they did some shrimp hunting, shrimp continued to breed etc ... )
 
For Amano’s, I’d resist until the MC is more established, as they will begin rolling a lot of soil once their numbers are up
(the males will remain much smaller and seem to be more diligent workers as well o_O)

Other Caridina and Neocaridina shrimp will help keep things clean, and once established, will likely breed sufficiently to outpace fish depredations
(Check the swap forum for shrimp ;))

How many Otocinclus do you currently have?
(I’d go with 5-6)

I have no otos currently, waiting to introduce some. I'll grab 5 tomorrow hopefully.

Very true about the MC and i already have 20+ red cherry shrimp that have had babies, probably 3 or 4 berried females swimming about too.

I’ll reiterate that I’d add more than 2 males - if they are not well matched, you may end up with one dominant male that will harass the subordinate male ... with at least 3 males, an aggressor must split his time and energy (plus chasing after the girls)
I suggest adding 3M 3-4F (but would wait a couple months, establishing carpet and shrimp first - loads of baby shrimp will live beneath the MC carpet)

(FWIW Nuno M kept shrimp in his auascaped tanks, along with his A bitaeniata - he mentions that while they did some shrimp hunting, shrimp continued to breed etc ... )

If i wait a couple of months surely the female wont let new rams into "her" tank?
I'll try find two pairs of different colour morphs then?
 
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