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Wondering whether rams (Microgeophagus ramirezi) and tetras (Neons, Penguins, Black Skirt and Rummy Nose) will do well together in a pl*co tank?

Will the Rams pick on the tetras or would you suggest that I have an all ram tank with the pl*cs? I have seen some of them "fighting" with their lips. What are your experiences?

How many should be kept in a 50 gal tank with tetras? 5? 10?

Thanks.

Regards,
Mike D.

I've got Neons and a male Mikrogeophagus ramirezi in the same tank - I used to have a female too, but unfortunately, nitrates grew too high in the tank and some of the fish died...

I'd say the combination works just fine.

Obviously, another question is what Pleco's you have, and whether those are happy to be in the same tank as the Rams, but that's another question. Some pleco's are quite happy at 26-30'C, others are not...

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Mats

Thanks for the quick reply MatsP. I have mostly pseudas, lepos and a panaque.

273, 160, 114, 79, 24, 25, three beacon, heterodon, watermelon

Regards,
Mike D.

A quick look around the Cat-eLog shows that most of those are happy at 28'C, but at least L273 is listed to prefer cooler water.

These are all pretty large fish, so I guess it's going into a big tank. That would be a nice setup, with a bunch of Mikrogeophagus ramirezi - apparently, they are living in big groups in nature.

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Mats

Rams should be kept kept in warm water (28C+), so this will obviously influence tankmates etc.

but at least L273 is listed to prefer cooler water.

L273 are from the Tapajos, which is a very warm river (like the Xingu).

I think the data in the cat-elog is incorrect in this respect.

Wels Atas II states 26-30C for this fish.

I have seen some of them "fighting" with their lips.

Their aggression is intraspecific. They should ignore the tetras.

How many should be kept in a 50 gal tank with tetras? 5? 10?

5 should be fine, but with all those plecs

273, 160, 114, 79, 24, 25, three beacon, heterodon, watermelon

in a 50g, I would be more worried about them killing each other.

I'm sorry, I missed the size of the tank in the original post: 50g tank is by far too small to keep any of those (at least the L25, L114, L273 and any "Royal Pleco" type Panaque would grow bigger than a foot, so would not work well in such a "small" tank).

Add to that that at least Leporacanthicus can be VERY agressive, the recipe for disaster is pretty obvious.

You probably need a 200g tank or so to keep these fish to some size resembling adult-hood [at least if you plan on keeping them all in one tank - you may be able to get away with a fair bit smaller if you keep one at a time in several tanks].

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Mats

Thank you for all your replies and suggestions.

Sorry about the misunderstanding on the tank size. The 50 gal tank size was a planted tank with purely tetras and ottos. I jumped tank topics without explaining. The plecs with tetras are in a dark gravel, driftwood and river rock set up in a 6'x24"x24" (180 gal)tank.

Interesting to note that agression for the rams is intraspecific only. I was afraid the rams would rip my tetras to shreds.

I have noted that the 79 is the most agressive aka territorial (from my set). He has been seen picking on the 160 of the same size most of the time. Sometimes, it seems, just for the heck of it. It looks like hatred of the 79 for the 160.

Thanks.


Regards,
Mike D.

I have rams and lemon tetras in my planted tank alongside a gold nugget and mango with no probas at all.