[plasticspaceman]

Hi there. I have one stunningly gorgeous male German Blue Ram. He's been the lone wolf in my 30g planted tank for 6 months or so (since he literally pestered his girlfriend to death). Last night, I added 3 Bolivian Rams (1 male, 2 females).

The GBR is ruthlessly and incessantly chasing them, nipping at them, and then running them out of their hiding spots to chase and nip at them all over again.

I put him in a mesh breeder box, thinking that he could spend some time in the 'hole,' to be able to get used to the new fish, see them, smell them... but not be able to attack. And I figured it would let the Bolivians learn the lay of the land without the threat of violence. For now, it's working. All 3 Bolivians came out after about 45 minutes and are happily exploring and nibbling on algae.

But I can't leave old Klaus in the box forever. :-(

Advice?

 

[jaysee]

Change up the decor in the tank - move things around so that the fish might choose new territories. Keeping cichlids is always interesting

 

[plasticspaceman]

Change up the decor in the tank - move things around so that the fish might choose new territories. Keeping cichlids is always interesting

Done. He's still blood-thirsty. :twisted:

I think maybe the trouble is that me and my LFS guy couldn't really tell genders. They have colored up overnight, and it looks like maybe I have two males and 1 female... so lots o' dudes in the tank?

Here are the Bolivians. Can anyone help me gender them?

#1 - pale stripe, one dot. (Female?)

#2 - dark stripe, one dot. (Male?)

#3 - dark stripe, double dot (Male?)

And just for funzies... one ticked off male GBR in full color display. :roll:

 

[jaysee]

In my experience newly added cichlids get harassed and beaten up in the beginning. Give it some time to settle.

 

[plasticspaceman]

In my experience newly added cichlids get harassed and beaten up in the beginning. Give it some time to settle.

How much time? A day or two? Weeks?

The GBR is chasing and nipping non-stop. I mean, it's not like every few minutes he takes a swipe... he is in hot pursuit without stopping and has been since yesterday. It's pretty horrible.

 

[jaysee]

I would say a couple days, but if its relentless then perhaps there's no new to wait. Are the other fish hiding all the time?

 

[jaysee]

Well? How's it going?

 

[Chesh]

Second that - stalking this thread. . . can't help but worry for the little 'livies. . . hope all is well over there. :/