Hi! right now I have one bolivian ram(I call him doto) in my 40, that's him in the photo. this is my first time ever keeping any kind of cichlid, I've only kept small schooling fish prior to this tank. what I'm here to ask is if there would be a risk of aggression if i added another bolivian ram to the tank? doto is quite docile, he never bothers my tetras or otocinclus. sometimes he will chase the tetras away from his favorite cave but this isn't very often. after I got him I did learn bolivian rams tend to do better in groups, I want to do right by doto and if he would be happier with same species friends I'd like to give him that! ik rams tend to be more docile than other cichlids which is why I chose him for my community tank, but I'm just worried that if I add a second one he'll become more aggressive about his territory or bc he's a bit shy that he could be bullied 🙁 if you've kept bolivian rams I would love some insight! I want doto to be happy
Posted by fudanshiprince
3 Comments
Rams are very peaceful and are good community fish.
Maybe aim to add a female or two if possible. I had 2 males in my 75 at one point and while they were ok for a while, one of them did end up getting bullied pretty hard by the other one even in a tank that large. Ended up having to rehome one. Probably depends on the individual personality but may want to play it safe if you really like Doto.
40l or 40gallon?
If its the former, hell no. If its the latter yes, but only if you break up the lines of sight along the tank and have areas that would make good territories.
Many dwarf cichlids are peaceful community fish.. But they are still cichlids, and that means territorial aggression and breeding aggression.
If they can exist in the same tank they will occasionally butt heads (quite literally) and work things out but they shouldn’t take things too far so long as there is ample space to escape to.