Is My Tank Big Enough For A Pair Of Bolivian Rams?

[scouse_andy]

I have just acquired a 45 litre tank (11 US gallons) and I'm wanting to put in a pair of Bolivian Rams. It measures 50cm x 30 x 30. I will probably make it a species tank with three Bolivian Rams, one of which I will move into a community tank when they pair up. I know it is recommended to keep these in a bigger tank but do you think I could get away with it in a well planted tank with some hiding places and bogwood given that there would be no other tankmates to get in the way?

My water is quite hard with a pH of 7.8. I believe that this can be tolerated by Bolivians and my LFS keeps them in similar conditions and said that my water would be fine.

Do you think that this would be OK and am I right in thinking that these rams are plant friendly and won't dig too much like many other cichlids?

 

[kev_kb]

You could probably get away with a pair, you'd need to watch aggression whilst a pair forms though. As far as I know the 7.8ph will stop them breeding successfully, but do more research as I've not bred them myself. They are plant friendly. A pair of Apistos may be more suitable, take care on species though as some really do require soft water.

 

[scouse_andy]

You could probably get away with a pair, you'd need to watch aggression whilst a pair forms though. As far as I know the 7.8ph will stop them breeding successfully, but do more research as I've not bred them myself. They are plant friendly. A pair of Apistos may be more suitable, take care on species though as some really do require soft water.

I can take one out as soon as aggression becomes a problem, I'm after a pair eventually but I know how difficult they are to sex so I'll get three and one can go in one of my bigger tanks. The fact that they probably won't breed is a bit disappointing but not enough to put me off. I did think of apistos but I would probably need a trio (1m 2f) and I also read that they prefer softer water. Which apistos would be OK in that type of water? Anything other than bolivian rams that would be suitable for the tank? Kribensis maybe?

 

[parker313]

Bolivians and Kribs would both get too big. I would get German Blue Rams instead. They are smaller than the bolivians and will be fine in an 11g tank.

 

[scouse_andy]

The trouble is that they will not tolerate the hard water I have. I would definitely steer clear of blue rams for this reason.

I didn't realise that Bolivians grew bigger than blue rams.

Does anyone else agree that Bolivians are too big. If so I may think about a colony of multifasciatus shelldwellers as I couldn't find any apistos that are likely to be happy at pH 7.8.

Does anyone else have any ideas?

 

[scouse_andy]

Double post!

 

[demonmagus]

you could always add bogwood or peat to the filter to bring down the pH

 

[scouse_andy]

I don't think it would do a lot as the water is also very hard. I had a huge bit of bogwood in my 240 litre tank for ages and it did nothing. I also have loads of little bits in my nano and it makes no difference.

I suppose I could give peat a go and see what happens. I just think that because it is so hard it has no buffering capacity. I could go the RO route but I'm not really keen to get into adjusting pH as you need to get it just right and on a very regular basis to keep the parameters ok.

I'd love some bolivians as I know they'd cope with the chemistry just maybe not the tank size.

 

[Lurks]

Had the same problem as you. In the end I bought a relatively cheap RO unit and hooked it up to a couple of slim water butts outside. Use the super hard waste water on the garden (and chickens!) and the RO water does the job in the tanks.

Bogwood + peat + RO water = very easy to obtain acidic water.