# How active are German Blue Rams supposed to be?



## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

justlikeapill said:


> I have two healthy females with awesome color, but don't really do very much... They get excited when I feed them but other than that they don't swim around a great deal, all they do is slowly peck around the glosso at food, move the aquasoil a little bit, swim from one place to another but they stay near the bottom and they just don't do very much at all. They're boring. Or maybe they are bored themselves.
> 
> Like i said the color is awesome so I don't think they are sick or stressed, the co2 isn't too high, I have good surface movement... Is this normal?
> 
> ...


 
Water is a bit cool for the rams who prefer temps of 82 to 84 degreesF
Could be why they're acting sluggish.
Do be aware that the warmer temps are not shared by many fishes.


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## sp33drhno (Jan 8, 2009)

Are there any other fish in the tank? In my experience they are much more active when there's a school of dither fish. Even then they aren't super active.


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## deleted_user_7 (Jul 7, 2003)

There are five otos in the tank, which are mostly active at night but scoot around a little during the day. 

What I read online was wrong about temp, I guess. Will the otos tolerate 82-85 degrees? And the plants? That's warm... Like Discus warm. I didn't know they had to be kept so warm and that could be why they seem boring! 

I was wanting to add a small school of neon tetras. How many do you recommend? I have five otos, two rams and would like to get a third ram. I don't wantnto be over stocked.


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## msawdey (Apr 6, 2009)

i run my temp between 78-80.. i have 4 gbrs and 3 bolivs.. id say raise it a bit, see what happens.. but i think getting a male is a great idea


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

I'd bump up the temps a few degrees and get either Cardinal or Black neon tetras- they do better with temps that warm than regular Neons. I think between the increased temps and dither fish the Rams are more likely to be active. Mine were all over the tank and begged for food like puppy dogs (I was The Food Lady and they'd nibble at my fingers and arms and get entirely in the way whenever I was trying to do some tank maintenance LOL).

How big is your tank?


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## deleted_user_7 (Jul 7, 2003)

It is a 60-P, so only about 17 gallons. Thats why I was concerned that five otos and three rams might not leave room for a sufficient number of dither fish to have a school... If I added any tetras id be overstocked, I think. 

In the store, there were like fifty of them schooling, and the entire school would follow my finger up and down, back and forth.... they forgot how to do that once they got home, I guess. I didn't even know GBR's schooled at all.


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## DavidZ (Nov 17, 2009)

What do you want them to do, if 2 males they will show their fighting skills, that is about it.


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## fish dork (Jan 13, 2008)

The neat thing about having male/female combo is they will probably mate. The colours become more intense during this time and they get busy cleaning the site and then taking care of the eggs. The problem with adding a male with 2 females is that 1 female may pair up with the male and then both will harrass the remaining female.

IMO they only school when they're young. As mentioned, the males will fight when they get older. More than 1 pair can be kept in a tank as long as they have lots of hiding spots (heavily planted tank for example).


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## F22 (Sep 21, 2008)

roadmaster said:


> Water is a bit cool for the rams who prefer temps of 82 to 84 degreesF
> Could be why they're acting sluggish.
> Do be aware that the warmer temps are not shared by many fishes.



gotta disagree, i have kept nearly every fish tank i have ever had at 82F and the fish do amazing. 


@justlikeapill,
Rams aren't all that active even in waters that mimic the water they come from, they hang in the plants, and eat when food is around. They don't do much, but they are very pretty.


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## deleted_user_7 (Jul 7, 2003)

I guess I expected them to swim all around like they did in the store... But I'm happy that they aren't sick or anything. I will raise the temp to 82-84 if my otos don't mind... To be honest I like them more than the rams.

I am glad that I'm not doing anything wrong : ) That sums up what they have been doing: hanging in the plants and eating food that's around. They aren't very eager to hunt down the pellets when I feed but instead graze on them for a couple of hours. Maybe I shouldn't feed daily. I'm not feeding much, though.


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## F22 (Sep 21, 2008)

oto cats are fine at 82F i wouldn't worry too much, try to feed every other day in my opinion.


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## zdnet (Aug 13, 2010)

justlikeapill said:


> They aren't very eager to hunt down the pellets when I feed but instead graze on them for a couple of hours. Maybe I shouldn't feed daily. I'm not feeding much, though.


May be try another type of food. I have a german blue ram in a 10g. I feed her home-made food daily. At meal time, her iridescent blue grew intense as she was expecting the next drop and then darting to catch the sinking feed. She loves her food to the point of chasing the young dwarf neon rainbow around when she stole the food one too many times. The GBR does take time to savour the food once it is in her mouth while the neon rainbow scoops up the rest.


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## DavidZ (Nov 17, 2009)

no need to waste energy and go as high as 84, 82 will do just fine!
Some plants will have a problem with the water at 84 or 82.


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## DavidZ (Nov 17, 2009)

By the way if you want some movement in the tank, add some top fish!


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## The Bald Man (Aug 11, 2016)

deleted_user_7 said:


> I guess I expected them to swim all around like they did in the store... But I'm happy that they aren't sick or anything. I will raise the temp to 82-84 if my otos don't mind... To be honest I like them more than the rams.
> 
> I am glad that I'm not doing anything wrong : ) That sums up what they have been doing: hanging in the plants and eating food that's around. They aren't very eager to hunt down the pellets when I feed but instead graze on them for a couple of hours. Maybe I shouldn't feed daily. I'm not feeding much, though.


6 years to late lol
but a school of rummy nose tetra will bring them out.
that and lots of plants to hide in. the more places to hide the more they will
come out and the more small fish swimming in the open, the safe the rams will feel.

Blast from the past.


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