Bolivan Rams

Anyone able to offer some advise on Bolivan Rams. What size do they grow (Im thinking 4 inches or so ?), and also what other fish are good with them, ie. are tetra's good for them in a community / semi- planted type aquarium. Im going to get alot of tetras, but thinking the bolivian ram would add some very nice colour also as a larger fish compared to neon and rummys.
Anyone got good or bad experiences of them?
Gavin

Common Name:
Bolivian Ram.
Other Names:
Butterfly Ram and Red Ram.
Scientific Name:
Microgeophagus altispinosa.
Family:
Cichlidae.
Class:
South American Cichlid.
Distribution:
South America,Bolivia, Brazil.
Size:
Males up to 4 inches with females slightly smaller.
Diet:
These fish are omnivores and readily accept most dry and live foods. You should give a variety such as Brine Shrimp, pellets, Spirulina tablets, etc.
Water Temperature:
77-82 degrees Fahreheit (25-28degrees Centigrade).
Water Chemistry:
dH 1-10, Softwater is favoured.
pH:
pH 6.8-7.0 is favoured, although they can be acclimated upto pH 7.8.
Life Span:
Approx 2-4 years.
Housing:
The tank should have a length of at least 24\" (the length of a 20g high) with a lot of plants and other hiding places.
Breeding:
These fish are biparental, open substrate spawners. After a pair forms, the male will begin courting the female. Usually courting consists of mouthing certain objects in the courtship area. After a few days, the pair will clean around a rock or some object in the substrate. At this point, the male may become more aggressive than usual, chasing tank mates around, without damaging them, just warning. During the beginning of the spawning ritual, the female will lay a few eggs and move out of the way, while the male quickly follows up and fertilizes them. They will continue doing this until there are 100-200 fertilized eggs. After the spawning, the male will usually guard the territory while the female fans the eggs with her pectoral fins. This happens for most of the time, except when the male will occasionally relieve the female. While passing each other, they give a reciprocal lateral display signaling the 'shift change'. The female will usually come back within 30 seconds and reclaim her duty, although no display is shown during her re-entry. After the eggs hatch and the fry are wigglers, the pair tends to change color, showing yellowish bodies, intense eye stripes and lateral blotches. It is known that Rams make poor parents and while it is not unusual for them to be decent parents, you should still remove the fry if you plan to raise them.
Description:
The Bolivian Ram reaches up to 4\" in length. Females are a little smaller. The male is slimmer than the female and has more coloration along with extensions on its upper and inner caudal fin rays. These fish are bottom to middle dwellers. They are great additions to community setups for 'personality'. The cichlid interaction has no equal besides loach companionship. I have seen these fish kept with Guppies, Discus, Angels, Tetras, Barbs, Loaches or just about anything not too aggressive. They are especially great for planted communities and are a very peaceful species. The possible exception to this is breeding, when some of the typical cichlid aggression is displayed, though they are not as nasty as some of the other family members, like Convicts).
Requirements:
These guys enjoy soft water with a slightly acidic pH of 6.8 to neutral, although if bred and raised in certain conditions, it's not unheard of to keep them in water with pH as high as 7.8. They appreciate temperatures between 77 and 82 degrees Fahrenheit.



Not sure what type of fish to keep em with though

Hi Guys, need to be careful copy & pasting stuff like this without including the source ye'll get yourself sued...

Everything you need to know. www.brc.moonfruit.com/#
My favorite fish. Bundles of personality and more hardy then the blue ram. My picture is a male Bolivian Ram

Ted I got a delightful Golden Ram, truly stunning looking fish. Any experience of them?
Gavin

They are a colour morph of Blue rams. They require the same requirements as blue Rams. Soft water and Ph less than 7, around 30 degrees Celcius water temperature. Perfect bottom swimming fish with Discus.

In my opinion the Bolivian Ram is not as good looking as the Blue/Golden Ram But what it lacks in looks it makes up for in Personality. Four or five in a 40 gallon or more. Pure comedy. Blues and goldens look stunning but lack the personality.

Interesting. My ph may be on the high side for the ram so as its just over 7 at present. Having said that he is thriving since Sunday,out in the open lots and moving around the tank nicely. There are 13 rummy nose tetras that shoal alot also so they instill abit of confidence for the Ram to come out also, having said that there is plenty of hiding spots for the Ram also. The other occupants are 3 molly fry and 4 wholesome corys sterboli who shoal alot also.
Im chuffed with the Ram to be honest,he's gorgeous and is quickly becoming my favourite fish!

Gavin

Well if it ain't broke don't fix it. I would advise you get more then one though if you have more than 2 foot length of floor space on the bottom of your tank. Ideally 2 females and one male. This will generate true ram behavior. A shoaling fish like rummy nose are perfect dither fish. They let the Rams know when its safe to swim out in the open. Rummy nose hide they hide.

I do want to get a female Ram,indeed two if possible but down here in Cork its impossible to find any. Ive given my name in and told them to give me a call as soon as one becomes available. I took the dominant male from the group of 6 in the petshop so I knew he would be strong and healthy. I'll also be getting some neons and a few glowlight or blue or black tetras also.
G

I've found Black Tetra/Black skirt tetra to be fin nippers. If you had the money I would have bought all six if they were young and paired them off. After a few weeks leave back the weak. Have three or four rams if its a 40 gallon or more. Out of interest what size tank do you have?

I have two Bolivian Rams in my community tank. As has been said, they are beautiful fish with loads of personality. They are also a lot hardier than Blue Rams. I have mine in hard water with a pH of 7.6 and they are thriving.

Ive a 160 litre tank so sizeable enough for more Rams certainly. The lady in the shop advised me not to keep more than one male however I cant see how it would be a problem to be honest,they arent aggressive and there is plenty of room in my tank for them to stake out their own patch. Plenty of hiding spots and some plants etc..
Im tempted to get another one or two cos they are certainly beautiful fish..
Of more concern is that Ive lost 6 of the 17 tetras,I expected to lose 3 or 4 alright particularly early on however was surprised.Ive also lost 2 Corys however they looked the worst for wear after buying them initially,they had alot of nips and bad fins so I think it was a matter of time for them,the other 2 corys are fine however. All test readings are fine,however my 5 in 1 strips dont test for ammonia, however nitrites and nitrates are fine.
I think there is an element of new tank syndrome coupled with an element of poor stock. However the fish there now seem strong. Ironic enough the black molly fry I introduced v early on are flying it. Tough as old boots!
I added quick start to it about 18 days. I know I know, I should of given it the month however readings appeared fine. Nonetheless I dont think Ive lost that many,the rummies i half expected to lose 3 or 4 and the corys were batttered when I got them anyhow so Im hoping it will all bed down now hopefully and I wont add for another few weeks.
Gavin

KenS wrote:

I have two Bolivian Rams in my community tank. As has been said, they are beautiful fish with loads of personality. They are also a lot hardier than Blue Rams. I have mine in hard water with a pH of 7.6 and they are thriving.

Well seemingly the Bolivian Rams come from a part of Brazil/Bolivia where the water is neutral to hard and the temperature of the water is cooler then the area the Blue Rams come from. I have mine in a Ph of 7.4 and 25 degrees celsius. They are thriving and breed like rabbits.

my ph is about 7.25 or so. temp 25c at present but I may raise it to 26c soon as I perfer to run slighty warmer,even up to 28c on occasions but generally I run it at 26c.
I think he will thrive,anyone know if you can keep more than 1 male.I cant see why not?
Gavin

Very true...blue rams (wild) come from Colombia and conditions are 28+ PH 6 or so and soft water (wilds are rarely imported, get them a few times a year or so, seasonal), however most rams available are captive bred in Europe and are able to put up with a bit higher PH....keep away from Asian bred they are nice but most dont last very long in captivity!!!!