Colour Enhancing Foods

[Sixo]

It depends why the bellies are sunken.
If it's just lack of decent food then it can be possible to reverse.
If it's internal parasites then it's harder to reverse successfully.

One looks a little lethargic. Resting at a bit of an angle but standing his ground, got a bit of an inevitable feeling will lose him though. Going to feed more frozen. The other appears to be swimming around fine. I'm sure worst case scenario the healthier looking one will be OK on his own in there.

[Sixo]

It depends why the bellies are sunken.
If it's just lack of decent food then it can be possible to reverse.
If it's internal parasites then it's harder to reverse successfully.

One looks a little lethargic. Resting at a bit of an angle but standing his ground, got a bit of an inevitable feeling will lose him though. Going to feed more frozen. The other appears to be swimming around fine. I'm sure worst case scenario the healthier looking one will be OK on his own in there.

Lost him, had a feeling it was only a matter if of time. Just this one guy left. Hopefully he'll be alright on his own.

[Gingerlove05]

Sorry for your loss

[plankton]

Sorry you lost him.

[Sixo]

Do you think I should just leave him on his own? Hate seeing a lonely fish.

[Suse]

Bolivian rams are territorial fish. They are content on their own and will not be distressed / "lonely" in the way a schooling fish kept alone would be. So this is perfectly OK. But IME they are happiest in a M/F pair, one pair per tank. So you could look for an opposite sex one - mature Bolivians are relatively easy to sex when you know what to look for, I can link a short video if you like. Before buying, ensure you can swap the fish if you do get it wrong. Multiple males in a tank may tolerate each other, best case scenario, but rarely look that happy from what I've seen.

There seems to be really varying quality of Bolivians these days so be sure that any fish you buy are well coloured (even in the shop), look healthy and have a good shape.

[Sixo]

Bolivian rams are territorial fish. They are content on their own and will not be distressed / "lonely" in the way a schooling fish kept alone would be. So this is perfectly OK. But IME they are happiest in a M/F pair, one pair per tank. So you could look for an opposite sex one - mature Bolivians are relatively easy to sex when you know what to look for, I can link a short video if you like. Before buying, ensure you can swap the fish if you do get it wrong. Multiple males in a tank may tolerate each other, best case scenario, but rarely look that happy from what I've seen.

There seems to be really varying quality of Bolivians these days so be sure that any fish you buy are well coloured (even in the shop), look healthy and have a good shape.

Thanks Suse that would be great, I know everywhere I google it says they prefer to be in a group and you see better behaviour, but everybody I see online says they get a group and they all get territorial and have a pop at each other .

Seems to hang around with the keyholes when they're all in the same area. Dunno if it's because he thinks there's food there maybe or cosy they're the same size/similar colour.

To be honest the only reason I went to keyholes is because a group of Bolivians didn't go well, but they are my favourite fish have a real soft spot for them.

[Suse]

Of course, here is the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZNoQLn880Q

This is also a clip from my Bolivian pair, just after they have bred. You can practice on this one and see if you can tell which is which!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHYQ3i5 ... e=youtu.be

Find a shop with good looking, slightly larger Bolivians (if you're near Manchester I can recommend one - otherwise you will need to call around all your shops in driving distance) and spend a good 20 mins just looking and getting your eye in. Once you are used to it, it's easy to spot. Then you need an obliging staff member to catch them. Don't rely on the staff to tell the difference, even if they think they can.

I have done this twice now at separate times and both times successfully got a M/F who paired up. I remember posting threads about whether any old M and F will pair up if they are alone together - the answer from experience seems to be usually, yes

I agree that the internet will often tell you about Bolivians being best in groups, but I have yet to see someone post about a genuinely happy and thriving Bolivian group long-term. They are not in the wild; they are in an enclosed space (however big your tank is) and cannot truly get away from each other (who wants to spend their life cowering behind plants). Juveniles are OK together but when they mature someone is usually the loser. Bolivians will show obvious or subtle unhappiness through lack of colour and listlessness.

Ruth on this forum also had a successful M/F pair for about 4 years I believe.

[Sixo]

Of course, here is the video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZNoQLn880Q

This is also a clip from my Bolivian pair, just after they have bred. You can practice on this one and see if you can tell which is which!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gHYQ3i5 ... e=youtu.be

Find a shop with good looking, slightly larger Bolivians (if you're near Manchester I can recommend one - otherwise you will need to call around all your shops in driving distance) and spend a good 20 mins just looking and getting your eye in. Once you are used to it, it's easy to spot. Then you need an obliging staff member to catch them. Don't rely on the staff to tell the difference, even if they think they can.

I have done this twice now at separate times and both times successfully got a M/F who paired up. I remember posting threads about whether any old M and F will pair up if they are alone together - the answer from experience seems to be usually, yes

I agree that the internet will often tell you about Bolivians being best in groups, but I have yet to see someone post about a genuinely happy and thriving Bolivian group long-term. They are not in the wild; they are in an enclosed space (however big your tank is) and cannot truly get away from each other (who wants to spend their life cowering behind plants). Juveniles are OK together but when they mature someone is usually the loser. Bolivians will show obvious or subtle unhappiness through lack of colour and listlessness.

Ruth on this forum also had a successful M/F pair for about 4 years I believe.

Thanks so much for that Suse that's a huge help, might help me avoid any more clashes/rehoming in future. If I could get a nice. Colourful, contented pair I'd be happy.

[Sixo]

Bolivian rams are territorial fish. They are content on their own and will not be distressed / "lonely" in the way a schooling fish kept alone would be. So this is perfectly OK. But IME they are happiest in a M/F pair, one pair per tank. So you could look for an opposite sex one - mature Bolivians are relatively easy to sex when you know what to look for, I can link a short video if you like. Before buying, ensure you can swap the fish if you do get it wrong. Multiple males in a tank may tolerate each other, best case scenario, but rarely look that happy from what I've seen.

There seems to be really varying quality of Bolivians these days so be sure that any fish you buy are well coloured (even in the shop), look healthy and have a good shape.

My local Maidenhead Aquatics has the nicest looking juvenile i've ever seen, really had to resist the urge to take it. Proud of myself