Canadian Chat → Got an aggressive German Blue Ram from Big Al's

On Saturday I bought two German Blue Rams from Big Al's for my aquarium. They look to be somewhere around three months old and I believe they're both females.

One of the rams was a little nippy towards the other ram on the first day but nothing too bad. Now, though? Oh, its only gotten so much worse. Now, anytime she see the other ram she charges towards her and nips her (a lot of the time in the head) and sometimes she does repeated nips, pushing the fish into something or down the floor. The poor fish now has nip marks on her head.

The aggressive ram has also now started chasing after my cory catfish, nipping at them as well.

I researched these guys before getting them and all I ever read was that they were good, peaceful community fish.

So any advice? I'm getting really fed up. I'd like to exchange the aggressive guy for a different ram, but I don't suppose Big Al's would do that, right? It's stressing me out watching her attack anything and everything in the tank. There's no peace for the "good" fish.

Nothing to lose by asking. If you're not 100% sure about the gender look about halfway down the page here:

»www.aquaticcommunity.com ··· eram.php

Very pretty looking. I always thought I'd like an aquarium, but at least one of the cats would be a problem.

An aggressive fish need not be a problem. Do you like sushi?

I don't see Big Al's refusing that exchange, bag em, tag em and return with receipt. Otherwise, put an Oscar in there, bully may get bit back.

LOL!!!!!

Blake

Thanks for the link! That's actually the page I took with me when I went to pick them out. I'm pretty certain they're both females because of the pink stomachs and the blue glisten on their black spots. Wasn't as easy to tell in the store for some reason.

And, yeah, things took a turn for the worse this evening and the passive ram is actually fighting the aggressive ram now. Passive!Ram seems to have claimed the left corner of the tank and now whenever Aggressive!Ram comes close they have a stare down usually ending with someone charging. Passive!Ram has also taken up the game of 'Picking On The Harmless Catfish'. Whyyyy?

Maybe I'll see if Big Al's will take both fish back. Someone told me on another forum that two female rams is a bad idea, although, it was not what I intended. I was hoping for a male and female to breed.

Alas, thanks for chiming in, guys! I think I'll take them over tomorrow and see what they say. That is, if they don't kill each other tonight. :/

Rams usually aren't that aggressive (compared to other cichlids) and generally nip at each other rather than other species. But they are cichlids and like other cichlids are territorial and does have a slightly aggressive streak especially if they are placed in close proximity to other fish (usually a smaller tank). However when placed with cories the cories usually do get nipped at unless relatively large as I've found cories to be rather passive and don't generally get out of the way of aggressive fish fast enough. Try install more hiding places sized right for cories (tough given the small size of rams that might be hard).

If you have passive or slow community type fish I'd recommend avoiding most cichlids, they look great, but even some of the "community" rated ones are somewhat aggressive and somewhat nippy. The only ones I would recommend are hybrid parrots (not true parrot cichlids but rather jelly bean or blood parrots). They are active and very responsive to humans, but generally not as aggressive to other fish as many cichlids. You do need to have a larger tank as they grow pretty large and need room to move around, and don't have smaller fish like guppies, small tetras, or any other that easily fits in their large mouths (they may be less agressive but if it looks like food...).

Whats the problem? You've got Fish UFC!

Thanks for the advice, decx. Those hybrids get a little too big for me. I don't plan to have a tank quite large enough for those guys. The Blood Parrots.... I've seen them in the store. They're very odd looking. Can't say they're really for me.

I called Big Al's today and they told to bring the rams on down and they'll do something for me. Not exactly sure what "something" is but I'm hoping they'll give me close to what I paid in the form of store credit so I can think about (and research) which fish to get next.

I'm also buying a bunch more plants this weekend so hopefully that will be help heed any aggression from any future fish.Heh. UFC is fun to watch because both participants are game for it. My poor catfish are, however, not it at all.

Oh, and Aggressive!Ram decided today that she's just tough enough to take on the Betta. Oh, my poor fish. What have I done?

That could help, but it really depends on how much hiding space you've got right now. Take up too much swim space with more plants and you could make things worse. It's a fine line between having stuff to hide in and crowding the tank sometimes.

Oh, not too many. I only have a few in there now: 1 Java Fern, 1 Wisteria, 2 Vals, and 1 Cabomba. Along with a clay pot, a few stones (bridge and cave/tunnel), and a pyramid scull decoration which I will likely swap out for the plants. This weekend I'm planning on getting some Moneywort, Dwarf Hair Grass, and Chain Sword. I want the tall growing plants at the back mostly with the grass and chain sword mid to front.

Edit: I made quite a coding and spelling mess there. All cleared up now - I think.

What’s your tank size and filtration system if I may ask, and how do you keep the plants in place, as I recall those damn fish like redecorating, rearranging and digging in the gravel to suit their needs?

No problem. The tank is a 20g tall and the filter is for a 30g tank. The water is pretty much crystal clear and has been since the second or so day I set it up.

The fish actually haven't been a problem with the plants so far. I used pool filter sand as my substrate (it's cheap, looks great, and my corys love it) and most of my plants are planted right in it. The only one that isn't planted is the Java Fern which I've wedged between a couple of rocks above the sand.

Edit: Oh, thought I'd also mention that I had great success at Big Al's today. They took the Rams back no problem and issued me full credit (minus the HST) for them

Given that tank size you definitely should avoid territorial fish in the future. Also since you have a tall tank and already have cories consider fish that prefers the upper and middle strata of the tank (rams while not bottom feeders often do stay near the bottom third of the tank).

Oh, definitely. The plan was (and is) to upgrade the tank to at least a 40g in the next month or two. I've heard of plenty of people having success with two Rams in a 20g but I admit it very well could've been the reason I had an issue with them.

Thanks, it’s probably something like an Aquaclear or similar design, I have had a few and found they work very well are very easy to maintain and are quite.

Oh, sorry. I didn't realize you wanted the name of the filter. It is an Aquaclear. It's the first time I've used one and has been a great filter so far. I might eventually upgrade to a canister filter when I upgrade the tank. I've heard they're worth the extra cash.

Aquaclears are just good basic easy to maintain filters for a tank your size provided you change the media frequently enough.

Canisters are better in that most models allow you to customize what filter media you want to use, provides better biological and finer mechanical filtration, and extends the interval between filter maintenance. However they take significantly more work to plumb and maintain. Also replacement parts when needed can be expensive (especially with Eheim filters).

They are, but choose yours wisely, I can't recommend any of the Fluvals (expect perhaps the FX5 - due to its more robust lid, though it holds too much foam and not enough media IMHO, and it is designed to shut off the pump ever 24 hours briefly). Despite treating with exceptional care the plastic parts in the lid actually distorted and caused it to leak. It wasn't an O-ring failure (which Fluvals are prone) once the inlet/exhaust valve was open the lid cap would lift up away from the case (because of the stretched parts) sending torrents of tank water on the floor.

Plastic is almost always the problem, though warping plastic problem is rather common on Fluvals. I currently run a Eheim Pro II and while it's filtration and throughput performance is very good I've had quite a few problems with plastic parts breaking including latches and a input valve conncector which alone cost $40+tax. But Eheim parts are easy to find and their filter head units/pumps are very quiet and works well (I also have a submersible Eheim pump that powers a UV sterilizer).