One Ram attacking another

Hi there, we have two rams in a tank. One keeps chasing the other and has bitten the chasees fins.
We’ve had the one that I think is female (red belly) for a few months and got the other (blue) about 6 weeks ago. The blue one keeps chasing the other one and has bitten his tail and fins. He did this shortly after we got him, but stopped and the others taps and fins were getting better. Since yesterday he’s been chasing and biting again. Any idea why? And will poor nibbled be ok?
The water temp and everything else is ok

You need plants so they can hide. Rams are territorial

My Apistogramma Macmasteri Cichlids also chase after each other. The female can be more aggressive than the male when in spawning/defending mode. But I've never seen any harm come to either of them. But I have lots of plants and hiding spots for them to get a breather.

The fin biting is concerning though, but I believe they will regrow if given enough time. Or at least my cherry barb did, after jumping out of the tank and me noticing just in time. (Like a few seconds more and she would have died) and she lost most of her tail. But it regew. (Not saying all fish have that ability)

How big is the tank?
You really should get some plants.

Thank you. Just ordered some more plants. (It’s my brothers tank and I think something happened with the old ones/to them, there is other stuff in there too, just not in the pictures. I don’t get too involved. I’m not sure. It’s big. Just looked it up and think it’s 57 litres. The tail has already grown back once

Kyoungie90 said:

Hi there, we have two rams in a tank. One keeps chasing the other and has bitten the chasees fins.
We’ve had the one that I think is female (red belly) for a few months and got the other (blue) about 6 weeks ago. The blue one keeps chasing the other one and has bitten his tail and fins. He did this shortly after we got him, but stopped and the others taps and fins were getting better. Since yesterday he’s been chasing and biting again. Any idea why? And will poor nibbled be ok?
The water temp and everything else is ok

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I had two female rams that were going at each other, and they were purchased at the same time. Were fine for about 6 weeks before the aggression started. My 29g (110L) has plenty of hides and plants, but they just decided they didn't like each other. I ended up rehoming one. You can try the plants and see how it goes, but unfortunately you may have to rehome one. That or the EBR may handle it on his own.

My tank is 55 litres with it being mildly overstocked. But I have a decent amount of plants and a good balance (That I've found) of fish. (Though I have an external filter that filters 4X the tank volume an hr, unlike an internal filter, which helps with cleaning the water, and much better filter media than was provided)
It's good to have your tank pretty heavily planted. 1 it helps with filtration and overall water quality and two, fish like it. I'd suggest getting The 2HR Aquarist APT Complete comprehensive planted aquarium supplement (Fertilizer) for the plants. I've found that to be a good overall fertilizer.

noobfish said:

I had two female rams that were going at each other, and they were purchased at the same time. Were fine for about 6 weeks before the aggression started. My 29g (110L) has plenty of hides and plants, but they just decided they didn't like each other. I ended up rehoming one. You can try the plants and see how it goes, but unfortunately you may have to rehome one. That or the EBR may handle it on his own.

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Yeah, sometimes they just don't get along, and never will. Cichlids have personalities, and sometimes they just don't mix

Rams are very territorial, and the one being bitten is very much at risk. Being constantly harassed will put him under stress and make him more vulnerable to illness, and the ragged bitten fins can easily lead to bacterial and fungal infections. His tail is in a particularly bad state... almost right back to his body

I'm not Ram experienced enough to know, so will tag some smarter folks than I to help - but I'm not convinced that they're even the same species, let alone a male and female pair. The blue is an electric blue ram, but I think the other might be a Bolivian ram. A much more peaceful species that the electric will harass constantly, especially in a tank with nowhere to hide, like that one. If they're both males, the territorial aggression will be even worse.

The electric one needs to be returned. There isn't room for two rams of different species in that tank, it's not set up for rams, and it isn't fair to add this new blue fish, and accept it bullying the other one to death.

Lots of water changes and tank maintenance to give the bitten one the best chance of recovery. If s/he becomes fin-clamped, develops fungus, or shows any other signs of being unwell, they'll need further treatment.

@Colin_T @WhistlingBadger @Essjay

Hey
Any egges in your tank ?

I'd suggest maybe pre-treat just to head off any chance of any infections. Pull the fish out and treat with Methoden Blue in a different container for a short period (Which won't stain the tank) Though I'm not 100% sure if that would really be recommended. Others that understand dosing would have to confirm.

But id defo do more regular 50% water changes till the fins are growing back well, and remove the blue ram or at the least (As a stopgap) put in a divider. The stopgap being till you sell one of them

This is completely normal and to be expected. If you do not separate the two rams immediately, the one being picked on will not live for long.

There is no amount of plants to break up the space that will help. Fish communicate by pheromones, and the dominant ram is sending signals to the other that are as stressing as the physical attacks.

I cannot tell if either is male or female, but two males will not co-exist in a tank this small. And if they are male/female, they clearly did not bond [see below], and that means they will never get along. Two females sometimes manage, sometimes not.

To get a pair of either ram species (the blue, gold, german blue, etc are all variants of the one species Mikrogeophagus ramirezi, and the Bolivian is another distinct species, M. altispinosus), you need to let them select each other and bond. A group in a tank will usually result in one or more pairs forming. But adding a female to a tank with an existing male, or the reverse, may or may not result in the pair bonding...usually they do not.

Byron said:

This is completely normal and to be expected. If you do not separate the two rams immediately, the one being picked on will not live for long.

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I think the one that is picked on is a female due to the pink patch. What's your opinion ?

Avel1896 said:

I think the one that is picked on is a female due to the pink patch. What's your opinion ?

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I don't want to guess, but you may be correct. Doesn't really matter, the other ram clearly does not want this one in its space.