Tropical Fish Forum
Tropical Fish Keeping Help and Advice => New Fishkeepers => Topic started by: Stanster on August 11, 2015, 08:46:52 AM
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Hi all, first post so hello
One of my rams died at the weekend and am a bit wary of replacing him, think I had 2 males.
I assume he'll be top male in the tank and as its hard to sex , may be difficult to get a female from the local store.
So should I leave him Alone and think about getting another fish or similar size as replacement stock ?
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Bolivian rams are one of those cichlids that like to choose their own mate. Adding a fish of the opposite sex doesn't mean they'll accept each other.
The recommended way is to get several young fish and let them choose, then rehome the others. This means you need a tank big enough to cope with these extra fish and you need to have agreed with the shop that they'll take the 'spare' fish back.
You could try getting just one more fish but only of you can be sure it's a female. The problem with this is that most shops sell juvenile fish and it is hard to tell the difference with young fish. The only 100% way to sex bolivian rams is by their breeding tubes. If you can find a shop with mature fish, it would be easier, but in this case make sure you don't buy half a bonded pair!
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Is it ok to keep a single male ram then ?