Bolivian Rams March 2008 UPDATE south american 29 gal tank

[vinniedurrant]

Ive some bolivian rams recently but my little male german ram keeps coursing them round the tank.

[z90a2012]

I'm looking into getting some Bolivian rams for my first ever aquarium and I'm wanting to plant some plants. Should I plant the plants like 4 weeks before introducing the fish??? Plz help

[shacks29]

Great Setup,how can you tell which is male and which is female?

[MsFelix26]

With this species it is very difficult to see if you have male or female. I have two swimming in my tank and now that they become bigger and older, I begin to see that I have only got females.

If I were you, I would get some females to exchange for the males, because the fish won't feel very good if you only keep males..

Next week I'm getting a male to put in, because the females are not so very nice to eachother..

[Luvbeags]

@MsFelix26

I moved these guys to another tank (a 38 gallon breeder)

and was blessed with many fry. So, someone is a female LOL

;)

This is an older video of mine :)

[Raaneking]

@MsFelix26 If you look at the back bellyfin, just in front of the tale, it will be more round on the female than on the male fish. Also the male will have more pointy tips onh is tale than the females.

[Stabesy]

nice tank mate

[Luvbeags]

@Stabesy thank you :)

[MissPixie1986]

whats the scientific name of this fish? can you please react on my profile or channel, we have a couple here thats called Altispinosa" we wonde rif there gonna look the same like yours because they get some more colour then when we bought them and we just wonder if there gonna look like those:)

[Luvbeags]

@MissPixie1986 the scientific name is Mikrogeophagus altispinosus

They do take some time to color up. Feed them some baby brine shrimp, and a good pellet food like dainichi and watch them color up.

[JonTheSpeedDemon]

@Luvbeags Your Bolivian Rams have a nice colour. What are you feeding them?

[Luvbeags]

@JonTheSpeedDemon

New Life spectrum FINICKY FISH FORMULA

[TheAegos]

You so lucky, I have a lil baby atm and will be getting 2 more today! I can't wait for them to have this amazing color!!!!

[Luvbeags]

@TheAegos

These are great fish. Mine colored up well at about 10 months old :)

[Avertyoureyes91]

First off, beautiful fish.

Second, I was told these fish work rather well with communties.

I was also told they max out at 3 inches in length.

If these are true, would they be suitable for a 10 gallon community tank? (Just tiger barbs at the moment)

(I intend on upgrading as they go)

[TheAegos]

@Avertyoureyes91 20G MINIMUM

[Avertyoureyes91]

Okay, appreciate the advice. Glad I asked ahead of time.

[AlexTubed]

@Avertyoureyes91 Also Tiger barbs arnt normal community fish they are semi-aggressive and will nip fins, causing stress to other fish. Most likely youll need to keep other semi-aggressive fish that can keep their own like Serpea Tetras

[Luvbeags]

@Avertyoureyes91

Sorry for the late reply, I've been away for a bit. Sounds like you got good advice though, for me, these fish did best in tanks that were three foot long minimum.

Hope this helps :)

The 29 gallon wasn't big enough, they didn't color up well till I moved them to a larger community tank.

[KingNeptune151]

Nice fish And Tank setup, Keep it up .

[Luvbeags]

These guys got bumped up to a 38 gallon breeder tank. You can see it in my updated fish videos.

Thanks for the comment :)

[Luvbeags]

@KingNeptune151

Thank you King Neptune

Appreciate the comment :)

Sorry so long to reply, I've been away for a bit :)

[DavidFrom209]

how do you know if these are male or female? i have 2 in my community tank and they are peaceful to all the other fish, but they constantly fight eachother! i think they might be 2 males fighting over dominance

[Luvbeags]

I can't tell the males from females...

Sorry bout that.

I am lucky, these guys used to chase a bit, or act like they would bump heads, but since I've moved them to a three foot long tank they seem to each have their own territory and rarely even chase nowadays.

[DavidFrom209]

thanks, i am planning on moving mine to a 55 gallon tank soon so that might stop them from fighting=]

[jbshadow1]

@DavidFrom209 The males are the ones with a long tailing bits on their tail. females have very short or non at all on their tail

[DavidFrom209]

@jbshadow1 haha i found out i had a male and female- they spawned! i gave them away along with fry "/

[32jview]

i had like 2 of these fish in a 40 gallon and they still couldnt get along. i eventually gave up on them, mbuna cichlids are easier they all ignore each other and are not always fighting

[Luvbeags]

I have a tank full of mbuna as well :)

[Luvbeags]

Cichlids will wipe out a tropical community tank overnight.

You put a cichlid in, all looks well, turn off the lights at night and go to bed.

When you turn the light on in the morning, you will witness carnage beyond belief, with one lone fish remaining. The mbuna, or other aggressive cichlid.

No, not too many africans are nice. Some south american cichids are nicer, and can go community, like cockatoo cichlids and rams.

[crosseyed55]

does anyone else here know how to get rid of the organic filmy buildup on the surface of planted aquariums? besides using those crappy surface skimmers u attach to ur canister filter. they're not reliable. is there a fish that finds it appetizing maybe?

[Luvbeags]

I have no planted aquariums. The most I have is some java fern, but it really doesn't root...

Perhaps you might try a protein skimmer. I know of folks who have used them in their sump setups with success, even on freshwater tanks.

Hope this helps!

[createmymedia]

that tank is beautiful needs abit of foreground :}

[Luvbeags]

This is old video.

[Jorshaa]

Wow, what a lovely tank.

I just bought 3 rams to put in my 180l corner tank today for £6.00 each.

I'm in the middle of a tank reconstruction, these have replaced the fish that have died over the last few months.

[Luvbeags]

Thank you.

Bolivians are not the easiest fish to keep. They need slightly soft slightly acidic water, and they need cooler temps than most tropicals. Mine do best at about 75 degrees, with a pH of 6.8, and GH and KH both around 2-3 degrees.

I keep mine with other soft water south americans fish, and they are doing well.

[11Joss11]

how much u pay for thos mofo's

[Luvbeags]

I can assure you they are not breeding with their mother at any time. She belongs to someone else.

Just kidding.... Anyway...

It was almost three years ago, so I'm not really sure. I AM pretty sure they didn't cost that much... I'm guessing MAYBE 5 dollars each. But, to tell the truth, it was so long ago I really do not remember. Five at the least, 6-7 at the most.

[smartass2st]

These fish are pretty cool. I have 2 Bolivian Rams in a tank with 3 German blue rams. The Bolivian Rams cost me $5.99, and the German Rams cost $7.99. Its funny cause they're pretty cheap and both species are hard to find in local pet stores.

[Luvbeags]

Yeah, when I scarfed up on them I don't think they cost that much, but I haven't seen them for sale since!

They aren't the easiest to breed, and they grow incredibly slow compared to other cichlids. So, I'm amazed they don't cost a lot more ;)

[smartass2st]

I have a video with my bolivian rams and blue rams. There's a baby electric blue jack dempsey in with them too. My bolivian rams colors didnt come in yet but you should check my video out.

[crazjtk]

i have been trying for ages to get these guys, how did you get them? the only way i can think of is special order.

[Luvbeags]

I found these guys at a local fish store (not a nationally owned pet store chain)

I haven't seen them there since!

When I bought them, they were super tiny. About the size of a nickel each.

I think I just lucked out.

[petey65203]

the "sub-donimate males" are actually females.

[Luvbeags]

I hade a bolivian ram knowledgable friend stop by to sex these. He says I have all males. He was trying to explain hind fin shape but they all look alike to me.

I've at least been told I have all males.

[petey65203]

that would explain it, im no expert

[Luvbeags]

Me either, they swim so fast and dart around so much, I couldn't tell what the heck to look at. Their fins just look like blurs to me. ;)

[neXib]

By the way, pretty solid scare pattern on one of them, I'd try to make some more territorial divides in front, so that the dominant males territory doesn't stretch the entire tank. Cools them down a bit ;)

[neXib]

Nice tank. My dominant male is probably even more yellow, but otherwise looks pretty similar. Don't let the chasing fool you into thinking they are all males though. Mine chase eachother all the time, until suddenly the woman is ready for eggs, then they are best friends ;) Mostly the males choose territory in my tank, and females and others are chased in between, so the female territory is just the most quiet spot, not really a chosen spot. But my females are a bit smaller than males.

[sadm1234]

very nice

[Luvbeags]

Thank you

:)

[Blueflame74589]

Oh wow thats a really pretty ram, mine dosnt have the yellow quite as much and yours fins are so pretty I love them, I have a few questions tho, what sand do you use? I want to switch to sand really bad, but im not quite sure if its safe to, and how long does it take to settle? and do you remove your fish? also what food do you fed him, is it floating or sinking food? and sorry one more, what size tank is that? oh yeah and what kind of plants im so so so sorry

[Luvbeags]

If you look to the top right of the screen you can click more in the more info section. If I remembered to fill that part out LOL :)

This tank has carib sea torpedo beach sand, it is totally inert and will not alter your pH. BUT, you can use pool filter sand from your local pool supply house! It is actually better than the torpedo beach sand! Pool filter sand is EASY to clean, see my mbuna fry grow out tank video, I walk you through cleaning the sand.

[Luvbeags]

I always remove my fish when I do something major to the tank. REMEMBER, do not clean your filters when you remove your old gravel. You may remove too much beneficial bacteria. When you switch to sand to not change out your filters for at least 3 weeks. I rarely change out my filters, I only rinse when too gunky.

[Luvbeags]

I feed NLS (new life spectrum) finicky fish formula, it is a slow sinking tiny pellet. Once every other week or so, they will get a treat of frozen food, such as frozen bloodworms, or baby brine shrimp.

The tank is a 29 gallon, and I have slate, real driftwood in there, some silk plants, and some live java fern. I want java moss, but it is too expensive around here. I'm not paying five bucks for a water weed :)

[judigreer]

Your fish sound like they take a lot of work, but they are gorgeous and as long as you keep posting videoes like these, lazy girls like me won't need to set up messy fish tanks!!

[Luvbeags]

I've got seventeen babies judi, aren't you setting up a tank?

I thought you were ready for a tank, when you are, I've got the babies for you!!!

Thanks for stopping by :)

[fishyloves]

Great i have one Bolivian ram in my tank i have had him for 7 months a real caracter.....

[Luvbeags]

This guy is just over a year old. He was SO tiny when I got him, only about 1/2 inch long! SUPER tiny. But, he has grown, and yes, he is quite a character.

[Luvbeags]

These fish aren't the easiest to keep. They made me step up my caretaking. they Require regular water changes, and they prefer slightly acidic soft water.

I'm going to try cockatoo cichlids and some Blue Rams NEXT :)

Thanks for stopping by and commenting, always appreciated :)

[Guy23HD]

Love it, these fish are awesome I have never seen them before but I don't research south american cichlids much. Love the tank lay out i bet the tetras are really loving it.