Hi guys. Thought I'd start a separate thread about this to catch the Cichlid peoples attention

I'm currently thinking what to put into my second tank. The tank will be 36"x15.5"x12" so 110 litres ish.

I'm quite interested in keeping some/a cichlid(s). My water pH is 6.8 and the water her is quite soft, but I am unsure as to the measurements. Link to my water company reading:

http://www.unitedutilities.com/waterqualitysummary.htm

I've had a little look and I see that Bolivian Rams like water similar to this and that they are a nice ? beginner Cichlid.

I'm unsure how to start though really, I know how to cycle etc. using media from my current tank but how many Rams would I ideally have? When would they be introduced? Tank mates or just the rams? You get the picture

Cheers
Nath

I think in a tank that size you would be looking at 1 Pair,

as per the care sheet you would need a min of 7dgh, for this fish.. sorry dont know how easy they are to keep.

Just for the record my Kribs attack the vaccum when i am cleaning the tank if i go near there nest, they actualy knock the tube !!!!

Okay my phone is having a moment :

or some people have a ratio of 1 male to two females in a tank that size, BUT some people have said when they pair up there can be bulling towards the other female..

if you go down the Ro water the Dgh is set at 0, so you would need to add mineral additive this plus the cost of the ro water, plus you would need to check the DGH offten to check it stays the same.

you could also use crushed coral, ocean rock or tufa rock, but you would need to do some tests to see what Ph & Gdh you get from these...

I am sure Jaguar uses Ocean rock in his Tanganyikan shell dwellers tank so he would be your man to question for such a tank

Cheers mate, I'm pretty sure my water should actually be fine for them but I will do the tests. The water here isn't as soft as yours for some reason, and the pH is spot on. I don't want to increase the pH atall so not sure if I should be going down the ro route?

Anyone know about the habitat that rams like?

cheers
nath

Or alternatively any other species to recomend? :)

hi bud Bolivian rams would be perfect for your water they can happily cope with quite a wide range of water ive kept them for years and are defanetly one of my favourite cichlids

you must make sure you get a Bolivian ram not a golden or blue ram as they will pass them of as Bolivians

hears my old timer spike

Hi Gwa, cheers mate

What sort of tank set up do they like? Im hoping not to have to spend ages planting it out but providing lots of rocks and making caves for them, with a few big leaves plants to fill in the space.

Sand as substrate I guess aswell?

Cheers

Hi GUys, just jumping in here.

DO NOT put any coral or hardening agents in a tank for any south American Cichlids, Bolivians and other Cichlids like there water acidic and coral etc will make it alkaline.

I have 4 pairs of Bolivian Rams in a 650 litre tank with my Discus, but this tank has many territories made up by bogwood and heavy planting. The water has a PH of 6.5 and a dGH of 5, so the water you have Nayfee should be perfect as it is without any additional buffering or use of RO. All you will need to do is the usual dechlorination and warm the water prior to putting into tank. Bolivians in comparison to German Blue Rams are fairly easy to keep, but still need the water to be kept absolutely stable, so you need to make sure you that your water does not have any spikes or troughs in PH, and Hardness. Also water changes must be carried out without fail as Bolivians like all other Rams are susceptible to any rise in Ammonia or other toxins of the smallest amounts.

In your tank I would put one pair of Bolivians and just for added attraction add 6 neons and leave it at that. You will need to plant it up with false or real plants, one area quite thickly, as Bolivians like privacy and cover, also add something that can be used as a cave in with the heavy planted area, this is where they will attempt to spawn, but dont hold your breath as Bolivians aren't that easy to breed. A small piece of bogwood would also be beneficial as this will also act as a hidy-hole if positioned nicely.

sand or gravel is fine there not bothered but lots of bog wood and plants is a must they can become very shy if not given plenty of hiding places fake plants will be fine i tend to use plants attached to bog wood so i can move things around to give the gravel/sand a good clean

what filtration would you be running?

and for mixing with others keyhole cichlids are one that they mix with well as well as corys of course but i have them in just about every tank

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile64.html

Hi Jaguar, thanks for taking the time to type that up.

Made me a happy boy have you and Gwa as I've taken a real liking to these little fish.

I've got a nice idea of how I want the tank to look now also.

Would I be best to buy them as juveniles? And would a good LFS be able to sell me a male and female or are they easy enough for me to sex myself?

Cheers guys


EDIT: Gwa, probably run one of the internal filters i.e. fluval 3+ or something? Not really thought about that at the moment. I'd probably stick to the pair of rams first in the tank and add half dozen tetras when they're settled in?

Cheers