Bolivian Rams

[Chaydell]

Hello all, I have a question regarding Bolivian rams. I bought a pair from the LFS hoping they would form a bond. I'm not sure they ever did as they would spend half of their time together and half apart. Yesterday the male died and I'm not sure why. I checked mt water parameters and everything was stable. Ammonia and nitrites at 0 ppm. Nitrates between 5 and 10 ppm. Temp is kept at 79-80 F and ph is around 8.0. I recently added 7 otocinclus vittatus and albino cory cats but I don't think either group could have caused the demise of the male ram. My question is will the female get lonely and want another ram with her? If they were bonded will she bond again? And what is the best way to get rams to bond? Did my ph and temp kill the male so adding another's pointless? The tank is a 55 gallon with 14 tiger barbs, 1 flying fox, 6 Corey cats, 7 oto's and the remaining female ram. I don't think the barbs killed as they pretty much kept their distance from the rams and if a rogue barb decided to break away from the group the others generally reign him back in. Anyway, I am trying to decide what to do with my remaining ram: keep her by herself, go for a male to bond with her, or find a new home for her. Thoughts?

 

[pingu2013]

Any marks at all on the ram. I used to have a pair that where the same. one died took the other one to my LFS

 

[Chaydell]

Marks as in from abuse from other fish? Not that I could see. He actually looked great besides the fact he was stuck to the filter. No bloating or other damage was visible.

 

[David J]

Hi chaydel

I started with 2 bolivian rams. One died due to bullying from the other. Did you notice anything like that?

I've had the remaining ram for about 4 or 5 months now and she is absolutely fine on her own although I am looking to add a male but I don't think its necessary. I just want to see the mating behaviour.

 

[Chaydell]

David, I did not notice any bullying and I didn't see any marks on the male ram that suggested it happened.  But I am not able to watch the tank all day so it could have happened.  I think I am going to just buy a group of rams and get a pair then return the others to my LFS.  The owner made the offer to refund the full amount for the unpaired fish.

 

[David J]

If there was bullying I think you'd have noticed. With mine it went on all the time. The weaker one had nowhere to go cos the stronger one just chased it whenever it saw it. She struggled to compete for food and eventually died.

 

[Chaydell]

I did notice that both of my rams were eating after I bought them.  I always try to watch my new additions to be sure they get enough to eat for the first week.  The male was actually aggressive to other fish that would try to take his food, so he was definitely getting enough to eat.  I didn't notice any chasing, but now that the male has died I notice the female is a little nippy towards any tiger barbs that come near her area.  I never noticed this before the male died. 

 

[Chaydell]

So for anyone interested I have purchased 4 more rams. The plan is to wait until I get a mated pair then return the other 3. Hopefully I get a pair soon. Will let you know if I have success.