Si's Tank Journal

[meguro]

they were probably shy because of the lack of tetras out swimming around. some males can also be quite territorial chasing any other rams away from whatever area its able to control. but once they become sexually mature he should start to accept the females company.

rams and apistos can co-exist peacefully, even in a tank ur size. of course there might be issues if either species starts spawning, but i would consider both fish able to do no more damage than what ur already observing with ur male ram chasing ur female ram

 

[ChilliPepper]

When my tank was being swapped around, and I only had one Ram, a Keyhole, a Plec and some Khulis in there, the cichlids were really shy and wouldn't come out much.
I have since added 12 Rainbows, 2 more Khulis, another Ram and an Apisto and they get along great, and the Rams are always out swimming/picking around.
I'm pretty sure I have a male and female, the male is older than she is so has the yellow etc on him and is very handsome. He chased her a fair bit when I first put her in, and still does occassionally, but they get along quite well. She's only a juvi though.
The Apisto slotted in fine, but he is a bit bossy despite being the smallish cichlid in the tank. No aggression though, just typical cichlid attitude

 

[PDSimon]

they were probably shy because of the lack of tetras out swimming around. some males can also be quite territorial chasing any other rams away from whatever area its able to control. but once they become sexually mature he should start to accept the females company.

rams and apistos can co-exist peacefully, even in a tank ur size. of course there might be issues if either species starts spawning, but i would consider both fish able to do no more damage than what ur already observing with ur male ram chasing ur female ram

Cheers meguro,

I have 8 rummys now and they do tend to hang in the corners/bogwood throughout the day but in the evening they come alive! It's funny cos the day after I was sulking about my sulky fish they were messing around at the front of the tank and then yesterday evening the male kept poking at the female but she wasn't hiding so much...

I'm thinking of adding an apisto cacatuoides pair that will be a bit younger than the rams, will move the shrimp into my brothers tank or elsewhere as well. I think maybe the bolivians got a bit unusually hungry when I was on holiday and ate a few shrimp? Havn't seen as many around.

If I do follow this route I'll probably get a divider just in case, as a short term solution of course!

When my tank was being swapped around, and I only had one Ram, a Keyhole, a Plec and some Khulis in there, the cichlids were really shy and wouldn't come out much.
I have since added 12 Rainbows, 2 more Khulis, another Ram and an Apisto and they get along great, and the Rams are always out swimming/picking around.
I'm pretty sure I have a male and female, the male is older than she is so has the yellow etc on him and is very handsome. He chased her a fair bit when I first put her in, and still does occassionally, but they get along quite well. She's only a juvi though.
The Apisto slotted in fine, but he is a bit bossy despite being the smallish cichlid in the tank. No aggression though, just typical cichlid attitude

Cheers chilli, I'm thinking of getting some sort of apisto now so quite looking foward to it, you two have encouraged me so if things go wrong its your fault

If I get 2 apistos there will still bit a bit of space left, I did fancy some black phantom tetra which would hopefully bring the rams out more.

Stocking would look like (30G):

2 bolivian rams
8 kuhli loach
8 rummy nose
then,
2 apisto (not bothered about breeding)
more rummy nose? or 6 black phantom, not sure if theres room though.

I quite some rainbow fish but the ones I liked seemed to be suited to a more higher pH and a shoal would take up too much room.




Got my All Pond Solutions 1000lph filter, seems to be doing a great job so far! thanks all

edit:

Was taking some pictures of the tank and the rams decided to interupt! he is chasing her... they look really washed out in the light unfortunately...

definately a female?

Going to go a bit picture mad now.

fighting over food, they got so colourful, even there eyes changed colour... sorry about pic quality

definately a female?

 

[PDSimon]

Female ram is in a HUGE grump today! she is occupying/dominating a corner of the tank that has a coconut cave and hasn't left it since last night. The male came near to there earlier and she flared up, went really black and kept shoving him away..and he backed down?! is that normal..?


I'm picking up two apisto. cacatoides tomorrow Excited...

 

[PDSimon]

- the right of the ram...

female, the males still a bit shy unfortunately

 

[PDSimon]

 

[PDSimon]

I think my male cockatoo is secretly a genius. The two rams have their own little territorys right by each other and he'll wonder into the females territory (although i'm doubting she is female the amount they're fighting!) and she'll flare at him and go for him, so the cockatoo will swim into the male rams territory, who doesn't care about the cockatoos and he'll chase the female off genius

 

[PDSimon]

My two bolivians have been very territorial the last couple of days and they were fighting a bit mad last night. They were properly lip locked, sideways and throwing each other around they keep testing each other. I've read its pretty normal as long as they're not actively being aggressive all the time even if the other fish is backing away. If one backs away they generally swim apart.

The female seems more interested than the male. She kept swimming over this peice of bogwood really low, and then shunting at the male, and depending on his reaction they might ram each other a bit or one swim away... but then sometimes the male will swim in and she'll start protecting here little 'area'... but not always. bit confusing!

I guess they're testing each other to pair up? eitherway its good to watch and they don't seem to be doing any harm at all.

Will try and get a video.

 

[kaivalagi]

vid would be good, sounds like just they're just testing the waters haha

 

[Liverbird36]

Absolutely stunning fish Si !!!! Sooooooooo envious lol

 

[Curiosity101]

Just to answer the much earlier question of 'is the bolivian female'. I'd put money on saying that she is indeed a she. Everything about it says it's female to me.

 

[PDSimon]

vid would be good, sounds like just they're just testing the waters haha

I shall try and get one asap. I think so... great to watch, I hope they do pair up properly.

Absolutely stunning fish Si !!!! Sooooooooo envious lol

Thank you

Just to answer the much earlier question of 'is the bolivian female'. I'd put money on saying that she is indeed a she. Everything about it says it's female to me.

Thanks I thought she was but sometimes she has quite manly behaviour in that the way she is aggresive towards the other ram.


I'm not sure whether the female cockatoo is getting enough food the way she is going, any tips? I have good quality flake, sinking pellets and blood worm but already fed them the worm this week.

 

[Curiosity101]

Thanks I thought she was but sometimes she has quite manly behaviour in that the way she is aggresive towards the other ram.

Oh so standing up to a guy makes you mannish does it? hmph

Lol...only joking. Tbh standing up to a male in the animal world often makes sense, it's a way of ensuring you get the best male for the job. If they just accepted any old male straight away then there would be no 'survival of the fittest' and evolution probably wouldn't exist. Alright I'm generalising but you get the jist... she may just not have been impressed enough by him, or she just isn't ready to breed yet.

A video would definitely be good Partly to look at them cause they're so pretty and partly cause it'd be nice to see the behaviour.

 

[PDSimon]

haha Starting on a guy makes you manish! she picks fights

I get the idea yeah, pretty much what I thought...testing each other!

I'll try and get one although they're quite relaxed today, typically It'll be nice to see things mature with all of my fish

 

[Curiosity101]

I'll try and get one although they're quite relaxed today, typically It'll be nice to see things mature with all of my fish

I had that with my apistos last night. The male was shimmying at my female constantly for around 10 minutes...until I got the camera out to video it. Had to wait quite some time with the camera on stand by to catch it lol.