Rams and Keyholes

i would guess that the aggression issue was something to do with same species conflict. even a peaceful cichlid is still a cichlid. that entails a certain level of territory conflict when confronted with competitive specimens.

One of the first levels of competitive definition i make when considering the mixing of species is body shape (with cichlids I just make the assumption that whatever the species it will be found at the base of the water column with great regularity).

As a bare minimum I allocate 2 1/2 - 3 sq ft of space for a ram/ram pair.

You might get away with it since both species are so "friendly". Ever thnk of adding something like angels instead?

I have keyholes in a tank with altispinosa(bolivian) rams
they get along fine..
the keyholes like caves so you may want to create some layered rock ..the bolivins prefer cover of plants and driftwood..

the rams seem to occupy mostly the bottom of the tank...the keyholes swim in the lower half of the tank.

these are in a 75 so there is plenty of room..the altispinosa's appear to both be females.
one of the keyholes(there are three) is a male..definatley different finnage on him..
keyholes can be quite shy but once they are accustomed to their surroundings they spend most of their time swimming about(as do the rams) t
one thing..I found theat unless spawning..the rams keep thier agression to their own species.

you can place angels in with rams and keyholes..the angels prefer the upper half of the tank.

placing them with Bolivians would not create any problem for the Bolivians. I was thinking ramirezi.

Interesting thing about cichlids is that the territory defined typically extend to the tops of our tanks since they are so shallow. At the same time because of the way we feed on a schedule the fish all feed at the same time. inherent conflicts are created. Varying feeding times in wild help compensate for multiple species in a defined territory.

caves v. plants with Bolivians can be a coin toss. I have 6. they seem to split 50/50 on cave v. plant preference. The ramirezi is almost universally a plant preference--a few pair have opted for caves to protect fry. but, only go caving then. Or, when they feel threatened and want more cover and protection than that afforded by vegetation.

I keep a 225, a 75, and a recently reassembled 40 breeder as the standardd tanks. I have more 29's than i want to think about for breeding--even a couple of 10's--lol. I just don't like the 10-15 gallon tank for breeding--cheap, just don't like them.

I would not do the Microgeophagus ramirezi with the keyholes. you will probably get luckier with the altispinosa. Those guys are fearless though. I have watched them back down 10" brasilliensis; 8-10 severums, an 18" bgk, Threadfin Acara, Blue Acara, and a few others. If you decide to do he keyholes with some type of ram make certain you have plenty of plants and caves.

LOL
sully brings up a good point..ID the ram
the ramirezi and the altispinosa are different rams with definate differences in character.
Both are generally peaceful but I know folks who have blues that are terrors when they are spawning..and if they are like most cichlids..they will spawn a lot.


I have spawning bolivian pairs in a 20 and they aren't too terribly bad they will guard their territory but only within a certain limit..there were not good at keeping barbs out of the spawn area..but then barbs are actually very persistent.(the barbs ahve since been moved)

I also have two females in a 75 angel/ discus tank..they don't back away from the much larger angels and the discus are a pushover, except at feeding time.

(I have found the discus to be as aggressive at feeding as the angels)

I know that the keyholes will get along with the bolivians..atleast as long as there are no breeding pairs.

also keep in mind the bolivians tend to be hardier than blues.

bolivian rams - or at the least the ones I had were the most peaceful cichlids I owned - towards other fish that is - they squabbled alot, but never bothered anyone else. the keyholes were a different story - I had a male and female, and once they tried to spawn and failed, the male took over the center of my 75 gal and wouldnt let anyone pass - rainbows, rainbow cichlids, loaches, or the bolivian rams, without being harassed. I eventually had to remove the keyholes so that my rainbows could swim the entire tank