# German blue ram school?



## Stayinblitzed (Jun 21, 2017)

Hello I was wondering if I could keep a school of German blue rams? I have a 50 gallon tank with 8 rummy nose and 2 peacock Gudgeons. I had 6 Bolivian rams that did well in my tank until I had an oxygen deficiency. They died first before the other fish before I realized something was wrong. I know the blue rams can be aggressive but they also seem to be smaller than the Bolivians. How many do you think I could have in a school? Thanks


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## germanblueramlover (Jun 9, 2013)

I'm not sure about GBRs "schooling" - I think if you have enough cover and visual breaks in the tank that they could set up their own little territories you might be okay, but I'd be wary. I've always kept mine in pairs for this reason, although I was told recently that a trio of 1 male 2 females could reduce aggression between the male and female; however, I've also been told that the rams will exclusively mate in pairs and the pair will pick on the lone female.

Someone who has kept more than one pair of rams in one tank may be in a better position to weigh in. I will say the one time I had 2 pairs in one tank (much smaller than yours, while I was waiting for a second tank to cycle for the other pair) the males did fight regularly, although they did not do any damage to each other. They weren't sharing for long, though...


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## Stayinblitzed (Jun 21, 2017)

I had two pairs of Bolivian rams before they all died except for a single female. They did fine I think. I read somewhere though that you can get a “school” of German blue rams. Idk if it’s true


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## Jcricket (Nov 30, 2018)

I can't say I have ever seen a species of cichlids "school". Not like danios, tetras, rasboras, etc.


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## Triport (Sep 3, 2017)

Some cichlids are fairly gregarious and will hang out in a big group together when young but ultimately once they want to start breeding things can get dicey. They will get territorial and form pairs and start going after each other. This can just be gentle nipping or full on violence depending on the species, size of tank, amount of hiding places/sight breaks. With some cichlids having a large number seems to help keep aggression spread out so that one runt doesn't get bullied too bad. 

GBR are more delicate that Bolivian rams and I am not sure how they would fare in a large group.


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## Stayinblitzed (Jun 21, 2017)

Yea that makes sense. I know they don’t technically “school” and wasn’t look for that. Was more wondering if a group of 10-15 would work. My pair of Bolivian rams got aggressive when they would lay eggs but only chased the other fish away. I got 6 gbrs now. Hopefully will get a couple pairs from that


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## Discusluv (Dec 24, 2017)

The formula I use for Rams is 1 pair per 2 ft in lenghth of aquarium.
Give plenty of areas along substrate to mark out territories: rock, wood, etc...
This way the pairs will know where each goes when the other pair is breeding.


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## lksdrinker (Feb 12, 2014)

Like most other cichlids one way to curb aggression between fish is to overstock them. While rams are not a schooling fish they do well in large groups! Here is a video I shot of coral bandit's (a member here as well) fishroom....quite a few rams in various tanks and they all do well for him!


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

Stayinblitzed said:


> I had two pairs of Bolivian rams before they all died except for a single female.
> 
> They did fine I think.


That comes across as an oxymoron.


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## Discusluv (Dec 24, 2017)

OVT said:


> That comes across as an oxymoron.


Lol! ~


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## Stayinblitzed (Jun 21, 2017)

Lol. They did well together. They died because I had an oxygen deficiency when I did a water change


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## Discusluv (Dec 24, 2017)

lksdrinker said:


> Like most other cichlids one way to curb aggression between fish is to overstock them. While rams are not a schooling fish they do well in large groups! Here is a video I shot of coral bandit's (a member here as well) fishroom....quite a few rams in various tanks and they all do well for him!
> 
> The Most Rams I've Ever Seen! Coral Bandit Fish Room Tour! - YouTube


 Oh! the OP is setting up a breeding tank. Thats a whole different animal. I assumed it was a community tank.


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## ChrisX (May 28, 2017)

Jcricket said:


> I can't say I have ever seen a species of cichlids "school". Not like danios, tetras, rasboras, etc.


Keyhole cichlids will shoal together and are quite entertaining. They hang together in a little cluster in the 75g tank.

I've raised them from fry with parents. The only real aggression comes when a breeding pair sets up shop. I have 4m/4f in main tank at 1+ year old and they have not attempted to pair. 

The parents eventually needed to be moved to their own tank. However, even after weeks of bullying, there was no physical damage, not even a nipped fin.


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## Stayinblitzed (Jun 21, 2017)

Thank you that’s what I was hoping to hear


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## Jessica Cocco (Jan 17, 2019)

I currently have 8 in my 55. Medium planted, lots of line of sight obstacles. 2 male and 6 female's. (An 5 mollies) The men do tackle sometimes when they meet in the middle of the tank but never any serious damage. They also will pair with whatever females is ready.


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