Ram cohabitation?

[Daviscoast]

I was wondering for a breeding/biotope set-up if you could cohabitation bolivian and German blue rams together. In a 4 foot aquarium

[Fish Folk]

On 9/28/2021 at 7:08 PM, Daviscoast said:

I was wondering for a breeding/biotope set-up if you could cohabitation bolivian and German blue rams together. In a 4 foot aquarium

Sure, it’s possible. How many pairs were you thinking? They occupy the same region of a tank, and may be a bit scrappy. Typically, there will be a dominance bout until one dwarf Cichlid is acknowledged “tank boss.”

[Odd Duck]

I’m no ram expert, but a quick search got me this:

I see rumors on line, but no proof, that the 2 species may hybridize.  I also see reports of people keeping them together and pairing behavior but no offspring reported.

I also see successful breeding of non-mixed pairs but in a group tank.  It’s usually discouraged these days to create hybrids (there’s too much of that already in the hobby), so I personally wouldn’t since there is also a fairly high risk they may not be fertile anyway.

Like nearly all mules are sterile.  Both equines, but not fully compatible.

[Daviscoast]

I was planing of having 1 bolivian pair and two German blue pairs. But i was also going to use the tank to let them pair off naturally (getting six of them)

[Fish Folk]

On 9/28/2021 at 7:53 PM, Odd Duck said:

I’m no ram expert, but a quick search got me this:

I see rumors on line, but no proof, that the 2 species may hybridize.  I also see reports of people keeping them together and pairing behavior but no offspring reported.

I also see successful breeding of non-mixed pairs but in a group tank.  It’s usually discouraged these days to create hybrids (there’s too much of that already in the hobby), so I personally wouldn’t since there is also a fairly high risk they may not be fertile anyway.

Like nearly all mules are sterile.  Both equines, but not fully compatible.

This is a fair caution. I agree, don’t let sterile hybrids into the hobby if at all possible.

On 9/28/2021 at 8:05 PM, Daviscoast said:

I was planing of having 1 bolivian pair and two German blue pairs. But i was also going to use the tank to let them pair off naturally (getting six of them)

I’m curious: have you experienced keeping either species much before? 

[Daviscoast]

On 9/29/2021 at 10:11 AM, Fish Folk said:

This is a fair caution. I agree, don’t let sterile hybrids into the hobby if at all possible.

I’m curious: have you experienced keeping either species much before? 

No I haven't but am curious to make my aquarium identical to a amazon basin

[Odd Duck]

On 9/28/2021 at 9:32 PM, Daviscoast said:

No I haven't but am curious to make my aquarium identical to a amazon basin

My quick reading said they are from different parts of the Amazon basin and wouldn’t be cohabitating.  A biotope in the truest sense of the word wouldn’t have both.  If you want a looser interpretation, you’d probably be fine.  Just be prepared to shut down any mispairings IF they happen.  It sounds to me like it’s a pretty big if from the reading.

I’ll never knock anyone for having a less than perfect biotope.  My planned angelfish “biotope” is going to be a VERY loose interpretation of the definition since I’m only aiming for plant species that are at least from somewhere in the Amazon.  😆 

[Fish Folk]

On 9/28/2021 at 10:32 PM, Daviscoast said:

No I haven't but am curious to make my aquarium identical to a amazon basin

Ok. Personally, I think that you can find a ton of satisfaction with just doing one or the other. My son and I fell in love with the German Blue Ram, and its various color morphs. Here's a couple videos just "fan boy-ing" up the GBRs. We have bred all of these.

Rams, various color morphs . . .

Gold Rams . . .

Rams spawning and growing out . . .

 

Edited September 29, 2021 by Fish Folk