RyanR Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 My son wants an aquarium of his own for his birthday in November. (our 4th aquarium in the house). I don't have any experience with Cichlids besides the few videos I've seen on YouTube. He wants some shell dwellers and some German Blue Rams. I know the Rams are more of a community type fish, but can they be kept with shell dwellers? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean’s Fishroom Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 You would be combining two cichlids that have different environmental needs, one is from South America and the other from Africa. Rams like soft acidic water and very warm 84-86 degrees. She’ll dwellers like hard alkaline water and 78-80 degrees. It wouldn’t quite be like mixing water and oil but it would be close. Long term I don’t think that combination would work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanR Posted August 20, 2020 Author Share Posted August 20, 2020 (edited) Thanks Dean. I like the colors better on the Rams and the fact the they can get along with some other species, but it's up to him. BTW...my brother is a chef and the director of the culinary program at a local community college, so watching him cook is just as much fun as eating his food. Ryan Edited August 20, 2020 by Rouxster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Ed's Aquatics Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 Depending on how old your son is, you might want to steer him away from Rams. The tank having to be so hot and the water quality requirements might lead to poor results. Shellies might be a better beginner cichlid. Many of them are pretty bulletproof, drop in half a dozen and some shells and you'll have a colony in no time. Of course, I may be biased as I breed shellies. Probably best to see what your water is like from the tap. If you have really soft water with a lower PH and TDS Rams might be the way to go. But if you have hard water with a higher PH and TDS, then African cichlids (shellies) might be a better choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanR Posted August 20, 2020 Author Share Posted August 20, 2020 4 minutes ago, Mr. Ed's Aquatics said: Depending on how old your son is, you might want to steer him away from Rams. The tank having to be so hot and the water quality requirements might lead to poor results. Shellies might be a better beginner cichlid. Many of them are pretty bulletproof, drop in half a dozen and some shells and you'll have a colony in no time. Of course, I may be biased as I breed shellies. Probably best to see what your water is like from the tap. If you have really soft water with a lower PH and TDS Rams might be the way to go. But if you have hard water with a higher PH and TDS, then African cichlids (shellies) might be a better choice. Thanks for the reply. My son that is getting the aquarium is 7 and both of my sons are dying to have some fish breed and I'm trying to steer clear of it...lol. I don't have a backup plan for the extra fish. What you said about the water parameters, it sounds like Shellies might be the way to go. My PH is around 7.6 and my dGH is 10, out of the tap, the last time I tested it about a month ago. With my PH and the water hardness, if I go with Shellies, do you think I need to or is is recommended to use aragonite? Or should I just use sand? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Ed's Aquatics Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 If you end up with shellies, I would get the Aragonite sand. It not only helps raise the PH, but also keeps it from crashing or spiking. If you order online for store pick up, Petco has 10lbs for $5. Its cheaper than regular sand and gravel right now, I stocked up. As for what to do with the extras if they breed, they are super easy to rehome. I prefer to sell them to my local fish store because he buys as many as I can bring. But, I get WAY less that way. Maybe 1/4th of what I would get from Craigslist or Offerup. Either way, they don't last long and make decent money. I actually have a little list of people waiting for me to offer more. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanR Posted August 20, 2020 Author Share Posted August 20, 2020 9 minutes ago, Mr. Ed's Aquatics said: If you end up with shellies, I would get the Aragonite sand. It not only helps raise the PH, but also keeps it from crashing or spiking. If you order online for store pick up, Petco has 10lbs for $5. Its cheaper than regular sand and gravel right now, I stocked up. As for what to do with the extras if they breed, they are super easy to rehome. I prefer to sell them to my local fish store because he buys as many as I can bring. But, I get WAY less that way. Maybe 1/4th of what I would get from Craigslist or Offerup. Either way, they don't last long and make decent money. I actually have a little list of people waiting for me to offer more. Thanks again. I just want to be able to make sure that I can pass along as much information as I can to help him make his decision. The reason I asked about the Aragonite is because at first he said he wanted Africans, so I scooped up the same Aragonite on sale and wanted to know if I would be able to use it with my parameters. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Ed's Aquatics Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 I've noticed if you have soft water and add it, it makes quite a difference. But if you have hard water already, not much of a jump when you add it. It becomes more of a stabilizer at that point. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanR Posted August 20, 2020 Author Share Posted August 20, 2020 Between @Mr. Ed's Aquatics and @Dean’s Fishroom, I'm torn, but it's not my decision...lol. I'll update this topic in a few months and let you all know what he decides. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dean’s Fishroom Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 3 hours ago, Rouxster said: My son that is getting the aquarium is 7 and both of my sons are dying to have some fish breed. I don't have a backup plan for the extra fish. My PH is around 7.6 and my dGH is 10, out of the tap, the last time I tested it about a month ago. Well...... maybe steer your son(s) towards livebearers. Always swimming about, would work good in you tapwater, easy to breed and watch grow, and will kind of self regulate the population. Oh, I got my first four guppies when I was 7 years old. . . 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RyanR Posted August 20, 2020 Author Share Posted August 20, 2020 Thanks @Dean’s Fishroom. They got super excited when we had some pond snails breed in one of our community tanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Ed's Aquatics Posted August 20, 2020 Share Posted August 20, 2020 3 hours ago, Dean’s Fishroom said: Well...... maybe steer your son(s) towards livebearers. Always swimming about, would work good in you tapwater, easy to breed and watch grow, and will kind of self regulate the population. Oh, I got my first four guppies when I was 7 years old. . . That's funny, I begged my dad for everything under the sun for a pet (he's allergic to animals... or so he said) and finally got a 10gal tank with guppies for my birthday when we moved to Washington. Back in '79 when I turned 7. Guppies or other livebearers are great starter fish for someone with your water and are a very interesting and active pet that most kids love. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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