Microgeophagus ramirezi...hard to keep??

[Riss]

I have a 75g community tank with tetras currently in it.
Ammonia 0
Trites 0
Trates 5
pH 7.2
Temp 26*C
Planted, driftwood, slate and lava rock.

Anyways...my question is...today I just bought a pair of Microgeophagus ramirezi, and everything I have read has said that they are really sensitive to water quality. This is what scares me, because this is my first tank, I dont want to kill them from some silly little mistake. THe lfs did not tell me that they were so fragile.

I guess my question is...are they really that fragile???? I mean does the water quality have to be perfect?? Many sites have said they are only for the advanced aquarist. Is this so??

Please give me some info on them, or your personal experiences.

 

[Backdraft Bagel]

Well at first I would have debunked that as myth or something, but my recent experiences with the rams have made me agree with that. I had two exceptional ones, and they even bred (got some pix on my site), and were seemigly in good health. Then one day the male died from some problem with his swim bladder. Just this weekend the female died. In another tank, i have beet attempting to "distill" 10 rams down into at least ONE breeding pair - with no luck. They're ALL dying one by one. No sign of infection or disease before or after death. I tested all the water parameters and it's good to go. I blame inbreeding and poor genetics. I recently read about the rams from asian hatcheries sucking ass. After a little bit of investigation, I determind that the new batch I got was from asian hatcheries. It was definitely true what they say about them not being healthy at all.

I think I'm about to take a break from the rams - people have recommended Kribs to me instead.

 

[Riss]

So my poor little fishies are basically doomed?   :'(
How long can I expect them to live?  :-/

What are kribs?? Can they be kept in tropical tanks?

 

[luvfishies]

Riss, don't despair. You just never know with rams. I've still got one of my original ones that I "plopped" into a fairly new tank. Actually there were a pair, both were good for months, then the female passed on. The survivour has been with me for 15 months or so. I've got another in another tank that I've had for about 8 months. The other 2 did great in QT, then died off once moved to the 55g/discus tank.

They DESPISE nitrates, and your tank params sound good.  So keep an eye on them, feed a variety of foods (they LOVE frozen bloodworms) and keep nitrates under 10.

As for kribs, they are Kribensis, scientific name pelvicachromis pulcher. Gorgeous, hardy, and dead easy to breed. Kribs and rams in the same tank is NOT a good idea, even one as big as yours. Both fish get positively NASTY if/when they breed.

So, don't think that your Rams are "automatically" doomed. You may find that they surprise you. I hope they do, as they are neat little fish.