Aggressive male Bolivian ram

[matty2085]

Ok, so I have had my Bolivian rams for a few weeks now. One is almost definitely male, the other probably make although still a juvenile I think. The larger male seems to have a bit of a complex. When they were first added the larger ram was following closely behind his fellow tank mate. As he got more comfortable he took a more dominant role and even claimed an area for his own, however there was little aggression.

Earlier this week I changed from gravel to sand and started feeding larger sinking food. The larger more dominant male has now taken on a bit of a nasty personality. Whenever food is sitting on the bottom (algae wafers, catfish pellets etc) he just chases the other smaller ram like crazy. Even in an area which is 'neutral' territory. Is this normal and should I be worried? I don't want the smaller of the two to get too stressed out. There are places for the smaller to hide but the larger just seems to keep finding him and chasing him.

Any advice would be great. I don't really want to have to rehome the smaller but I also don't want him to ge to stressed.

 

[Pckerfreak44]

Try rearranging the decor, that might help the aggression.

As long as the smaller ram is not getting any physical damage done he should be okay.

 

[Rivercats]

Rams can get aggressive but what is your tank size? A small tank even with hiding places might not be big enough for the little one to get away. Is it planted? Once thing you can try that I have found over the years to work is, take the dominant male out. Rearrange the tank and make it look different so there are no "old" territories left. Let the smaller get familar with the new placements and then add the bigger male back in. As for food you may have to bite the bullet and feed a tiny bit of your old floating food so the little one doesn't have to go down to eat. And if all else fails you could put a divider in the tank for awhile. They can see each other but the big guy can't bully. That can also give the little guy time to recoup and get his backbone up. Don't give up yet, it may take some time but give it a go, it can't hurt. Hope this helps.

 

[Borderlesscott]

Can be normal, if there is plenty of cover and hiding places it should be alright especially as the smaller guy grows. I had the opposite a few weeks ago, added a tiny Bolivian male and instantly he started laying it down to my fully grown male, soooo funny - he took it for a few days as he is totally laid back, then one day he near bit the smaller guys head off. The smaller guy hasn't bothered him since, don't worry the smaller guy wasn't injured. Ive found Bolivians very rarely I injure each other with there fights, if it does get a bit much you might want to separate for a while a change the tank around, though I'll doubt it will get to that.

 

[Tetra1990]

Ok this is weird, I noticed the exact SAME thing the last few days with my rams. My big male has been giving all the other fish the run around in the tank. He's even chasing the kuhli loaches. The other young ram sometimes gets pushed around, but nothing too aggressive. So I'm defiantly fooling this thread.

 

[matty2085]

Well I guess that these guys have such varied personalities that there are bound to be squabbles between pairs of the same sex, especially when one is older/larger than the other. My tank is around 130 litres with 2 Bolivian rams, 10 cardinal tetra and 3 Corys. The parameters are 0 ammonia, 0 nitrate, c. 10-20 nitrate (hard to tell the difference). pH is at 8.2 but all fish have been well acclimatised. I think this might just be an issue with feeding. I went down this morning and they are both swimming around together quite happily. I think I'll try and spread out the sinking pellets more when I feed next.

It's interesting to hear that other have similar goings on in their aquariums. There has been no lip locking or damage done so I guess is just a dominant thing with food. Hopefully when the smaller matures a bit he/she will be able to stand his/her own a bit more. I may change the decor around a bit so thanks for that piece of advice.

 

[Tetra1990]

Yep. My big ram is about 1 inch longer but built like a tank. I spread out the shrimp pellets. When I first added them, they did lip lock. But I haven't seen anything in a long time.

 

[matty2085]

Sounds similar to my pair Tetra1990. Well I have changed he decor, added some mopani that has been soaking for just over a month. This did have a white fungus but hopefully it has gone now. Don't want to have to take it out again.

 

[matty2085]

Well a big thank you to all who replied to this and offered their advice/experiences with this problem. After a redecroation, some new driftwood and plant additions and some solitary confinement (only about an hour!) it would appear that harmony has been restored. My rams seem to be friends again and Mr. Aggressive (pic 1) has cooled down a lot!

My thanks to you all again