Bolivian Rams

I bought a pair of bolivian rams 11 days ago. I am pretty certain they are a M/F pair. They are in a 60 gallon peaceful community tank with perfect water parameters (0 ammonia/0 nitrites/0 nitrates) and weekly 25% water changes. When they first arrived they colored up nicely and went exploring. Soon after a good exploration they found a spot they liked under some driftwood and rarely came out. They are also showing a darker coloration but still maintaining their bright colors (pink/yellow). Most concerning is that I have yet to observe them eating anything (lots of observation). I feed sinking cichlid pellets (hikari), sinking shrimp pellets, algae wafers, tropical fish flake, and frozen bloodworms (obviously not all at once). Even when the food lands right next to them, they take no interest. They appear skinny, but I think at least one of them is looking a bit less skinny today. In the last few days they will leave their "spot" and swim around the tank a little for a few hours in the middle of the day. If they truly weren't eating at all they'd be dead, right? They came from a big box store and I have until Thursday to return/exchange them if I wish. Are they just still stressed and shy from being in a new tank? Are they bad stock? Is this degree of shyness normal?

 

If they're the only fish in the tank, then yes it's normal. A shoal of tetras or similar, out in the open, will probably sort them out. When there are no other fish, they think they're all hiding, which means danger...

 

I wish it was just that. They are in there with a pearl gourami trio, a school of rummynose tetra, a few guppies, and a school of cories.

 

And 5 neon dwarf rainbowfish. The rummies and rainbowfish were added on Friday.

 

I'm actually in the same boat as you...nearly exactly.

I have a planted 29 gallon with neon/glow light tetras and a dwarf gourami. Parameters are 0/0/0. About 2 weeks ago I added my bolivian ram. At first he would explore and feed on the flakes that would make their way down to him. Now he has a spot behind a rock he likes to stay. He stopped eating the flakes that fell past him, so I switched to shrimp pellets. He would pick those up when they fell next to him, but now he doesn't even do that. I haven't seen him eat in nearly a week, but seems healthy as he has good color and fins aren't clamped to his side. I just had a mini-explosion of ramshorn snails...so I'm hoping maybe he is filling up on them? Good luck with your pair, keep me updated. Interested to see how our situations turn out.