Super shy Bolivian ram help needed

I bought a bonded pair of Bolivian rams in a heavily planted 75 gallon and at first things were great. They never left each other's side and dug a pit in the sand together and would guard it. I was really hoping to get babies from them.

After I added 2 electric blue acaras, things slowly went south. There was some normal cichlid bickering but in less than a week, things settled down and the acaras had their own territory and the rams had theirs. Fast forward a few months and the acaras are boss of the tank by the rams hold their own and rule the driftwood cave area. But the male ram constantly harassed the female, chasing her away, not letting her get near food, being a constant jerk. The female got really pale and the acaras started to chase her a little because she was getting in their space trying to get away from the male ram so I moved the female ram into her own 20 gallon.

She was the only fish in there for 2 weeks and she hid the entire time in a cave. I would have to lift the cave every other day to check that she was alive because I never saw her, not even when feeding her favorite foods. I thought maybe company would help so I added 6 panda cories. That was a week ago and I still never see my female ram, she hides and never moves.

What can I do to make her less shy? She used to be out and about all the time and I miss seeing her. Will she ever get over having been bullied? Is there anything I can do to help her?

 

Hi wateriswet
The female is going to die. If not removed it’s as simple as that. I can’t write it any other way.

To say the Bolivian rams have divorced is not correct but it is what you are seeing.

Short term you may be able to put the female in a breeding box if you have one big enough or do not have another tank.
Sorry but this is one of the reasons why it not possible to have multiple species of dwarf cichlids in tanks . I might have thought 75 gallons was big enough myself, apparently not.

 

As I said above, I already took her out of the 75 and put her into a 20 by her self. She was the only fish in the 20 for weeks, has had some corydoras added for almost 2 weeks, and it's still hiding even when she was alone or with a completely peaceful tank mates.

 

Two weeks plus another is a bit longer than I would expect?
No doubt she is waiting for the other fish to swim by?
All I can suggest is more time, clean water and perhaps some life wiggling food.

 

Have you tried putting her mate back with her?

 

Have you tried putting her mate back with her?

I have not. He's doing well in the 75 so I've just left him there since he was so aggressive towards her at the end. Do you think moving him into the 20 would cheer her up?

 

oh, I thought you said that the rams got along.

 

oh, I thought you said that the rams got along.

They did for a long time. After I added the acaras something changed and the male turned into a jerk.

 

It is not unusual for cichlid pairs to fall out, usually temporarily. It may have been just coincidence that this happened after adding the acaras. The male might be chasing the female away because she was not ready to breed. It would have actually been better to have a group of Bolivian rams, rather than the acaras in the tank. Any aggression would then be dispersed amongst the group Rather than being directed just at one female. But now it may be difficult to add more because of the acaras. You could try conditioning the female with live food for a while(assuming she will eat) then try her in the big tank again. But make sure there are places she can escape to and hide if necessary. If she is not coming out to feed perhaps some other dither fish like tetras or pencilfish might make her feel more secure.