Blue Rams, should I ?

[depthC]

Lately Ive been thinking a lot about these fish. I went to the a local pet store today, not a chain store, and saw these fish. I saw 3 in the tank, two where close to each other and one had more color than the other so i assumed they were male and female. And the other was hiding out on the other end of the tank all alone and i could also tell he was a male. But at $9 a fish i wasnt going to jump and buy them which i could of done because i have the room, but i wanted to be sure they would live and all of the other precautions. So now that I got home ive read a few articles and I am VERY interested in these fish and I REALLY want to give them a try, and possibly breed them and sell them since they arnt too common in my area, and because of their price im sure I could make some profit. But more than the profit aspect I would rather just experience them breeding, which if possible would be my first time breeding any fish.

So can anyone give me any other experiences or info on this fish? And also what a suitable breeding tank would be? I have a 10g tank but i just took the sand out for gravel and Im assuming sand would be better because they dig pits for their fry, so which would be better? Thanks for any input at all.

- depthC

 

[dana307]

I can't find them in my area ever. Go get them. A friend of mine has them and they are neat fish. I don't have much for details sorry but everything I've read has got me interested.

 

[Wormo3188]

I dont beleive that Blue Rams dig in the substrate, but I have them set up in a 10g tank with small pea gravel. Reduced water flow, and moderate to heavily planted. I keep them with some cories and neons, and they seem to be doing fine. Actually I would have to say that the colorful ones are the males and the dul one hiding out in the corner is the female. That is pretty much what my pair do.

 

[depthC]

Yeah I believe I said the more colorful one was a male. Yeah I guess i will be trying these guys, If i can find them at Walmart i could totally rip them off. They ask for the price so I could just say $1 and there i go to rescue some fish and with a great deal. But either way it doesnt matter to me, first i need to figure out plants. Im having the hardest time trying to get my plants to live and the conditions should be fine but obviously not.

- depthC

 

[mike the zealot]

I wouldn't keep them in a ten gallon personally, not a pair. And as far as telling them apart by how colorful they are, this is my lone female:

hehe. However, you might notice the red belly, which means she has some eggs developed. Dead giveaway

the faded colored one could at the LFS could just as easily be a male who is being pushed out by the two who have obviously paired up.

I do highly recommend these fish... I haven't owned a more beautiful, personable fish

 

[SoulFish]

if you get these fish make sure you keep up on your water changes, the can be quite picky about water quality and will often die for seemingly no reason

 

[depthC]

If i did get a pair i would keep them in my 45g tank and use the 10 to breed them if i could. I usually do a water change every 2 weeks, but i would definately change this if i needed to. Dunno maybe the python would work better, the 5 gallon bucket back and forth from the sink its getting old after 2 years.

- depthC

 

[Leopardess]

They certainly are beautiful fish - I'm thinking about putting some in my 55g. I just have to find them first...might have to do a bit of driving

Great looking fish Mike!!