Bolivian Rams in 29 Gallon Community Tank

I have a heavily planted 29 gallon tank and my stocking plan is: 2 bolivian rams, 12 cardinal tetras, 8 venezuelan cories, 1 bristlenose pleco (already have this guy).

First if anybody thinks this is a bad idea stocking wise please let me know.

Second I am not sure how to buy the rams. Should I just buy 2 and hope that they will get along? I am not looking to breed theses rams so a pair isn't detrimental. If I end up with 2 males will they fight all the time?
-Thanks

 

Heyo,

for the stock I would switch the cardinals for something like neons or green neons as they like warmer water than Bolivian rams.
For buying, if you know how and if the ones at the store are mature you can sex them and get a male/female. If you buy 2 it’s a gamble but it can result in 2 females, 2 males or a pair. 2 males may squabble but it’s not anything serious. Make sure you break up lines of sight and it will be fine. Wood is good for this and so are plants. Males can be bossy overall, mine picks at the female. some people have succeeded in 2 males as these are very peaceful fish.

 

Okay, I will probably go with the neon tetras then, because the green neon tetras look like they will blend into my wall of plants. I want something that will be active and eye catching.

Are there any tips for sexing them? Especially at young ages or is it just best guess? It sounds like even if I get 2 males the way my tank is set up they will do fine.

 

Okay, I will probably go with the neon tetras then, because the green neon tetras look like they will blend into my wall of plants. I want something that will be active and eye catching.

Are there any tips for sexing them? Especially at young ages or is it just best guess? It sounds like even if I get 2 males the way my tank is set up they will do fine.

If they are old enough the best way to sex is to look at their vent, the males have a pointed vent and the females have a blunt ended vent that is noticeably bigger. Feohw has some great pictures comparing.

If the vents aren't visible a good way to sex that is just a guess is to look at the fins, males have pointed ends on the anal and dorsal fin and the females have rounded ends- this is just an estimate since there is variation and this method is not 100% correct, but I got a male and female this way.

 

I was just at the lfs the other day looking at Rams (just looking), they were younger still (1.5 - 2") and noticed the 2 males were already starting to show their vents. I couldn't find them on the others, so I assumed were going to be females. The fins were pretty well the same, but the colors were also starting to show on the boys. I don't really remember Bolivians doing the sneaky male subdominant thing like some of the other dwarf cichlids do.

 

Bolivians, my favorite. Remind me of puppies, such personality and character. Even after raising 100's I still am only about 65% correct when sexing. LOL
Here is a pic of my pair. See if you can pick the male/female?



I'll wait and see if Feohw chooses correctly, before I reveal.

Good Luck

 

Can't tell with the one on the right, but that vent on the left one looks triangle shaped rather than squared off. That's the cheat I'll use a lot of the time with them to tell.

 

A males breeding tube will be much smaller than a females. It will look like this:


A females tube will be much thicker than a males, often with an indent in the bottom. It will look like this:

Bolivians, my favorite. Remind me of puppies, such personality and character. Even after raising 100's I still am only about 65% correct when sexing. LOL
Here is a pic of my pair. See if you can pick the male/female?
View attachment 706692

I'll wait and see if Feohw chooses correctly, before I reveal.

Good Luck

Beautiful rams. Male is the one on the right, female is left. If that's not the case, you have some very backwards rams But I doubt that.

 

Thank you guys so much for the great info. I have heard about looking at the tubes before. Guess I just have to go in and hope they are showing

 

Bravo! Feohw is correct. The female is about 8 months younger than the male.

 

Bolivians, my favorite. Remind me of puppies, such personality and character. Even after raising 100's I still am only about 65% correct when sexing. LOL
Here is a pic of my pair. See if you can pick the male/female?
View attachment 706692

I'll wait and see if Feohw chooses correctly, before I reveal.

Good Luck

Really nice rams Lots of spangling on the male's dorsal

 

Bolivians, my favorite. Remind me of puppies, such personality and character. Even after raising 100's I still am only about 65% correct when sexing. LOL
Here is a pic of my pair. See if you can pick the male/female?
View attachment 706692

I'll wait and see if Feohw chooses correctly, before I reveal.

Good Luck

Great looking Bolivians jmaldo.

 

The way you guys are talking about the bolivian rams I kind of want to do just a tank with them. Could I have 6 in the 29gal with my pleco? Would it be a good idea to keep a school of like 10 neons for dither fish or just the rams and pleco?

 

The way you guys are talking about the bolivian rams I kind of want to do just a tank with them. Could I have 6 in the 29gal with my pleco? Would it be a good idea to keep a school of like 10 neons for dither fish or just the rams and pleco?

6 in a 29 is pretty full. Most I would do is 4 but even thats a gamble, 2 is much better.

 

6 in a 29 is pretty full. Most I would do is 4 but even thats a gamble, 2 is much better.

Okay I'll just go with the original plan then. A pair of Bolivian Rams, 12 neon tetras, 8 cories, and 1 bristlenose pleco

Again thank you guys so much for all the help!