Keeping German Blue Rams with Angelfish

[Augustjd27]

Hello,

I'm looking for advice on keeping German Blue Rams with Angelfish. I'm planning to put a pair of Rams with 4 Angels and a group of Corydoras in a 55. Do you think they should get along okay or would it be a thunderdome?

[Daniel]

I have had that combination and it worked fine. When breeding happens Rams and Angels can get protective of the nest site but wouldn't that be cool if breeding happened?

[Mario V.]

I  was also wondering this I recently purchased a 75  and was unsure about the  number of angelfish and rams to put in it. Everything I  can find online  says they are great tank mates but  doesn't give any  advice on group size for either.

[Daniel]

My favorite way on both fish is to get juveniles. I would get at least 6 of each if possible. That way they grow up in your tank and eating your food. This makes for happy healthy fish. Eventually pairs begin to form and territories are set up. At that point you will have to remove the less dominant non paired fish and re-home them but the remaining fish will be a joy to behold.

[Brandy]

What if this was a 29 gallon? The thunderdome is exactly what I was afraid of.

I was planning on a single angel adult and a trio or so of rams (only one male), with a school of smallish tetras. I would rather have more of both rams and angels, but I was worried about territory crowding in my limited space. I also considered just keeping one or the other, with the schooling fish.

I like the juvenile idea, and I could move a few out to another tank--it would be a repurposed 10g QT though, so a temporary solution at best. Rehoming fish worries me...

[Daniel]

If it were me and I had a 29 gallon, I would do a trio of rams with a school of smallish tetras and skip the lone angelfish. Angelfish are social creatures and just one could be lonely (or not, it might thrive being boss of its 29 gallon world).

Or just do multiple angelfish in the 29 gallon tank. If the angelfish pair off their breeding behavior is fascinating. They can be very good parents and watching them shepherd the little school of babies around is a once in a life time experience. Sometimes baby angelfish will pick a the sides of their parents similar to the way baby discus feed.

You can bond with an angelfish in a way you never could with a tetra 🙂. But a nice school of neons or cardinals shoaling back forth is pretty sweet too!

[bm3aquatic]

Daniel,

Would you recommend a tall tank or one with more length with a Angel/Rams combination?

 

[Daniel]

26 minutes ago, bm3aquatic said:

Daniel,

Would you recommend a tall tank or one with more length with a Angel/Rams combination?

 

I like longer tanks because it give more opportunity for distance, meaning more opportunity for plants or other aquascaping to break up sight lines. With fish like humans, out of sight is out of mind. Angels themselves are deep fish, which argues for a deeper tank, but if I could only pick one, I would choose longer.

[bm3aquatic]

Daniel,

Thank you for your response, I have heard arguments for both. I prefer longer tanks as well. I appreciate your insight. 

[Mario V.]

I'm assuming shrimp would be a no go in a tank with Rams and Angelfish? I figured small shrimp like ghost and rainbow would definitely get eaten but what about something bigger like bamboo shrimp?

[Daniel]

If the angelfish can find the shrimp, the shrimp will get eaten. I've never had bamboo shrimp, so I don't know. I did once keep mature angels in a very large, very thickly planted tank and a cherry shrimp colony thrived just fine. The shrimp stayed hidden during the day and tended to come out at night when the angelfish were sleeping.