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Hello!

I keep 8 C. sterbai and 15 cardinal tetras in a 160l tank. I would like to add 4 blue rams. Is this a good idea? I remember an article saying that rams attack the corys' eyes. I would be grateful for advice. Thanks for the help.

Tobias

I don't think you need to worry too much. I've kept rams and corys together, and I know a number of other that also has good experiences with this combination.

I agree with Kim. I kept two Rams with C. sterbai for a bit, until I decided to move the C. sterbai for husbandry reasons - the tank was a bit crowded and I thought that they C. sterbai had grown enough to go in my big tank - where they are now nearing the 5cm/2" total length, six months or so on from being moved at 4cm/1.5" or so.

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Mats

I've kept many dwarf cichlids, and have always had corys with them. The worst of them, ie. the african lake cichlids, never touch my corys and my most aggressive blue ram has never shown the slightest interest in them, much less their eyes

A note aside, I've always had the best results with just a single pair of rams, with four I've ended up with a fat healthy pair and two abused unhealthy fish that tend to die if you don't seperate them out....

Reginator wrote:I've kept many dwarf c*****ds, and have always had corys with them. The worst of them, ie. the african lake c*****ds, never touch my corys and my most aggressive blue ram has never shown the slightest interest in them, much less their eyes

A note aside, I've always had the best results with just a single pair of rams, with four I've ended up with a fat healthy pair and two abused unhealthy fish that tend to die if you don't seperate them out....

Well, I haven't kept rift-lake cichlids, but from what I've read, they certainly CAN AND WILL pick on Cory's. It obviously does depend on both what cichlids they are, and many other factors (individual fish, environment in the tank, etc, etc).

As to keeping cories in a group, I've NEVER heard anyone else actually recommending that they should NOT be kept in a group, but your experience is obviously different from what everyone else is experiencing... Don't mean to say you're wrong - just that it's not what most other people seem to think... I certainly have a group of 6 C. sterbai and 5 B. spendens in my big tank, with no apparent ill health to them. The Brochis have been in that tank for over a year now...

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Mats

I was talking about the rams being kept in groups. My rams nearly always do best in just pairs..

Reginator wrote:I was talking about the rams being kept in groups. My rams nearly always do best in just pairs..

Ah, ok. I was having that same discussion with the LFS-owner this morning...

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Mats

Hello!

Thanks for the advice. The 4 wild Mikrogeophagus ramirezi will arrive this week. I will follow the advice and separate the pairs in different tanks. I just wanted to make sure that the Corys are safe.

Tobias

A mate's breeding pair of Kribensis removed a Cory's eye...needless to say the Kribs themselves were removed soon after.
Shaun