Balloon Bolivian Ram

[Noemie]

hi sorry forgot to add the details.
ammonia = 0
GH = 120
KH = 80
Ph = 7.5
NO2= 0
No3 = 20

yesterday, i was thinking about any modification i have done to the tank and then remembered that i had removed last week a nice thick plant and gave it to a friend ( a plant i have for a year or so) ---
went to the closest lfs, get the same plant, put it in the tank, made a 20% water change and...
and...
and the RAMS are GREAT.
Something very funny thoo, they are pretty shy fish but as soon as i put my hand inside the tank, they come directly to play around it.
First time i see this behavior.
i saw all the fish eat so i am pretty happy to be honest.

 

[Byron]

Are those numbers for the tap (source) water? If yes, then you have soft water (120 ppm which I assume is the unit of measurement equals 6.7 dGH which is moderately soft). The rams and soft water fish will be fine in this. Livebearers (the platy) will not, long-term, so I would suggest re-homing them.

The nitrate at 20 ppm is as high as you want it to be in an aquarium...is this the tap water on its own, or the tank water? This is another issue to sort out.

The rams are shy fish, as indeed are all of the dwarf neotropical cichlids. Lots of "cover" means they will be more calm and thus out and about more. Many fish are like this...many of the tetras for example. Few of our aquarium fish occur in truly open water; most of their habitats have lots of wood and debris, sometimes plants, and usually a cover of either floating plants or marginal terrestrial vegetation. This needs to be reflected in the aquascaping.

Byron.