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It only took 2 days of training with the flashlight, and now the Bolivian Ram instantly goes to her cave at mealtime. First I feed the tetras at the opposite corner of the tank to distract them. Then I wedge the tip of the turkey baster between the wood and the cave, so the tetras do not see the food coming out of the end of it.  (They do know to look for that.)  They have no idea any other food was placed in there, and she eats peacefully.  Today she had the variety platter of Xtreme Krill flakes and Cichlid Gold.

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On 7/22/2022 at 7:20 PM, CKetchum said:

do the Bolivian rams dig up plants? Is gravel ok? 

They like to sift through the sand.  Sand is preferred.  Like Corys, they can handle other substrates, but it's just not optimal.

They might mess up some plants during mating fights, but usually they are pretty good about it.

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On 7/1/2022 at 2:25 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

I like to feed my Bolivian Ram a sinking pellet. She has come to recognize that the aquascaping tongs bring her food to her. But within a minute or so of feeding the pellet, the tetras swarm in and steal it from her, then fight all over the tank with it.  Now, I do feed the tetras flakes first to try to distract them. I also give the ram a new pellet if they steal it, but I'm wondering if there's a better way to feed her so that she doesn't feel like she has to fight them off? She kind of does a little charge at them when they are being jerks, not hurting them or touching them or anything, but warning them. They don't care and they steal the food anyway. Any suggestions? 

5black neons

5 pristella tetras

1 bolivian ram

1 mystery snail

1 nerite snail

Not sure if the problem has been resolved yet but if it hasn't, maybe the Tetras are stressed because there might not be enough flow. 

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On 7/25/2022 at 10:42 PM, anitstuk said:

Not sure if the problem has been resolved yet but if it hasn't, maybe the Tetras are stressed because there might not be enough flow. 

I haven't noticed any stress in the tetras.  The main issue was that they were stealing the ram's food. Lots of flow in the tank. They often play in the current.

Edited by Chick-In-Of-TheSea
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On 7/1/2022 at 8:39 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

@nabokovfan87 I give her Hikari gold cichlid mini pellet, and I don't think there is a version smaller than that (in that brand). It's too big for her to swallow so she pecks at it and she also picks it up and swims backwards with it. If the tetras steal one, I give her another one.

I have used the Micro Pellets from Hikari with my Bolivian Rams and they do well with it - they definitely can swallow those.

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On 8/3/2022 at 8:52 AM, Chick-In-Of-TheSea said:

Found this on a thread about ram color.  Think this is true?

Yep! This is typical for most fish.  They try to match the surroundings.  This is why some people prefer a light (blue) vs. a black background and light vs. dark substrate.

I had my pandas in some dark substrate and they were near bronze/black/grey the majority of the time.  They've lightened up quite a bit.

Not my photos, but to give you an idea of the shift.  Foods also change this too!

Dark:
https://badmanstropicalfish.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Panda-cory-also-known-as-Corydoras-panda-300x200.png
https://aquadiction.world/img/profile/1134-panda-cory-5.webp

Light:
Note: These are also younger....
https://www.aquariumfishparadise.com.au/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Panda-Cory-300x197.jpg
panda corydoras

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Today I tried feeding a banquet block for the first time in this tank (for snails). Well, the ram decided it was hers and she did not wish to share. Funny thing is, she didn’t seem to be eating it or know it was food. When I first put it in, I thought maybe it was too close to her cave. So I moved it to the other side of the tank, but she followed it and defended it there too.
 

I ended up breaking it up and serving 3 pieces, and that solved it. Also one large snail was taking a long nap in the ram’s cave, so that could have contributed to the issue.

I guess the whole bottom of the tank is for the ram. So much for cories! 😂

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