rams with female bettas?

Hi all/Kizno (lol!).

Need a bit of advice. I'm not one for community tanks, there isn't much out there I like enough, but I am very fond of rams and wondered would they be likely to get along with female bettas? I have 9 females in 130L and they all get along fine, and they used to live with 5 guppies who I only recently took out, and they all lived happily together. I've never kept rams myself, but my dad has a group of 6 in one of his community tanks and they're pretty docile as far as we can see. I really like the electric blue rams, balloon rams and german rams. Is it dangerous to put a group in with the females?

Thanks!

Jess

Not dangerous as such.

Cichlids generally like a higher pH and harder water. Bettas prefer a lower pH and softer water. You might be asking for trouble mixing two such different species. You'd have to research the individual species to see their needs.
The Microgeophagus ramirezi is spot on for bettas

jessie1602 wrote:
Hi all/Kizno (lol!).

Need a bit of advice. I'm not one for community tanks, there isn't much out there I like enough, but I am very fond of rams and wondered would they be likely to get along with female bettas? I have 9 females in 130L and they all get along fine, and they used to live with 5 guppies who I only recently took out, and they all lived happily together. I've never kept rams myself, but my dad has a group of 6 in one of his community tanks and they're pretty docile as far as we can see. I really like the electric blue rams, balloon rams and german rams. Is it dangerous to put a group in with the females?

Thanks!

Jess

Cichlids can be a bit funny. You cant really say for sure because some will attack anything others will live fine with anything. The only way to really tell is give it a go. Quite a few people do keep bettas and dwarf cichlids together no problem. What temp is your tank? What PH? EB, Ballon and German rams all need a temp of atleast 28C and a PH below 7 otherwise dont expect them to last longer than a few months. If you want them to breed then its going to need to be nearer the 6 mark. Aslong as theres lots of caves and hiding spots it worth a try imo.

Time-Out wrote:
Cichlids generally like a higher pH and harder water.

African cichlids and some Central american cichlids do but South american cichlids (Like rams) need/like a low ph and soft water. Especially fish like rams they are very fussy about water quality and PH. They can normally live in harder/higher PH water but normally dont last 6 months let alone the 3-5 years they should. The inbreed tank breed ones are even more fussy about water.
Dont take that as an insult im just trying to say rams really are very specific about water and letting jess know they wont last long if the PH is above 7.

Thanks for the info you guys. I thought it might be a hit and miss scenario, but then if it doesn't work I figure I can pop the rams into my dad's tank so I will have somewhere safe for them to go if it doesn't go to plan.

I did do some light research and saw that the preferred PH was low and the temp high, which is good because I have all my tanks at PH 6.5 and 28 degrees. I don't have the set up for anything that can't mingle with my current set ups, much as I'd love to have a cichlid tank! I won't be breeding them or anything.

How many dwarf rams could I get in a 130L with 9 female bettas do you think? My dad's rams seem to prefer being in a group of 4+.

Thats perfect for them. You might not have a choose in breeding when there fed well and heve good water they normally breed quite often. If im honest i would try a pair and if after a week or 2 there still doing well add another pair. Im not sure if it would be best to get 2m,2f or 1m,3f, They are a pairing fish and normally bully the one left out but if theres 2 females left out the aggression might be spread and im not sure how 2 male would get on in a 130L if they decide to spawn. IS the tank sand? They wont do well on gravel because there a type of earth eater which means they like to shift through sand for food. If you want something a little different what about Geophagus iporangensis.

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There one of the best looking fish there is IMO. There earth eaters like Rams but they do best in groups. You could have 4-5 and when they spawn to will go away from the group but shouldnt show to much aggression and once the eggs/fry are gone they will join the group again.

I am SO insulted right now! And who would be so silly as to keep expensive imported bettas in a pH over 7? They wouldn't last more than a few months instead of the 4+ years they're supposed to... Jess isn't THAT silly. SHE should be insulted!



(Lol some people are SO touchy)

i have a pair of germans in with my girls in a 60l (moving to a 125l shortly) and they are fine, the male ram gets a bit bossy where food is involved but other than that they are all fine together

Thanks very much for the input you guys, I really appreciate it! I'll have a think about what to try & maybe have a go at introducing some next month. The tank is sand substrate, so it looks like I can provide the right conditions for rams at least, but I'll wait a few weeks before I add anything, but it's good to get some info in the meantime. I'll post pics when I add some in :-)
PS. You can be insulted on my behalf Time-Out ;-)

Sounds good. Looking forward to pics.

Time-Out wrote:I am SO insulted right now! And who would be so silly as to keep expensive imported bettas in a pH over 7? They wouldn't last more than a few months instead of the 4+ years they're supposed to... Jess isn't THAT silly. SHE should be insulted!



(Lol some people are SO touchy)

The only reason i said it is because you always get "touchy" when i disagree with anything you say.
I cant be bothered with it if im honest.

Calm down guys!! Goodluck picking out your cichlid...