Bolivian Ram or Blue Gourami with GBR??

Byron

Likewise. Unless you see serious aggression.

GwenInNM

Well, the gourami quickly got comfortable, and was not necessarily hugely aggessive, but she was clearly keeping the male GBR from coming out. Every time he did, she chased him, until he went where she didn't "see" him. Sadly, I wasn't seeing him either. I moved the Gourami back to the first tank. Now my GBR is back out and happy. Since stress can kill, I didn't want him enduring needless stress.

FYI, the Gourami has sometimes chased the others in the tank she is back in, but it's a quick "move away", not really aggression. I'm guessing it's because there are more fish in this tank to disperse her need to be "top dog", that it's not causing stress on the fish. She's fine where she is, but now what to do with my sole GBR in the tank?

Gwen

fish monger

Well, I'm sorry it didn't work out. I kind of feel responsible, since I said it shouldn't be a problem.

GwenInNM

You said what everyone said. No worries. I just can't decide, do I dare try another female, GBR or try to figure which fish can go with him (beside Cardinal tetras). Thanks for weighing in

Gwen

fish monger

I know what I'd do but, I''m gun shy at this point.

GwenInNM

And. . . what would you do? Love to hear

gwen

fish monger

Since you asked...I'd get a female ram. May even a few (what do they call them...busy fish or something ?) to take the pressure off of the female at first. Now this is just me.

Byron

I was going to comment why this is not advisable, but I see I already set out the safe way to do this, back in post # 4, so I won't repeat myself.

While I'm here, a comment on the gourami issue: I would have thought the female gourami might be safer, but obviously not in this case. I always say no to combining gourami and cichlids, now you see why. These things (the ram bonding, or combining gourami and cichlids) are not cut in stone, but they are the "norm" for the fish, and it is always wisest to follow the norm if you want healthy fish.

fish monger

I tend to speak from experience when I add comments and I appreciate that it's not always the right thing to do. It appears that I have had great luck. I've only set out to breed cichlids on a few occasions; however, on all of those occasions, I purchased a male and a female. I'm speaking of rams, kribensis, and orange chromides. They were all successful. The orange chromide experience was especially educational. Back in the day, the water couldn't be pure enough, preferably distilled. I followed the instructions to a tee...nothing. I gave up and at some point, the water became cloudy and they bred. Food for the fry...right ? To add a little more info, I put up with a little more aggression than most folks do it seems. When I see stress and/or damage, I naturally do the right thing. At the end of the day, to error on the side of caution is probably the way to go.

GwenInNM

Yeah, thank you guys. I just don't have a way for him to "pick" from a group of females. I found a very small "pitted spot" on top of my German Ram while he was in there with the Gourami. I think it could be the beginning of something (hole-in-head) that may have been stress related. I'm watching it and don't see it getting worse. I'm going to do a water change today. As far as his color, he is back to normal, he's black spot is nice and black he has his blues. With the Gourami, he was all faded, and I feel I did the right thing by taking her out. If he could describe what kind of female he's looking for, I'd try getting him one. LOL

For now, he'll remain by himself.

Gwen