Bolivian ram

[Brendanpat]

Hi all. I have my mind set on adding a Bolivian ram to my 29 gallon community tank . I have peppered cories, neon tetras and guppies . Google says the Bolivian rams are peaceful fish . Is this right ?and is one ok , as my stock is close to full I think ?

 

[Colin_T]

What are the tank dimensions (length x width x height)?

What is the GH (general hardness), KH (carbonate hardness) and pH of your water supply?
This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

Guppies do best in water with a pH above 7.0 and a Gh around 200ppm or above.
Neons, Corydoras and rams come from water with a pH below 7.0 and a GH below 100ppm.

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Bolivian rams are quite peaceful and you can keep one on its own. In fact, unless you buy a bonded pair or a group and let them pair off naturally, you are better off with only one fish. If you get 2 males or 2 fish that don't like each other, they fight. So just get one.

 

[Brendanpat]

Thanks .its 750x350x400mm . I'm not sure of my exact parameters now . But I done all the tests before and my water is suited to the neons and cories. That's why I went down that road . The guppies are from my first tank . Well there half guppie half endlers. My own bred fish . They are bullet proof .None of them have ever got sick or anything. Maybe because they were born in my tank .So one ram should suit me then ..

 

[Byron]

I concur with Colin. Re the Bolivian, a standard 29g as you have (75cm or 30 inches in length) is as small a tank as I would consider for a solitary Bolivian Ram (the other fish are not a problem). Try to get a male as they are a bit more colourful (longer fin extensions) and he will "own" that entire space but rarely do other fish get harmed. I had a beautiful male in my 5-foot tank for nine years, on his own, and all the 60 cories and 70-odd characins knew the tank was "his" space, and it was amusing to see this play out. He would poke the cories away from "his" pellet/tablet at feeding time, but no harm ever developed. Photo of the Bolivian from a few years back.

 

[Brendanpat]

Thanks ..Ah he looks class . That's exactly what I want . Love the shape and colours of them .

 

[anewbie]

There is no problem with a bolivian ram in a 29. A pair might work but the cory might suffer. I've had breeding pairs of gold rams (gold gbr) in a 29 with sterbai. The bolivian isn't a super active fish and the lean on the passive aggressive for cichild when breeding. Mind you it isn't optimal but it isn't that horrible; though in your case you just want a single one which is a non-issue.

 

[itiwhetu]

I personally I don't like cichlids being kept alone, because you don't seem to have a lot of fish in your tank I would get two. Cichlids like most fish like company and I never like seeing them alone.

 

[Colin_T]

The problem with having 2 cichlids, is unless they like each other, they will fight in that tank. They might not kill each other but it will be constant stress.

 

[Byron]

Colin is correct. But aside from that, this species, Mikrogeophagus altispinosus, seems to prefer being alone. Observations made in the species' habitat indicated that except when spawning, the individual fish seem to live in isolation. This is probably one reason they do so well "alone" in a community aquarium.

They have a normal life expectancy of 4-5 years, a few sources suggesting possibly six years max; my lone male was well into his ninth year when he died. I very much doubt loneliness bothered him. I did add a female to his tank a year or so after I acquired him, and before I fully understood the species, and they spawned four times before he had had enough of her and killed her. Looking back with the benefit of the knowledge I now have regarding this species, it was obvious from the first time they met that it would not work and end with the female dead.

 

[noobfish]

The problem with having 2 cichlids, is unless they like each other, they will fight in that tank. They might not kill each other but it will be constant stress.

Just going through such a situation. Got 2 bolivians, the only 2 they LFS had. They were fine for about a month, then decided they didn't like each other. Wasn't sure at first who the culprit was, but the day I was removing one I saw them having a go at each other. One is now in the QT and is being delivered to it's new home this weekend. And from what members could tell from my pictures, it was 2 females.