Bolivian Ram Or Other

Rorie · Apr 7, 2011

I have 4 bolivian rams in my tank. I got them to be my centre piece fish. BUT, they just dont show off as well as i had wished them too. They are small! I have read the size that they can get to is 4inches... but i cant quite picture this as i realise it includes the tail etc. So how bulked out do they get?

the title says 'or other' as i am wondering if i should maybe get something else as my 'show fish'? The rams are obviously very much bottom feeders, so maybe a fish that would hang out at the top?

Jamepsss · Apr 7, 2011

Rorie said:
I have 4 bolivian rams in my tank. I got them to be my centre piece fish. BUT, they just dont show off as well as i had wished them too. They are small! I have read the size that they can get to is 4inches... but i cant quite picture this as i realise it includes the tail etc. So how bulked out do they get?

the title says 'or other' as i am wondering if i should maybe get something else as my 'show fish'? The rams are obviously very much bottom feeders, so maybe a fish that would hang out at the top?

I've had mine for over a year and he's about 2 to 2.5 inches, quite chunky but can't see him getting that much bigger, certainly not 4 inches. Beautiful fish but not really a centrepiece as you say. What else is in there? Do you like Gouramis?

Rorie · Apr 7, 2011

Jamepsss said:
Rorie said:

I have 4 bolivian rams in my tank. I got them to be my centre piece fish. BUT, they just dont show off as well as i had wished them too. They are small! I have read the size that they can get to is 4inches... but i cant quite picture this as i realise it includes the tail etc. So how bulked out do they get?

the title says 'or other' as i am wondering if i should maybe get something else as my 'show fish'? The rams are obviously very much bottom feeders, so maybe a fish that would hang out at the top?

Click to expand...

I've had mine for over a year and he's about 2 to 2.5 inches, quite chunky but can't see him getting that much bigger, certainly not 4 inches. Beautiful fish but not really a centrepiece as you say. What else is in there? Do you like Gouramis?

Agreed! Mine are about 2.5 inches too. I have never seen them any bigger, in shops, other tanks, or even in photos!

I have, in my 360L, 50 Cardinal tetras, 4 bolivian rams, 4 corys (so far), 10 otto cynclits. I am going to get more corrys and some shrimp, and maybe a snowball plec (6 inch max).

So all bottom to mid fish so far. I need to be careful not to overdo the bottom feeders, so adding a few at a time an see how i get on (feel free to suggest quantities from my wish list above

).

So i guess a mid to upper tank fish would be ideal. I WAS going to do discus, but as my tank is heavily planted, i have a high flow rate, which discus dont like. So ruled them out.

Jamepsss · Apr 7, 2011

Well I'm biased but I'm going to suggest Rainbows (because they are the number 1 freshwater fish imo). They grow slow but you can sometimes find them grown on a little. A group of Lacustris or herbertaxlerodi or any really would be great. I've seen them work with cardinals before.

If you're looking for a single centrepiece an angel might work (strong flow may be an issue here too though), or one of the larger gouramis like Opaline, golden, moonlight etc.

Nice size tank you have, sure there's loads more options.

Rorie · Apr 7, 2011

hmm, the rainbows dont look so amazing to me i'm afraid

And the others are shoaling fish too i guess...kinda small. I suppose i am looking for something to replace my discus idea - big fish, but with a smaller mouth so as not to eat my cardinals etc.

I've got gourami fish in my small tank, so not keen on them in my big tank.

Sorry, i realise i have just said no, no and no to your suggestions haha. I previously thought angels were boring and so common....but i am now thinking 6 of them could be nice! But i never realised flow could be an issue with them too.

Any other suggestions along the big fish-small mouth line? haha