Ramirez and orange chromide

[Sherwin]

Hey guys i wanna add these fish to my tank . Can anyone wid experience with these fish tell help me out . I have read that they are kinda hard to keep as they are very sensitive . I am also aware that the ram has many diff types which would b the best to go with (lookin for an attractive one ). Will b livin wid tiger barbs , neons .

[brads]

Chromides need high ph and hard water it will not work .... The rams will be fine as long as they have a cave and hiding places ,tiger barbs are aggro so be aware of this .

[jedigenie]

If you can meet the requirements for rams you will be very happy with them. Keep the pH on the lower side of 7 and make sure the water is relatively soft. Keep the water temp at about 28deg.

Rams however have a few known issues.
- The Asian strains can be weak and can lead to premature deaths even if the water parameters are perfect
- Steer clear of the "balloon" rams. These are bred to give a bloated appearance but it impacts negatively on their digestve tracks.
- They tend to charge down on food which can intimidate skittish fish.
- They can be very hard to sex. Wild caught rams are easy to sex (3rd ray on the dorsal fins are elongated as an example) but due to breeding, males and females can look identical.
- Some cases of unexplained growths on fins have been reported. These do not seem to respond to treatment with anti-fungal meds. I have not read that this has caused any fatalities and does not seem to bother the Rams at all, in most cases the growths have gone away after a few weeks.
- The water systems they come from are exceptionally clean and they are intollerant to any forms of polution or nitrate buildups. Make sure you have adequite filtration and do regular water changes (I do twice a week - may be more than needed but I prefer to be safe)

Rams are easily my favourite fish and remind me of Apache Indians in full war paint =). I have 7 of these buggers and have a pair of electric blues on order from Dolphin. Last time I spoke to Dolphin he mentioned that he had some German Blues in stock (hope I am not talking out of turn here Dolphin). I would suggest you order from him if you want to be assured of getting some decent stock.
Hope this helps

[Irma]

Orange Chromides, as brads said, need a PH around 7.5 or up and Rams need a low Ph so they cannot be combined. Bolivian rams can tolerate a higher PH then the other rams. Chromides also need a little bit of salt in the water as they are brakish fish. You can keep them without salt but they will not remain healthy.
The chromides are not difficult fish to keep. I have some that spawned in my community tank. So, the question is - what is the PH of your tank water? Only then can you decide which fish to keep unless you want to keep altering the PH?

[Vis]

Agree with what Jedi said.

My fav would be: 1 Normal german blue rams
2 Electric blue rams
3 Golden rams.

Keep them in a group at first because the male will annoy the female to death if you onlt have a pair :)