bolivian rams

D

Doitsu

AC Members
Oct 9, 2005
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i recently put 3 bolivian rams into my 30 gal tank that also has 3 clown loaches in it (until they do outgrow it, theyre only about 2-3"). it's still very early though one of the rams seems to be clearly the dominant one of the group of 3 (when first introduced 2 locked lips briefly and the "winner" sent the loser off to stay near the other, where there was no aggression), i dont know their sex or how to tell, i guess my questions are these:

-is a 30G long large enough so that the dominant one doesnt harass the others too much/ large enough to keep one out of trouble if 2 pair? (there are major broken sight lines thanks to a large piece of driftwood and 2 clay pot caves along with a store bought open ended cave for hiding spots)

-would i be better off with a larger number, say 4-6 to disperse any aggression? or would i just potentially see more aggression in more places?

- do they like any kind of current? i have a powerhead on the tank now though nothing overly powerful by any means.

-what would be a good upper water column specie to add to a tank with these guys? tiger barbs? something active and colorful would be nice

thanks a lot for the time and any help
 
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Nice fish....!

I don't have bolivian rams, but I do have german blues....and the females have pink bellies which get even more noticable when they are in breeding condition. The males are larger in general and that goes for thier fins as well. Whether or not these traits are shared with the bolivians, I don't know.
 
Im almost possitive that they are not shared between the two species since they are two different species. At least the pink belly thing. Males are a little larger in bolivians and their fins are a little longer but the sexes look similar
 
Bolivians are not very sexually dimorphic. You have to look at the fish holistically. In males look for trailers on the caudal fin, more pointed anal fin, more colorful, larger. Its pretty easy to pick a male and female from a tank full of them, but difficult when there's just a couple fish. Hope that helps. A 30g should be big enough (assuming it is 30g and not 29g). It would be better to have more than one "odd man out" so that any territorial aggression gets spread out, but you should be ok. Ram violence is more ritualized and doesn't often lead to physical injury, just miseralble losers. Watch for fish staying in corners so much that they can't eat (remove if this happens)
 
im guessing by that post that the footprint is very different from a 29 to a 30? the tank was listed as 30gal in the store and is all glass aquarium, the dimensions are: 36"L, 12 1/4"D, 16 3/4"H (measured from the outside, glass edge to glass edge, height from bottom plastic to top plastic
 
Yes, that's a 30 gal. A 29g is taller and only 30 in long. you'd be surprised the difference an extra 6in of territory makes when keeping cichlids.
 
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