Bolivan Rams

[Mlrust1816]

Ok so a week ago I had 2 Male Bolivian Rams that were very territorial towards each other. Along with the two Rams i had 1 Green Cory a Juli and a Raubuti Cory, also 4 Zebra Danios and a CAE. In a 20 gal high

So what I did was I set up a tank for my mom and gave her one of the Rams and the Green cory thinking this would resolve the problem.

but the Ram left in my tank doesnt seem to be as happy as he was before. I say this by observing its colors which are not as bright and also he seems to be dark more often. One thing that may be causing this is that with the move i took out a piece of substrate which was the remainging Rams territory. I did this hopeing that the ram would take over the territory of the Ram that I took out which is a calmer and over all better territory.

So the question is will the Ram in time become more comfortable with his new territory.

 

[Jchillin]

It would seem that even though they may have been aggressive with each other, having that relationship terminated has created lonelyness. Since it appears that they had been together for some time, this is more than likely the case. How is the behavior of the other Ram?

Changing the landscape is also an issue. He may think that he is in a new environment altogether. In time, he can adjust but more than likely he will not exhibit the same behaviors.

 

[Mlrust1816]

So I decided to get a female bolivian ram in hope that this will make the now lonely male be happier now that he has a potential mate

I have also heard that it is relatively easy to bread bolivians. So we'll see what happens

 

[Husmut]

You probably should think about their natural behavior also. This interaction is natural and to be expected in such an aggressive species. By separating the two, you have certainly severed a relationship that is expressed by "butting heads" in this case. Was there any real damage being caused to either fish? Only under these circumstances would I sperate. The danger of doing this is A)The fish becomes lonely and may starve itself etc resulting in a fatality, and B) if he gets over himself, he will want to still display this behavior essentially making other fish (who are less able to cope) a target.