Should I add it?

[phin]

I'm thinking of adding a bolivian ram to my 18 gallon tall, heavily planted, tank.

dimensions of the tank are 10x20x20

currently houses:

5 glowlight tetra
1 black neon tetra
1 golden zebra loach
1 krib (male, I think)

I want to add a bolivian ram.

Will it coexist with the krib? My krib ran off another, smaller krib originally, but will it be territorial against the ram. It pays no attention to any of the other fish in the tank. Aqadvisor doesn't predict a conflict.

Anyone have experience keeping kribs with rams?

 

[bassbonediva]

Yes, the krib will be territorial with any other dwarf cichlid you put in the tank, unless you can get it to pair off with another krib. Kribs are african cichlids and have different requirements and tolerances than rams. African cichlids prefer a high pH (I know we all say don't worry about the pH, any fish can adjust, but african cichlids truly flourish when they're in high pH water) while rams prefer a much lower pH (again, they can adjust, but the flourish at a lower pH). I wouldn't trust AqAdvisor implicitly. It's a good tool as far as it goes. The thing is, if your krib has already run off another krib, it's more than likely to run off any other bottom dwelling cichlid you put in there (unless you put a female in and they pair off).

Also, personally speaking, I have an 18gal tall with the same dimensions as yours and I wouldn't put ANY dwarf cichlid in an 18gal tall, let alone a krib (which is one of the bigger dwarf cichlids). The 18gal tall has the same footprint as a 10gal, which equals not much space for the bottom-dwelling dwarf cichlids. Just my two cents, though.

 

[aakaakaak]

The interesting thing about kribs is that even though they're africans they don't require the crazy hard water. Their PH range is from around 6-7.5 instead of the 8+ others need. They're river dwellers instead of lake dwellers. Maybe that makes a difference?

But yeah, DO NO GET ANOTHER CICHLID FOR YOUR TANK!

 

[phin]

Water parameters for the two are similar. The krib is just fine in the tank and doesn't appear cramped, swimming in circles, back and forth, or anything like that at all.

The other Krib he ran off was another male - I'm wondering if that had more to do with it.

I've done a google search and have seen multiple postings with people who have had both fish in the same tank. I'm just wondering since many times fish are aggressive in a species-specific sort of way.

My golden zebra loach is a bottem dweller most of the time and doesn't bother the krib in the least. The loach gets into the kribs pot to scavance for food and he doesn't get run out or harrassed.

I'm hoping someone has some experiene keeping the two together, anyone?

 

[Dylandrewsdad]

Why not up the Neon numbers since they are schooling fish and prefer to be in groups of 6 or more?

 

[bassbonediva]

I've done a google search and have seen multiple postings with people who have had both fish in the same tank. I'm just wondering since many times fish are aggressive in a species-specific sort of way.

The thing is, I bet all those postings from people that have them in the same tank have MUCH bigger tanks than you do. If you had a 4ft or longer tank, I'd say go for it. In a tank as small as yours? Heck no.

 

[aakaakaak]

Both kribs and GBRs are territorial fish. Meaning they need a territory. With the space in your tank there isn't a full territory for one territorial fish, let alone two. There is a very good chance that your krib will kill a GBR in such a small space.

 

[phin]

Yeah, I think the footprint is the issue. They may be less aggressive cichlids, but they are still cichlids. I might get rid of the krib and add a bolivian ram (or 2 if I find a sexed pair).

I got the black neon from someone on CL who was getting rid of their tank. I "rescured" him and he fits in well with the other 5 tetras. They are about the same size and hang together. Small tank with lots of plants, so there isn't tons of room for schooling behavior, plus the plants add a high feeling of security.

 

[Dylandrewsdad]

Both kribs and GBRs are territorial fish. Meaning they need a territory.

Thanks Capt. Redundant.....LOL

 

[aakaakaak]

I thankfully thank you for thanking me!

 

[Dylandrewsdad]

You are welcome! LOL

 

[Fishman1995]

To add in my experince, i havent kept 2 cichlids together but i have kept a betta and a gourami together, 2 territorial species from the same family, in a 5.5 gallon tank. I started off with 2 dwarf gouramis and a betta and i ended up with 1 betta. The betta killed one gourami and i got rid of the other gourami before anything else serious occured. My betta took no damage because he was the MORE territorial fish. Ram's being more bark than bite as ive noticed with Lilly, and Kribs, which ive noticed in my LFS's Display only tank the Kribs there chase the Rainbows and etc. thus saying if you added a Krib with your Bolivian Ram in your tank the ram would be dead within a month if not sooner. Ive thought about doing this before to so dont feel bad if you wanted something more interesting in the cichlid family and could return your fish you could do some Shelldwellers but since you wouldnt want to do that i doubt id just add in more Tetra's or possibly another Ram of the opposite sex