I have a 36-gallon with sand and artificial plants. I have 8 Buenos Aires tetras. Would it be OK to add 4 tiger barbs to the tank? I was going to get a pair of Bolivian rams, but the employee at Petsmart told me the BA would peck at their fins.
Totally agree. I've kept BA Tetras and Bolivian Arians together with no problem.You would have room for 8 tiger barbs. Are the BA tetras all thats in there right now? If you get a M/F pair, you could have two rams.
Totally agree. I've kept BA Tetras and Bolivian Arians together with no problem.
For how long? Both tiger barbs and buenos aires tetras are incredibly boisterous compared to bolivian rams, and if they aren't, then they are probably not mature. I honestly would not recommend either of these species as tank mates for the rams, especially in a 36 gallon, which I'm assuming is either the standard bowfront (essentially a tall 29) or the corner bow (which iirc is even shorter than a 29). I anticipate that you would eventually have trouble getting food to the rams.
I feel like either would be a possibility, but it's more likely that you'd just have feeding difficulties. The larger tetras are like that with a lot of fish IME. I once kept a pair of 8" wild Rotkeil severums in a 120 gallon with 8 or 10 colombian tetras (very similar in size/behavior to BA). I honestly got to the point where I had trouble getting food to my severums and they were hiding all the time. I ended up rehoming the tetras and the severums spawned the next week after several years in my tanks. LOL. Bolivian rams are pretty laid back fish overall, so it just wouldn't be a combination I would try.
I got two Bolivian rams, so I hope it works out. I got them sinking pellets that the BA's have left alone so far.
Gotcha. I have Praecox rainbows, harlequin rasboras, hatchets, and rummy nose tetras with my Bolivian and to make sure he gets his fair share, I always feed some flakes first to draw everyone up, then some sinking cichlids pellets for the ram. That way, he seems to always eat plenty. May be a different story with the BAs, though. They are definitely very active, even as juveniles.
See, if the question had been whether your current stock would be compatible in the long term, I would have said definitely yes. BAs are very different from the fish you have. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I317 using Tapatalk