how many German rams in 20 gal

[lado]

Would like to get bunch of ram for purpose of breeding.How many wouldnt be too many and what male / female ratio .Thanks

[KIWI13]

in a 20 gallons, I would start off with 3 pairs and see what happens.. It all depends on what else is in the tank and I always got equal ratios of males to females. Rams will pair off with one mate and do not tend to take on two mates like some apistos do.

Get 3 males and 3 females in there and you will notice that 20 gallons is too small once you get a pair cause they will stake out a territory. Its better if the tank isnt a bare bottom and has plants and driftwood in it. at the most you will have 2 pairs form up and defend a territory but that will cause alot of problems for the remaining fish. Be prepared to move the rest or give them away..

If you wanna breed then move the mated pair to a BB 10 gallon tank with a piece of slate and Voila!!!!

Check out Simply Cichlids, we have a library with an article on breeding rams

[JeffreyRichard]

Assuming a planted tank with lots of rock/driftwood (places to separate territories) I would go with 2 pair, no more than 3 pair. 1:1 ratio of male to female is right.

If you have a large discus tank, put them in with the discus. I found it best to remove pairs and separate them in their own 5 or 10 gallon tank for spawning ... you might not get a lot of spawning in a group.

[lado]

So basicly they need peace and quite for breeding.Can I force pair them or let them pair up?

[JeffreyRichard]

So basicly they need peace and quite for breeding.Can I force pair them or let them pair up?

I've force-paired in the past ... basically any male with any female.

[JeffreyRichard]

So basicly they need peace and quite for breeding.Can I force pair them or let them pair up?

I've force-paired in the past ... basically any male with any female.

[KIWI13]

force-pairing doesnt always work out the way you want it. I have had many pairs not hold together and thats just the way it is. The females tend to pick their mate and they will pick the best male.

Try force-pairing but be prepared to be patient and take time... I would just get 3 males and 3 females and scoop out the first pair and move em to a 10 gallon...

Jason

[lado]

Do you guys place protective mesh or somthing over eags?

[KIWI13]

nah, I just let the parents learn from their mistakes and sure enough they become good parents after a couple of runs..

[JeffreyRichard]

I typically lay a piece of slate in a tank ... the Rams will often lay eggs on the slate. I'll then pull the slate and hatch the eggs the same way I do angels ... put the eggs in a clean 2.5 gallon tank with new water heated to 82-85 for rams; add 4 drops of formaline as an anti-fungal, set up some aeration, and they will hatch and go free swimming in 5-6 days. Then add a small sponge filter (seeded) and begin feeding live baby brine shrimp. After 3-7 days the fry get moved to a bigger grow-out tank.