# Acclimating and keeping german blue rams?



## Knotty Bitz (Mar 11, 2009)

I have an old 29 gallon tank I plan on putting the 4 german blue rams into before they go in the 75 gal. It does have some nitrate and I was wondering if it would be possible to just keep them in a completely new tank with brand new, treated water. I would then just keep it very clean with daily water changes. Would this be possible or safe for the fish?


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## Knotty Bitz (Mar 11, 2009)

I need to know soon


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## geeks_15 (Dec 9, 2006)

I don't think you're getting an answer because I don't think anyone really knows.

It is not a typical setup and blue rams are notoriously fragile. It would be better to put them in an established tank. If you don't have the rams yet, I think it would be preferable to wait and cycle the tank. That said, it might work and the rams could be OK.


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## Knotty Bitz (Mar 11, 2009)

Ok the tank has been cycled for a while now. Do you have an idea of what level of nitrates are safe for these fish. I know they need it low, but is there an exact amount that should be safe?


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## geeks_15 (Dec 9, 2006)

Standard nitrate levels should be fine and daily water changes should be plenty.

Unfortunately, with blue rams whether they live or not will often depend on the quality of the rams.


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## Knotty Bitz (Mar 11, 2009)

Ok, I am getting mine from someone off this site so I think they will be pretty good quality. Hopefully.


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## Borntofish (Nov 30, 2007)

I agree with geeks15. You should try to make everything as perfect as possible to keep rams. I have tried numerous pairs of blue, gold and bolivian rams and they all end up dying. My QT tank has been running for years with plants and excellent water parameters. However, the rams tend to get ick just from the transport from the LFS, they are that fragile. I have tried local breeders, wild species, and ordering them off the web and none of them survive. I had the best luck with bolivian rams, one pair lasted over a year but that is it. The blue rams have never made it out of the QT tank so I gave up on them. So tired of killing fish. I wish you the best of luck and if these rams work out pleae share it with the forum.


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

Keep the NO3 under 10 ppm if at all possible, and lower is better. 

An established tank is better. 

A bare tank is stressful to any fish, and Rams are already delicate enough without that added stress. Make sure there are at least 2 hiding places for each fish, so there is plenty to be shared (and argued over). 

If you already know who is paired with whom I would divide the tank to keep the proper pairs together, and not allow arguing with the other couple.

Find out from the supplier all the possible water test results and make your tank match as exactly as possible.
TDS, GH and KH are the first things I would worry about. Peat moss in the filter would probably be very good.


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## mikaila31 (Feb 24, 2006)

My rams bred once in my water with 40ppm of nitrate after the tank went 2 weeks w/o a water change. I also raised them from .25" babies in the same water. For a number of reasons my water isn't egg friendly... Mine were local bred though, I think it made a lot of difference.


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## ree123 (Jan 10, 2010)

hello. I have rams and have friends who do too. Not that difficult. Would be happy to discuss with you. pm me if interested.


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## Knotty Bitz (Mar 11, 2009)

Well I have bad news. All four of my rams died during shipping.


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## jas1w124 (Dec 18, 2009)

That is bad news, I think that the most important thing for rams is the amount of stress they go through in shipping and acclimation. I got my rams from a nice store about 3 hours from my house, put them in a dark cooler rapped in towels and booked it home then did a slow drip acclimation for about 1.5 hours. All my rams lived for a couple years and never had any disease. I wouldn't suggest getting them shipped to you because of the difficulty in keeping the water temp constant and the build up of waste in the bags. If you decide to get rams again, you should get them from someplace within about 3 hours that you go pick them up and from a store that has had them for a while, not a new shipment. Good luck. They are one of the most beautiful fish with awesome personalities.


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## ddavila06 (Jan 31, 2009)

i tried blue rams getting them from different sources and always failed to keep them alive more than a few weeks...i have had bolivians though and they been great for over a year i havent lost any of the originals! i have a bunch of people having issues with the blues...weak gene? picky? who knows, i gave up


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## exv152 (Jul 12, 2008)

That's too bad. Blue rams are really not that hard to keep. I found they do better in lower pH 6-6.5 and it really matters whether you get domestic bread strains by a reputable breader, or just the cheap versions that are sold at some pets stores.


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## geeks_15 (Dec 9, 2006)

Like exv152 says...Most blue rams die no matter what you do. But the ones that live are reported to be easy to keep. I love the fish, but I gave up on blue rams a couple years ago after many died in my tanks. I would only consider buying them from a local breeder or maybe from a regional breeder with a good rep.


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## Cwhite (Feb 21, 2009)

IME it really depends upon getting them from a good source. pH isn't critical to them, but they don't like changes (you won't be able to breed them in low pH though...). If you get them from a good source that either QT'd them or raised them up themselves you have much better odds.


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## Gordonrichards (Apr 28, 2009)

I don't understand rams. They died in my tank, but are loving it in my girlfriend's, crowded 20 long. 
She has 1 german blue and two electric blue rams, 3 angels, 3 ottos, and 14 cardinal tetras.
Thankfully its fully planted and shes been instructed to do a gallon water change daily. 2 months later, so far so good.

Electric blues for 15.00, I couldn't turn them down.


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## Knotty Bitz (Mar 11, 2009)

Ok I just go some more in compensation for the dead ones. They all came alive. Two of them lood very healthy, one died (it had a major diformity), the other seems very skinny and sick. Suggestions how to keep this one alive?


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