# What do you think?



## Fish_Man (Apr 9, 2010)

Level of difficulty in care between cichlids.

German Blue Ram vs. Ruby Green.


----------



## Cory (May 2, 2008)

I was going to reply in the pm but came across this first lol . 

I'd say that between the two (having kept both) Ruby Greens are considerably easier to keep. Other than requiring a bigger tank, they eat more variety and more vigorously and are less sensitive to water quality changes. They have about the same level of intra-species aggression between the two but ruby greens will be a bit more aggressive to other species.


----------



## Fish_Man (Apr 9, 2010)

Cory said:


> I was going to reply in the pm but came across this first lol .
> 
> I'd say that between the two (having kept both) Ruby Greens are considerably easier to keep. Other than requiring a bigger tank, they eat more variety and more vigorously and are less sensitive to water quality changes. They have about the same level of intra-species aggression between the two but ruby greens will be a bit more aggressive to other species.


pretty good but when you mean require a bigger tank.. how big for a pair?

are both ruby green and GBR about the same size?


----------



## Chris S (Dec 19, 2007)

GBR's are a dwarf cichlid, will get about 2.5 inches or so.

A Haplochromis sp. is small too, but grow about an inch or so more and are not, to my knowledge, considered a dwarf =)

Ruby Green's will love hard water, so will enjoy Toronto tap water. GBR's prefer softer, more acidic water, but will have no problems at all in Toronto tap water.

As for skill in keeping either...I wouldn't say either is difficult.


----------



## Cory (May 2, 2008)

Actually Hap. Ruby Green grows quite large for an African cichlid they're substantially larger than even the largest gbrs . My older males are quite big suckers.


----------



## Jsu (Dec 4, 2009)

Where can you purchase "Ruby Green"? Its an interesting fish.


----------



## Fish_Man (Apr 9, 2010)

was gonna get it from Cory. Need to get a bigger tank first


----------



## bae (May 11, 2007)

Rams will form stable pairs that will get along together well indefinately, for the most part. They can be somewhat delicate, and the fry can be hard to raise for a beginner.

Haplochromine cichlids do not form pairs. The males wil mate with as many females as they can get, and the females have nothing more to do with the males after spawning. It's best to have several females per male since otherwise the male may harrass a single female to death.

Haplochromines are much tougher than rams and easier to care for, but they all get large, at least 3-4" and usually larger. Many of them will dig and eat plants. The fry are large once released from the female's mouth, and easy to raise.

If you want a pair-bonding cichlid that is easy to look after and spawn, I recommend kribs (Pelvicachromis pulcher). They can do well in a 15 gallon tank, form strong pair bonds, and have very interesting spawning and brood care behaviour. They are fairly tough and the fry are easy to raise. They do well in a planted tank, and are not aggressive with other fish as long as they can protect a sphere of water about 8-10" in diameter around their mobile fry.


----------



## Fish_Man (Apr 9, 2010)

Thanks bae for the information!

Now who breeds kribs?


----------



## Tropicana (Feb 15, 2009)

Kribs are good, just make sure you don't put anything that can fit in there mouth with them. Friend of mine had a pair of kribs and he put a few smaller neon tetras in the tank(55g) and the kribs killed 3 in about 10 mins. they tried to eat them but kept killing them because they couldn't swallow them.


----------

