Bolivian Rams

[Ace Of Spades]

I went into my LFS its rather big, wickford aquatics I looked around and I couldnt find any BN pleco or BOlivian Rams, I just wondered are these rare? can you buy them on the internet somewhere, or has anyone got any fry i can buy.

Many thanks
Ace Of Spades

 

[Larissa]

I don't think Bolivians are rare. They have them at my local Pets at Home, but not my LFS come to think of it...don't know about the BN plecs though.

 

[Ace Of Spades]

I don't think Bolivians are rare. They have them at my local Pets at Home, but not my LFS come to think of it...don't know about the BN plecs though.

hmm ok tanks, Ill try and scower more LFS tmorrow.....They are so pretty...Could I get a Male and Female in a 15 gallon?

Hows this sound:
2x Bolivian Rams
6x Bumble Bee Gobies

Would that be overstocked?

 

[Larissa]

Yes, that should be ok as long as you make sure there is a lot of cover and that there is a place for the female to escape from the male if he is pestering her. They are great fish, if you find them you will love them. Are thinking of putting a BN in a 15g though?

Sorry, just read your edit - I don't think that will be overstocked, never would of thought of putting the two fish together though...

 

[Ace Of Spades]

Yes, that should be ok as long as you make sure there is a lot of cover and that there is a place for the female to escape from the male if he is pestering her. They are great fish, if you find them you will love them. Are thinking of putting a BN in a 15g though?

Dno Yet, as I heard they get quite big, I think im going to wait after doing reasearch on them, and getter a bigger plec when I get my 118 gallon, I think its best...

Could I add anything other with the gobies or the rams, maybe more gobies ?

 

[Larissa]

I think BN's get too big for 15 gallons so I would wait till you get a bigger tank before you buy one. Also, because they are messy, they would cause an aweful lot of detritus to build up in your 15 pretty quickly. I don't know about the rams and gobies - I don't know much about gobies generally. I have heard conflicting info on them - like some say they are territorial and others say they are not. You can try it and see how they get along. If it works out then add one or two more and it it doesn't then you can exchange them for something else. (Also, make sure you get the freshwater species of bumblebee - not the brackish one).

You can read here about different opinions on the gobies and see what you think: http/www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_bumble.php

 

[Ace Of Spades]

I think BN's get too big for 15 gallons so I would wait till you get a bigger tank before you buy one. Also, because they are messy, they would cause an aweful lot of detritus to build up in your 15 pretty quickly. I don't know about the rams and gobies - I don't know much about gobies generally. I have heard conflicting info on them - like some say they are territorial and others say they are not. You can try it and see how they get along. If it works out then add one or two more and it it doesn't then you can exchange them for something else. (Also, make sure you get the freshwater species of bumblebee - not the brackish one).

Great Help as usual, Thanks.

And I will definatley wait about the Plec

 

[Faythee]

I have been checking out the Bolivian Rams too and read they need a 30 gal. tank ? Not sure as to why as they don't get that big.

 

[Ace Of Spades]

I have been checking out the Bolivian Rams too and read they need a 30 gal. tank ? Not sure as to why as they don't get that big.

I wouldnt say so they are quite small as long as you only get 1/2, they should be ok I think. or I hope.

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.

Taken from a website i just read

 

[Larissa]

I have been checking out the Bolivian Rams too and read they need a 30 gal. tank ? Not sure as to why as they don't get that big.

I think there are a lot of different opinions on this subject. I used to think a 20 was a good minimum until yesterday. You just have to consider that each ram needs a territory of about 10 square inches - if you have a pair then not quite so much as they will get along together for the most part. It's when you start adding multiple pairs to a tank when you need to have a bigger tank to allow for more territories. As long as it is fairly heavily planted with a few hiding spots and open swimming room a 15-20g should be fine. But, of course a bigger tank never hurts.

 

[Ace Of Spades]

I have been checking out the Bolivian Rams too and read they need a 30 gal. tank ? Not sure as to why as they don't get that big.

I think there are a lot of different opinions on this subject. I used to think a 20 was a good minimum until yesterday. You just have to consider that each ram needs a territory of about 10 square inches - if you have a pair then not quite so much as they will get along together for the most part. It's when you start adding multiple pairs to a tank when you need to have a bigger tank to allow for more territories. As long as it is fairly heavily planted with a few hiding spots and open swimming room a 15-20g should be fine. But, of course a bigger tank never hurts.

Yeh, Im one of those aquarists that love a planted tank , only downfall is malawais dont like plants ehhe

 

[Ace Of Spades]

How about a pitbull pleco, they get 3" max from what ive read.

Im fixated on these gobies ever since I saw a members brackish tank in the members aquarium section.

 

[Larissa]

How about a pitbull pleco, they get 3" max from what ive read.

Im fixated on these gobies ever since I saw a members brackish tank in the members aquarium section.

I think a pitbull plec would work. Just remember, plecs are very messy fish so I you have one you might consider overfiltering the tank and make sure you clean the substrate regularly.
So, you could do:
2 Bolivians
1 Pitbull pleco
6 bumblebee gobies
and that puts you at about 15 inches of fish, which is "fully stocked." But, of course you might be able to exceed this depending on filtration, maintenance etc. (you know that I'm sure...just stating it for the record).
If I were you I might just do a little more research on the compatibility of the bolivians and gobies just to be on the safe side. If you find info that says it might not be the best idea then you could alternate the gobies for some type of tetra.

 

[Ace Of Spades]

How about a pitbull pleco, they get 3" max from what ive read.

Im fixated on these gobies ever since I saw a members brackish tank in the members aquarium section.

I think a pitbull plec would work. Just remember, plecs are very messy fish so I you have one you might consider overfiltering the tank and make sure you clean the substrate regularly.
So, you could do:
2 Bolivians
1 Pitbull pleco
6 bumblebee gobies
and that puts you at about 15 inches of fish, which is "fully stocked." But, of course you might be able to exceed this depending on filtration, maintenance etc. (you know that I'm sure...just stating it for the record).
If I were you I might just do a little more research on the compatibility of the bolivians and gobies just to be on the safe side. If you find info that says it might not be the best idea then you could alternate the gobies for some type of tetra.

Or replace the bolivians , erm Yeh I do regular gravel changes ect anyway, about every 3-5 days, Maybe a post in the Oddball section would be in order? I dont want to be accused of multiple posts of the same topic

thanks

 

[Larissa]

True, you could always ditch the bolivians and just keep the pitbull and gobies if their not compatible (gobies are probably more interesting than tetras although I still love bolivians so it's up to you whether you prefer the bolivians or the gobies). But I'm getting ahead of myself here. The gobies and bolivians might be perfectly fine together!