My Bolivian rams don't like their tank...

[scalarefan]

Hi!

I have a pair of bolivian rams who have had fry once in my 260 litre community tank. Unfortunately (but not surprisingly...) all the fry got eaten after a few days.
Now I have moved the pair into a 94-litre tank together with two small ancistrus, but they don't seem to like it there. Most of the time they are hiding behind a root, ore a plant. Quite dark in colour. :|
There are mangrove roots, rounded stones and some plants in the tank. The temp is about 26 degrees celsius, and the PH is 5. The softness of the wather is about 1-3 dKH. The No3 is under 0,3.
Should I cover up the aquarium? Or should I move some other fish in there as well, would the bolivians feel safer then? I have some apistogramma uapesi who would like the water conditions in this tank a lot! But the general idea of moving the fish was to ensure that the fry would not get eaten this time as well... :?

Any ideas what I should do?

 

[2la]

Do you have any dither fish in there? Something like dwarf pencilfish or marbled hatchets would be ideal...

Also, what's the pH in the old tank? 5.0 seems a wee bit low for Bolivians.

 

[scalarefan]

Hi!

What is dither fish? (I'm norwegian... ).
If you mean small fish like tetras... I have a few red-nose tetra in the tank as well, but they really belong in the 260-litre :roll:
I would like some hatch-fish, but I'm afraid they'll jump out of the tank 8O , maybe pencil-fish is better - I've never had them before (are they south-american?).

In the 260-litre tank the PH is 6,5, so it's quite a big jump for them. Maybe I should put in a few sea-shell...?

 

[radiodug]

How busy is the area around the tank? I have noticed with most apistos, the more quite the tank (location of no foot traffic etc...) the better off they are.
Same thing with my rams.


Doug

 

[scalarefan]

Hi!

The aquarium is in the kitchen so there is some "traffic" around it.
It's also quite a bit lower than the 260-litre they were used to before, maybe that can have somethingto say?
The 260-litre is in the living room were my whole family usually are, so I don't think that one is much more quiet . I have two children (3 & 10 years), so the fish should be used to some stress by now... :wink:

I gave them artemia today, and they ate a lot. Thats a good sign isn't it?!

 

[2la]

Hi!

What is dither fish? (I'm norwegian... ).
If you mean small fish like tetras... I have a few red-nose tetra in the tank as well, but they really belong in the 260-litre :roll:
I would like some hatch-fish, but I'm afraid they'll jump out of the tank 8O , maybe pencil-fish is better - I've never had them before (are they south-american?).

In the 260-litre tank the PH is 6,5, so it's quite a big jump for them. Maybe I should put in a few sea-shell...?

Sorry about the technical term, scalarefan. Dither fish are fish that serve as signals to your rams that it's safe to be out in the open. Usually people employ peaceful, schooling fish that swim in the upper levels of the tank such as the ones I mentioned. The rams will observe the dither fish out in the open and will feel it safe for themselves to come out of hiding. This may be part of it, and the pH may be the other part. I think it can only help to raise the pH up a bit, into the 6's at least.

 

[scalarefan]

Hi again It's fine to use tecnical terms, I'll just have to ask when I don't understand. It helps me learn more English . Thanx for the explanation!

No I don't have any dither fish in my bolivan-tank :wink: . I'll try to get some as soon as possible. Maybe some pencil fish - I've never had them before

I'll also try to raise the PH level a bit. Put in a few sea-shell and maybe remove one or two mangrove roots...
Hopefully this'll help.

Thanx both for good advice!

Sissel

 

[scalarefan]

Hi again!

just thought I'd tell you that I've raised the PH from 5 to between 6-6,5.
Now the fish is again beautiful coloured, and quite active. The male has begun chasing the female, flirting with her, and they are eating well.

I didn't buy any dither fish because I want to use the tank for breeding, but until they get fry again, I'll leave the red-nose- tetra in the tank with the rams.

Thank you so much for good advice, it looks like the low PH was the problem... Anyone know about good bolivian ram information-links on the Internett? :?

Also one more question; what are the white "stones" called in English. :? Used very often in malawi-tanks to raise the PH level? This is what I've used in my tank (a small one). :wink:

Thanx again, your tips really made the difference

 

[mk_ultra]

Dolomite maybe? Even dried coral?

 

[scalarefan]

Hi!

It's not dried coral... The only word-book I have at home right now, is an english-english dictionary... Not very helpful in this case :? .

It's very white, can have lots of "caves" for fish in it, and raises the PH-level. I think you'll find this in most malawi-tanks :?

http://akvariet.nu/diskusjon/messages/12251/27704.html

Here is a pic, the one I mean is the white stone on the left of the group-picture.

 

[scalarefan]

2la: I took your advise after all, and am now the proud owner of 10 pencil-fish (nannostomus eques). I bought tham after I read that they don't care much about fry. Thank you all again. The fish is much happier now

 

[2la]

Good to hear! Thanks for the update...

 

[mk_ultra]

Thinking back on this- I realized my 2 male Bolivians are in with my Discus in a tank that is kept at 5ph 1 KH 83F. They are doing great. So maybe it isn't about the ph. They have grown (slowly mind you) well and next to the discuss are the biggest hogs in the tank.

 

[2la]

Yes, but if the fish are unaccustomed to such a low pH, then the pH matters relatively. The 1.5 point drop in pH that scalarefan's rams experienced represents a 32-fold increase in hydrogen ions, so you can see how this might affect them adversely. That they snapped out of their doldrums with the increase in pH is further evidence.

 

[mk_ultra]

No, I understand the rapid change of ph. Perhaps then looking back on it we should all make sure we accilmate our fish properly.