Information on Balloon Rams Please

If anyone has the Balloon Rams and would like to share information on them I would be very grateful. I checked online and the sites had very different information. What I am looking to do is to change my 130 gal. aquarium from a community tank to a Balloon Ram (Blue) tank only. The only other fish would be Cory Cats and it would be nice if I could still have the LARGE Mystery Snails in with them.
The tank would be planted and have caves and hiding places for them. Could 6-8 of them occupy the large tank without to much aggression? I am not interested in the other cichlids, because they are to much fish for me. I think these might be my speed, ha ha. I am not looking to breed them, just have them for my enjoyment.
I am new to posting on here, but only because I am kind of shy stepping out and asking a group. I do love all the posts and try to read as many as my free time allows. I hope I am posting in the correct place.
Thanks

Balloon Rams are typically Mikrogeophagus Ramirezi aka blue ram
it is a morph of the std ramirezi.

in essence it was bred for the 'Balloon' shape ...

it will exhibit the typical Ramirezi attitude.. in a 130 you should be ok depending on the structure or hiding places in the tank.. Rams like a lot of structure..either in vegetation or root tangles.. this will break up line of sight if/when they establish territories.. if a pair forms you may see a bit more aggression .

More questions - sorry....
Since I will be doing a complete tear down of the tank, I was wondering if I could use sand with them? I also thought about buying some slate and using it to help with sight barriers and just general decor in the tank. I saw some at a fish store in Seattle and had to be pulled away from watching them. Just wondering if anyone has any for sale? I would much rather give my money to a Fishbox member and receive the pride in ownership that comes with a breeder if possible.
Thank you for replying to my post.

Hi GoFish!

I have a large tank that I just converted to planted. I have stocked the tank with dwarf cichlids just like what your planning to do. Im still in the process of the conversion and my plants are still new so the tank isn't completely filled out.

Here is a link.
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As you can see i used many pieces of large wood and many plants placed to break up sightlines. Each fish get along relatively well . The "loner" dwarfs have staked out a place and pretty much stay within a couple feet of their territory. Others wonder around. Its quite amusing. I also have a few Angel fish that occupy the middle and top areas of the tank with a school of Cory cats as well.

Balloon rams or ramirezi would do fine in sand bottom ..
I prefer wood structure as it it the 'norm' for SA tanks..planted works well with them also.

I have Blue rams in my 75 with Discus... the tank has slate with caves but the Rams gravitate to the wood piles...
whenever I want to look for them they are in the wood.

I use mopani, malaysian bog wood, cypress and manzanita in my tanks.

I also keep Bolivian rams.. I have a couple pairs but have not been successful at raising fry.. I let the parents raise them.

I have not yet had Blue rams pair up ..mostly because I have a bunch of females...

Thanks for the info on the sand and wood. I have some nice Mopani wood I got from a friend and will probably do a wood, slate and sand combo along with some of the cave decor I have. I also liked the photos. It will be strange seeing my big tank empty while I redo it, but it will be a fun project. Thanks for the boost of ideas!

GoFish wrote:Thanks for the info on the sand and wood. I have some nice Mopani wood I got from a friend and will probably do a wood, slate and sand combo along with some of the cave decor I have. I also liked the photos. It will be strange seeing my big tank empty while I redo it, but it will be a fun project. Thanks for the boost of ideas!

We all enjoy watching projects unfold as well. If you dont mind maybe you can take some before, during, and after pictures and share your project?

Hi Everyone,
I would LOVE to share, but my camera skills are pathetic. I used to blame the camera, but I know it is not the camera's fault. I am Awesome at getting reflections in the glass and blurred fish images. I would be the laughing stock (and be laughing with all of you). I really admire all of the amazing photos on here and the skill it takes to do it. I am also real bad at the proper names of the different plants and fish. I am proud of myself for learning Subwassertang and not calling it my favorite seaweed plant. *** Thanks to a very nice member ***
My shrimp addiction has progressed from the pregnant shrimp term to the terms of saddled and berried, so I am working on it. I am a backyard fish keeper that culls hard and keeps it simple and fun. I always worry about offending a member if I mention I feed my culls and I am shy online but not ever shy in person.
Everyone on here has been wonderful and I read as much as I can. Seems like my arms are always in my fish tanks and I know I change my water to much (I actually like doing it). I vacuum my aquariums more than I vacuum the house. Most of my stuff would bore you guys to death. I think everyone on here is wonderful and my thanks to all.

No worries GoFish I still have far to go when it comes to picture taking and can totally relate to the picture taking issues....lol