Dominant female german blue ram

[hvuong]

I have 4 GBR's, 2 females and 2 males. I should have bought only 1 male but i wanted to try and form two separate pairs if possible. my question is that the males seems to be butting heads and the females too. I took the smaller male and placed him in a guppy breeder to separate him and now the question is to place which female with him. Should i wait and see which one will be come the dominant female or should i just take the smaller of the two and place that one with the smaller male?

[Kets]

Maybe you could divide the tank and put a pair on both sides?

[hvuong]

i cant do that since my tank will be heavily planted so i was hoping to either sell the second pair or get another tank to make into a breeder tank for kicks.

has there been any cases of rams killing each other and if so how common is this? if its not possible then i may just let all 4 live together in the tank...

[Bugman]

Yes Rams can kill each other. They are very territorial. When mating the males can become very aggressive. How big is your tank. Minimum for a pair of Blue Rams is 20 gallons. Wouldn't put 2 pairs in anything less than a 55.

[lauraleellbp]

x2 And the 55 would need to be heavily enough planted/decorated that the pairs would be out of each other's line of sight most of the time.

[hvuong]

oh my tank is only 30 gallons. ive decided to keep the four together for a few days so they can either pair up and then separate them.

[GreenThumbing]

It can take quite some time to pair up, and once they do, they may kill the other pair. I have 5 GBR's 1 male and 4 females in a 75gal tank. He paired up with one female, and chased the other 3 to the other side of the tank. as long as they stay away from the pair, they are fine. Once the eggs are laid, the male usually cases his mate away as well, and guards the nest. The females rarely fight with eachother, usually only during feeding, then its more of a chase not a fight. Keep an eye on them fi you see one stuck in a corner of the tank for long periods of time, then that one needs to be removed or it will be killed. I think part of the reason for my success has been the ratio and number of fish 1 to 4 so that no one fish seems to get all the abuse, plus they have plenty of room and lots of places to hide. Good luck, I love my GBR's they each seem to have their own unique personality.

[Riley]

If you want to try to diffuse the aggression a little bit put some territorial barriers in. By that I mean add a piece of wood a chunk of rock something that the rams cant see past. Split the tank up with it. If they can see their enemy they wont be so inclined to attack.....good luck.