| 75 Gallon Community Tank Occupants Pg.1 |
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| Mikrogeophagus Ramirezi - dwarf cichlid Common Name: Balloon Ram, German Blue Ram, Gold Rams, Long finned Rams..... Origin - South America, Columbia, Venezuela, Rio Orinoco Basin Average life Span- 3-5yrs. Max. Size - 3" Ideal water conditions- Clean fresh water! Yes, that's right, clean and fresh. Temp 78 - 82F PH 6.6- 6.8 KH 2-3 GH 4-7 |
| I am going to do something different. Instead of all that technical stuff that can confuse you from the first sentence on, I am going to tell you about MY fish in MY setting and their Behavior. I will tell you what I feed them, who they live with, and their likes and dislikes. My fish are pets and not conditioned for breeding. So, here's MY experience with my trials and errors. |
| Behavior as I see it in MY tank: Tank Mates 'Past' - Angel fish, cory cats, baby whale, swordtails, apple snails, plecos, different Rams such as Gold Rams, Long finned Blue Rams, Bolivian Rams and German Blue rams. Tank Mates 'Present'- Gold Wonder Killi's, Modesta loaches, Dojo loaches, Kubotia loaches, and cory cats. Their food consists of live blackworms and live brine shrimp. Frozen bloodworms. Tropical Flake Food, Shrimp Pellets, and frozen leaf spinach. Of course I thaw their frozen foods :) I do 40% water changes twice a week to keep their water as fresh as possible. Right after a water change I can see the difference in their behavior. They enjoy fresh clean water! These dwarf cichlids are a constant surprise. I had first thought they'd be delicate, only suitable in an Amazon Biotope setting, but they seem to adjust with ease with the mixture I have in this 'Community' Tank setup. Who would've thought they could co-exist peacefully with loaches? Balloon Rams, as with any other species of Rams, need a heavily planted tank to feel safe and secure in. Some caves and sand substrate are also recommended. At first they were very shy when I introduced them to this tank (I didn't have the loaches or killi's at the time, I had Lemon Tetra's and cory cats). Soon, as I added more fish, they came out of the corners and took interest in their tank mates. They are not aggressive but they will stand up for themselves when another fish intrudes upon their space, which is usually one of the loaches getting too close. They hang out mostly in the middle to bottom portion of the tank, but frequent the higher portion as well, often times examining the corkbark backround or driftwood. They are curious of the goings on in the tank and love having their pictures taken LOL These fish also know their owners and will beg for food shamelessly. Here are some links with excellent info on the Ram THE GERMAN BLUE RAM Badmans Ram Profile Written by Sully YuTaKa's Balloon Rams |
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| Botia Kubotia (Burmese) Loaches |
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