Bolivian Ram behavior

[HeatherW]

Hi. I recently acquired 2 bolivian rams - 1 male, 1 female. they are going to go into my 90 gallon tank, but right now they are in the qt tank. my question is about their behavior. at first the female seemed great and the male was the one I was worried about - not eating, not moving around much. Now they are both eating wonderfully! But... Now the female seems to be hanging around the bottom of the tank alot and not moving much. when feeding time comes around (and this could happen at other times as well, but I am sure it is occuring at dinner) I notice the male is "pushing" or "kissing" the female. is this mating behavior or bullying behavior? She doesn't swim away when he does this - just kinda puts up with it. it doesn't seem rough which is why I said maybe "kissing". she kinda goes head down, he does his thing, then she continues to get food. Are these guys a pair or is he picking on her?

any help is welcome!!

 

[Rivercats]

Are you sure they are male and female? If the male isn't being aggressive as in biting and chasing her they are fine. You will see different behavior when they get into a larger tank where they can move around. But they sound like they are fine. I have 11 rams total and see all types of behavior but as long as it isn't damanging behavior it's fine, they are cichlids and this is to be expected.

 

[HeatherW]

Rivercats - how can I tell if it is biting? there is no chasing going on, but he definitely is pushing her around. and yes, sure they are male and female. I was told you could really tell by the tail and I can definitely see the difference between the two. so is it possible this is courting behavior?

 

[xwesx1978]

The pushing is the female testing the male to see if he is a potential mate , I have a pair of bolivians that constantly bicker back and forth , mainly the female is the aggressor, she is the boss of my tank even my big angel wont mess with her , you can tell male and female apart with their tales, the male has red edges on his tale and the females is plain

 

[Rivercats]

Have you ever seen angels lip lock and push each other it's mostly just bluster, rarely does physcial harm happen. It's the same with rams... it can mean he asserting his dominance, it can be part of pre-breeding or establishing themselves as mates. The reason I said I wouldn't worry is because you said he isn't chase biting where you would see torn fins/tail and sometimes missing scales from bites on the body and she would most likely hide or even stop eating if it was true bullying, as you don't belong in my tank bullying. If they are both eating well as you said I feel it's just part of becoming a pair.