Kribs and Rams

[ENZO]

I posted this on another forum and thought it may help on this one. http://thefishquestforums.freeforums.org/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif

I see this question a lot: Can I keep rams (bolivian, german blue, gold ect.) with kribensis? Well the answer is yes and no. Rams and kribs tend to share the same area of the tank, if your aquarium is 20 gallons which is a minimum requirement for both kribs and rams (given that they are kept in pairs) you can only keep one species or the other. Kribs will destroy the rams. If you wish to keep both species in the same tank make sure they both have a territory of 2ft by 1ft.

Both kribs and rams are cave spawners and tend to get agressive if they start to breed. Kribs are very agressive when atempting to breed and can and will try to defend their territory at all cost. The best way to avoid the agression is to have no caves or areas resembling caves.

On another note both species are very friendly and can be kept with almost any type of community fish. I personally keep a beautiful pair of kribensis with otos, a male betta, a SAE, a zebra loach, a small albino BN pleco, large amano shrimp and bamboo shrimp. I tried putting bolivian rams in the tank and the kribs nearly killed them.

[BC Mosaic]

I posted this on another forum and thought it may help on this one. http://thefishquestforums.freeforums.org/images/smiles/icon_smile.gif

Both kribs and rams are cave spawners

Rams are not cave spawners. My German Blue Rams are definitely not. They spawn on dark surfaces, i.e. drift wood and flat dark stone. They are agressive when they lay down their eggs though.

I personally would not keep the two species together (rams & kribs). To me, its not worth the stress to me nor to the fish. Just my opinion. No worries.

[DaFishMan]

Interesting post :)

The understood rule with cichlids has always been not to mix
sa's, ca's, africans, and the nigerian krib types. The fish communicate differently so will misinterpret actions/signals which leads to fighting, constant harrassment and death.

The rule can be bent SOMETIMES between krib types and some sa dwarfs if enough space and territories / hiding spots / potential breeding spots are provided for each group of fish. It's still a crapshoot not a guaranty and the situation in the tank can change at any time. Hopefully your tank remains peaceful :)

[Melody]

The answer, from what I'm gathering, is its possible but not probable. I do find that there can be temperament exceptions to a certain degree - be it more or less aggressive than the norm. That's when its good to have lots of opinions/experiences, so readers are aware that there isn't always a way that makes it work.

Great posts!:notworthy: