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i have a 55gal planted tank that is now inhabited with:
3x angelfish
3x pearl gouramis(1x male)
2x SAE
12 X Black neon tetras
1X bristle nose catfish

im looking to buy a pair or two, if possible, for this tank. i was wondering whether they would have any problems with the other fish in this tank, especialy with the pearl gourami fins. And i would also like to know how to tell the male apart from females.

the bolivian rams that my lfs get in are usually white with the black markings, a samll amount of yellow on their abdomen and mouth and red edging/filaments on their fins.
will they colour up to be as colourful as the one in the picture in its profile on this site?

thanks for your help

They will do if they are happy with water conditions, shop specimens are usually a bit faded compared with what you eventaully get once acclimated and mature. If you want them colourful just make sure they have some cover (they love plants) and arent too brightly lit. A little frozen livefoods will help bring them on nicely.

Mine were blanched out white in the shop when I bought them about 3 years ago, but within two weeks they ended up much the same as they are now.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a245/longhairedgit/IMG_4420.jpg


That photo is colour balanced to make the colours true as you would see them - many of the profile pics take advantage of the fact that camera flash brings out a kind of iridescent yellow that is not what youd see under normal light. Rams look great in photos, but are often less bright in real life. Heres the same fish over 2 years ago before i learned how to balance the flash properly

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a245/longhairedgit/IMG_8080.jpg


Im pretty sure they will be ok with the other fish, they dont really fin nip. Theyd most likely back away from a pearl gourami. Most likely conflict might be with the angels, but (puts jedi cloak on) I dont foresee any problems. TBH I've actually kept rams with all these species and aside from a little moodiness never had any real problems.

Sexing them is tricky, since finnage is often not considered conclusive,and colour can be completely unhelpful in a shop situation, although sometimes the males are more colourful than females, but again this is in no way conclusive.

Females in adult specimens of equal age are often a little smaller and stouter, the males genital pappila may show during courtship, but by then youll already be owning them. In a 55 though youd be able to have a couple of pairs and males fighting to the death is unlikely, they are surprisingly sedate for a cichlid. In big tanks its not uncommon to be able to keep small groups, although male/female pairing if you have both sexes will begin to develop.

Your best bet, if the specimens in the shop are sexually mature is to grab a pair that already hang out, they are very monogamous fish.

As far as your stock there might be problems with the bottom feeders if you end up with a breeding pair, although it's a good-sized tank. Have some sort of driftwood or cave for the BN to hide in if necessary.

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

thanks for your help

i have noticed in my lfs that their are some rams that slightly smalller and rounder in the belly thatn the others could they possibly be females?

ive kept blue rams in this tank for abou 6 months. they were in a 30g about 6 months before i got this tank.
ive always had problems with the blue rams. about a month ago they both died over a 2 day period and i have no idea what happened to them. i also noticed with the blue rams you only see the bright blue colours with side lighting wich i dont normally have in this tank.

that is why ive decided to go with the more hardy bolivians.

my tank is heavily planted with medium low light plants and has a fair bit of driftwood and rock structure in it.
italso has floting plants so that the gouramis feel a bit more secure.

i have no dought that if there was a problem between the BN and th bolivian rams, the rams would come out second best. the BN is about 15cm give or take and is not afraid to give me a wack with its gill spikes if i go to close to it.
BTW is that a female ram in your pics?

IMHO , i think both species will give each other a wide berth, even a fully adult bolivian ram wont have the nerve to tackle a BN. I think they will avoid each other. Ive kept rams with a number of species of plec including BN.s, and they never even aknowledged each other.

I'm with git on this, I have always kept albino BNs in most all my tanks, as they never harm any fry. And I have only rarely seen any fish harm them at all.

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There is always a bigger fish...

i have no worries that they will get along fine, but ths was brought up by theressa m and was just saying that i would be more worried about the rams getting hurt than the BN . i am gunna get 4 bolians and i will try to get 2 males and 2 females and ill hopefully get at least 1 pair out f it.