Give him another ram to take it out on. Either a male to spar with, or more preferable a female to spawn with (although that may cause them *both* to get aggressive for a time). The more the merrier, a single fish will have nothing to pick on but your more docile fish.
Bolivian ram nips at other fish
Hi all,
When I feed my corys and otos their sinking food (Ken's veggie sticks, Repashy soilent green, or Hikari bottom feeder wafers), they always gather round excitedly to eat it. The problem is, my bolivian ram also does the same, but instead of mostly focusing on the food, he will focus on nipping or taking bites at the corys and ottos to the point where if any of them are in close proximity at all (within a couple inches), he will go at them. Does anybody else experience this? The otos and corys always dash away a couple inches and then come right back to keep eating, but it is really pissing me off. I want to grab the ram and smack it upside the head.
When I feed my corys and otos their sinking food (Ken's veggie sticks, Repashy soilent green, or Hikari bottom feeder wafers), they always gather round excitedly to eat it. The problem is, my bolivian ram also does the same, but instead of mostly focusing on the food, he will focus on nipping or taking bites at the corys and ottos to the point where if any of them are in close proximity at all (within a couple inches), he will go at them. Does anybody else experience this? The otos and corys always dash away a couple inches and then come right back to keep eating, but it is really pissing me off. I want to grab the ram and smack it upside the head.
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The thing is, when I don't put the food out, he doesn't pick on them. And the food isn't out for much of the time (not even every day), so usually he's just swimming around doing nothing. I do agree that 2 rams is better than one.Give him another ram to take it out on. Either a male to spar with, or more preferable a female to spawn with (although that may cause them *both* to get aggressive for a time). The more the merrier, a single fish will have nothing to pick on but your more docile fish.
Bolivian Rams are awesome fish, but they do have atrocious table manners. I think this is typical behavior as my Bolivians do this too. Having just one is actually helpful, since he can't be in two places at once. Try feeding him his favorite food at one end of the tank while giving the others food at the other end of the tank. Also, mine usually settle down after they have gotten their fill. You could try target feeding the ram first and then feed the others when he's less excited. It sounds like you are only feeding every other day. Feeding more frequently may lower the excitement level and help make sure that everyone at least gets some food, some of the time.
My bolivians never bother the other fish. If anything I see my serpaes giving chase to my bolivians, rarely tho. I also feed like 3 or 4 times a day... But I do have tons of hungry little fish. Especially my bloodfins.
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Sent from my HTC Evo 4G
all rams i ever kept seems to become aggressive during feeding time.
My 2 don't bother anyone but themselves. They like to catch a sinking pellet and just go off on their own to eat it.
My apistos and gourami do this to a lesser degree with sinking wafers intended for my corys. The best solution I've found is to braek the wafers into smaller pieces and spread them throughout the tank.
I feed the corys and otos specifically every other day or so. The other fish get fed almost every day, and the corys will also eat whatever falls down past the others when they get fed flakes and frozen bloodworms etc. So in some respects, the excitement level might not be as high as you expect, but I definitely see your pointBolivian Rams are awesome fish, but they do have atrocious table manners. I think this is typical behavior as my Bolivians do this too. Having just one is actually helpful, since he can't be in two places at once. Try feeding him his favorite food at one end of the tank while giving the others food at the other end of the tank. Also, mine usually settle down after they have gotten their fill. You could try target feeding the ram first and then feed the others when he's less excited. It sounds like you are only feeding every other day. Feeding more frequently may lower the excitement level and help make sure that everyone at least gets some food, some of the time.
Thanks everyone else! It's good to know that others are seeing this behavior. I will just let it go, as the corys and otos don't seem to get intimidated and come right back for more.
Dwarf cichlids and cories just aren't a good combo. The only way I see fit to help in this situation is getting a few more rams. They are so consumed with chasing each other that they will ignore the cories.
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