Bolivian rams are great and community safe… unless (ongoing)

[The endler guy]

As of recent my 40 b has been going through what can only be described as a mass extinction event, every day 2-3 fish are showing up dead with no obvious signs of death, I’m scrambling not sure what is killing them

 

i have a few theories, disease or what pertains to this post… my beloved male Bolivian ram spooky

 

hr has been living with most of his tank mates fine for months (with the exception, cherry shrimp which I have already posted about) 

but as of recently I got a female for him to hopefully mate with because rams are super interesting parents

 

with the female introduced, he has been chasing her around and this morning I found… him with a tiger endler stuck in his mouth!!!! I’m not sure if he just found it dead or he gave it the good ol triple m134 as such his name sake does

 

i keep this posted, as I got my eye on you spooky!!!!

 

moral, a pair of Bolivians may be a bit to boisterous  

[Guppysnail]

I’m sorry you are having issues. They will scavenge dead fish but are not know to try and gulp a live fish. 
I would keep a very close eye on the tank maybe even add some salt in case the girl brought something with her as a carrier but is asymptomatic. 
 

[The endler guy]

On 6/3/2023 at 9:23 AM, Guppysnail said:

I’m sorry you are having issues. They will scavenge dead fish but are not know to try and gulp a live fish. 
I would keep a very close eye on the tank maybe even add some salt in case the girl brought something with her as a carrier but is asymptomatic. 
 

I don’t think he is trying to eat them, but I think with the addition of a possible mate he is extra territorial 

 

I have considered illness (I have a thread on that as well) but all the coincidences are hard to keep writing off as just coincidences 

[redfish]

We tried to keep a couple rams together but one didn’t want the other one around and bullied it.  This was in a 55 gal tank so they had plenty of space to separate.  Hopefully you can figure out what’s happening with your tank.

[Lennie]

 cichlid is a cichlid. 🤷🏼‍♂️

I personally wouldn't trust a cichlid with small flashy fish like male endlers. My bettas live with female endlers and fry very peacefully. But oh boy, if they ever see a male. That would be a dead male in seconds. 

Sorry you are going through this dude. Hope you can find what the exact issue is.

 

[nabokovfan87]

What does Snoopy's usual hiding spot look like?  Maybe it's just a matter of having a certain structure for the rams to use while the other fish don't have easy access. 

On 6/3/2023 at 5:57 AM, The endler guy said:

I’m scrambling not sure what is killing them

For the sake of verifying any background reasons for any issues, can you share full water test details?

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 6/3/2023 at 1:26 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

What does Snoopy's usual hiding spot look like

N/A. Front & center, always.

Please note photobomber on right.

I’m sorry to hear about your troubles @The endler guy ☹️

Snoopy is getting more territorial over this food dish, regardless of what food is in it. She was running off tetras today, and she even made contact with one. No injury. I think I need a second food dish in case they want to have some of the Repashy. One issue is I will feed the tetras at the top, then I will drop the sinking food for Snoopy, but the tetras want that too. I don’t want to feed them mass quantities though. And then everyone was eating the new Snello. Or trying to.

Maybe a tetra food dish at mid level for Repashy? With a suction cup?

Time & again I thought of adding another ram or two, but I don’t because several folks on this thread with more than one has had aggression issues and/or loss. 

Edited June 3, 2023 by Chick-In-Of-TheSea

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 6/3/2023 at 11:13 AM, redfish said:

We tried to keep a couple rams together but one didn’t want the other one around and bullied it

@flyingcow also

[nabokovfan87]

On 6/3/2023 at 10:35 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

N/A. Front & center, always.

Busy morning. I mean spooky!

[anewbie]

male + female == territory. In general they are a bit unpredictable but adding a female is one sure way to bring out aggression.

[Chick-In-Of-TheSea]

On 6/3/2023 at 2:15 PM, anewbie said:

male + female == territory. In general they are a bit unpredictable but adding a female is one sure way to bring out aggression.

Lovers’ quarrels!!!

[The endler guy]

On 6/3/2023 at 1:26 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

What does Snoopy's usual hiding spot look like?  Maybe it's just a matter of having a certain structure for the rams to use while the other fish don't have easy access. 

For the sake of verifying any background reasons for any issues, can you share full water test details?

Yes I made a post about the deaths

 

also my theory has swapped to bacterial infection, because I found a female endler that is much to big for him to have taken down

On 6/3/2023 at 1:26 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

What does Snoopy's usual hiding spot look like?  Maybe it's just a matter of having a certain structure for the rams to use while the other fish don't have easy access. 

For the sake of verifying any background reasons for any issues, can you share full water test details?

He doesn’t really have a “hiding spot” he is the king of the tank and usually just patrols or sleeps out in the open, he knows that he is the top dog 

[nabokovfan87]

On 6/3/2023 at 11:34 AM, The endler guy said:

He doesn’t really have a “hiding spot” he is the king of the tank and usually just patrols or sleeps out in the open, he knows that he is the top dog 

I deal with similar things with Grace the RTBS.  Rams from the single experience I had keeping mine, Dean's breeding setups, and other places, like to have 3 sides.  One exposed side for them to protect and that gives them comfort.  It isn't a cave per say, but just shelter and a place to call their own.  A flat rock against the something in the tank would be a place to start.  In @Chick-In-Of-TheSea's case Snoopy has a tube of PVC that became her shelter and it helped to make sure she got food and stuff.  Rams can be finicky, but like most fish they just might be trying to tell you something.

[The endler guy]

On 6/3/2023 at 2:42 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

I deal with similar things with Grace the RTBS.  Rams from the single experience I had keeping mine, Dean's breeding setups, and other places, like to have 3 sides.  One exposed side for them to protect and that gives them comfort.  It isn't a cave per say, but just shelter and a place to call their own.  A flat rock against the something in the tank would be a place to start.  In @Chick-In-Of-TheSea's case Snoopy has a tube of PVC that became her shelter and it helped to make sure she got food and stuff.  Rams can be finicky, but like most fish they just might be trying to tell you something.

I think he probably is doing fine but me stressing and reading into everything little thing, I just think I caught him eating a dead fish that had some disease (which I am now treating) so I hope that will help fix it

 

in addition each day I seem to be losing more and more fish, which would not be the case if spooky was the one killing them

[redfish]

On 6/3/2023 at 12:35 PM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Time & again I thought of adding another ram or two, but I don’t because several folks on this thread with more than one has had aggression issues and/or loss. 

I often want to try a few more again to see if a different number would change the dynamics or a different cichlid like a pair of Apistos in the same tank.