My new Bolivian Rams?

[spoonman]

I am pretty sure they are bolivian rams anyway. The colors were all washed out at the LFS cuz they were in a very bare bright tank. Now they are coloring up nicely. Some have gold on thier tummy and some dont. Is that a sign of male and female? Or is it two different kinds of Rams?

[spoonman]

fixed the pictures.....sorry about that...

[DizzCat]

Those are defiantly Bolivians They will change color depending on mood. Both males and females. When they are stressed or sleeping, they will turn almost black. Don't be freaked when you turn on the lights in the morning and they look black. Its normal. Also, the intensity of the color comes and goes with mood too. They remind me of the old mood rings sometimes LOL

Fatten them babies up! It will be hard to tell male from female until they hit almost 3" and the males develop the long fins on them, How big are they?

[mfdrookie516]

Nice fish I also like that little "no fishing" sign in there...

[spoonman]

They are a little over in inch long and I am in love with them already. I am wondering what I should put in the tank for them though. All I have in that tank right now is 3 castles and gravel. I dont want live plants, but should I put some thick fake plants in there for them, or some different decor?

[mfdrookie516]

I think PFS (pool filter sand) would look nice in there. I dont know if you have ever seen it before, but it looks so nice and is so easy to care for. lol.

[spoonman]

Thats a brilliant idea but the wife aint havin it.

[DizzCat]

I am wondering what I should put in the tank for them though.

Plants, lots of plants! They don't need to be real, but Rams don't use caves, they hang out under plants. Also, if you want them to breed later, you will want to replace that gravel with sand. I had that kind of gravel (not that icky blue tho LOL) and my pair lost 5 batches of wigglers in the gravel because they cannot dig the fry out if they wiggle down into the gravel. Also, you will want some flat stones for them to ley their eggs on. If they are under 2" tho, you have a few months yet. They sound like the same size as my batch of juvies, so are probably between 4 and 5 months old.