Want a Pair of Bolivian Rams

[Black02rex]

I have a school of 6x Tiger Barbs in a 55gal tank. I would like to add some Bolivian Rams to this tank to fill it out. And I truly just like the way they look. I have seen all over the interweb that the Barbs are not very friendly with other species of fishes.

Just wondering what the consensus on here is. I do more reading than posting and am sure there is a lot of great information for me floating around on this forum.

Thanks in advance for the help..

Rex

 

[jcolon]

Below is a youtube video showing TB's and Bolivian Rams in a tank. Yes you can have them if you keep a large enough school of TB's so they focus their fin-nipping aggression towards each other. You may also want to consider adding another 2-3 TB's ... supposedly 7 is the "magic" number where the shoal is large enough .. so 2-3 puts you in a good position number wise.

Hope this helps.

 

[Black02rex]

I wonder, are there any scuffles or fin nipping? Ill definitely get a couple more Barbs to fill out the school!

I am going to get some more tomorrow then.

I am excited to get some Bolivians, this has made my day.

 

[jcolon]

I wonder, are there any scuffles or fin nipping? Ill definitely get a couple more Barbs to fill out the school!

It's a valid concern when you go with TB's, but I've been finding (from reading threads this and other forums) that TB's exhibit the most fin-nipping to Non-Barbs when they are keep it too small a shoal with large finned, slow swimming fish ... it's just too irresistible I guess.

Yes, increasing the shoal should help keep their aggression among themselves as they establish hierarchy for their shoal. If you can, avoid buying a TB's that are smaller than the others in the tank. Sometimes the smallest member of the shoal is seen as the weakest and could get bullied and fin-nipped to the point of stress ... thus disease.

Good luck!! I've pondered adding a ram or two, but my tank's crowded enough for now.

 

[Black02rex]

Thanks so much for replying. I just finished fish less cycling my 55 and want to put some fishes that will be tranquil and happy. The barbs I chose were a little more active than their profiles would lead one to understand. And, truthfully I got tiger and cherry mixed up on their attitudes. I lke these guys a lot though and now that I'm sure I can put the rams in I like them a bit more! If worse comes to worse I can transplant my angel from my 48g corner to my 55g and put the barbs in the corner tank. There are options available if it doesn't work out.