Gbr

[skratikans]

what makes german blue ram cichlids a difficult fish to take care off ....say....as opposed to other cichlids such as the golden ram? What extra special care do they need as opposed to regular aquarium care? They say the golden ones are easier to have than the blue germans...is that true...does anyone here successfully keep them?

 

[Cichlid-Man]

Gold rams are a blue ram color morph. Same fish.

I'd say that its just an overall delicate fish, could be because of where they come from in the wild. Like Discus and Altums, 2 other difficult and delicate types of fish, all come from very soft water habitats in SA. I suspect that even being tank bred they still carry their delicateness.

Another reason i like to throw out there all the time is overbreeding. Wholesale companies basically mass produce rams without looking who is the parent and never breed for quality. So they are overall weaker fish, much like a hybrid or dyed fish would be. No strong blood.

Many people on the board sucessfully keep them.

 

[Helena21]

Most people say they are very sensitive to water conditions, but my rams are very tolerant of water conditions, and they are fine if say, i miss a waterchange. And like Matt said I think its all to do with where you get them from and if they are mass produced. I got my rams from a good quality breeder and they thrive in my water (which is quite hard).

 

[skratikans]

a lot of the places i researched said the blue ram was slightly harder to care for than the gold and even thought they are the same species...i wondered why that was

i have soft water here and normally have my pH on the slightly acidic side...6.5...a lot of people say they are very sensitive to pH so I started worrying if i would be able to successfully have this fish bc im not a big believer in altering pH bc it can be tricky and i would rather not mess with it...but this pH is within their range so hopefully they will be hardy rams

glassfish are supposedly easier to care for than rams yet i have never been able to raise them

 

[Katie217]

As far as I know, a PH of 6.5 is great for them.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

With a ph of 6.5, you will be just fine. GBR's prefer slightly acidic water. And don't worry about ph. A stable ph is what's preferred for all fish. So if you are constantly adjusting ph with chems, you are actually stressing the fish with the ph fluctuations.

 

[skratikans]

yeah i was hoping that with a stable pH and temp they will be fine...i was a bit worried bc these will be one of the first internet brought fish i will buy and i just dont want it to be a disappointment