Do I need to keep a pair of rams

[Elisabeth83]

I bought a pair of rams about 2-3 weeks ago. It seems that my so called female might actually be a male. It isn't confirmed yet so at the moment I have her in another tank as the other male was chasing her all over the tank. It got to the point where he was chasing her all the way on top of the filter where she would stay for awhile until he'd come back and chase her around somemore. She was breathing heavily and her fins were getting a bit torn. I read that if the male or female is chasing the other ram to cower in a corner that they were sure to be killed very soon.

So finally my question is if it turns out she is really a he and I return him to the shop do I have to get another female or will my male be ok by himself? Do they need to be in pairs to be happy?

 

[willtang3000]

I had the same problem but I took the other one back because he was way to agressive.I found out that they don't always have to be kept in pairs I have one in my community and he loves the company of the other fish

 

[Weaver]

A few months back I bought 2 Bolivians and had to seperate them within a few hours.They both seem happy enough since ie no loss of colour/appetite etc
Mine turned out to be 2 males but I kept both as they havent caused any of the other fish any problems
Good luck

 

[Elisabeth83]

I'm not sure if I have the heart to take the other one back ..I've kinda become attached to it. Well I'm glad to hear that 2 people have had good outcomes with only keeping one by itself.

 

[scrappy]

I have one large full grown Ram, and 2 juveniles. Rams have a sort of Alpha male heirarchy im told and that a submissive fish will always get beat up on until it dies. This could be a female or a male. Fortunately for me my rams all get along in the same tank, however im lucky in the fact i have more than one tank so if anything did happen i could always move them about so i didnt have to take any back.

In your case if one of your rams is being chased all over the tank by the other all day long its gonna be stressed and from the sounds of it lurking in the corner breathing heavily thats a sure sign of stress & misery for the fish. As with most fish if it starts to look pale then its over stressed and may die shortly afterwards.

As for keeping one on its own, before i bought my juveniles about 3 weeks ago i had my ram on his own for 8 months... He was fine on his own and enjoys the company of my other fish, so if you want to keep them seperated (and dont mind leaving the other ram in your other tank) then a trip to return any fish is avoidable.