Thank you Emilio. I appreciate the feedback!

When I got my first pair years ago, I didn’t know much about them and wasn’t expecting much color. But as they grew and started to spawn, their colors really surprised me.

Oh wow. I wish I had the room for a tropical pond... sounds like a great setup.

@@AVPAquariums I actually had the tank-pond hybrid designed with them in mind.The tank-pond hybrid is actually made of glass but with a low height so it would be like a pond where you can also see the fish from thr sides.I placed a huge piece of wood and several large rocks to break up lines of sight(and also as a hiding place for the two Striped Raphael Catfish).There's a bit of squabbling going on between the four Bolivian Rams but mostly the get along.I don't know which of them are males or females though because they all looked alike which leads me to believe that all of them are probably of the same gender.I sometimes see them swimming together in a group and interestingly I also observed that they seem to like swimming up to the water outflow of the filter and swimming against the current.They seem to have figured out that I drop their food near the outflow so the food will be carried by the current and be spread all over the tank.The tank is more or less hardscape oriented and I only planted a few vallisneria in there.The lighting in the tank is rather dim but the light only gets switched on in the evening because sunlight shines in the tank(and also the 84 gallon.the two tanks are placed next to each other)during the day but not too much that the water temperature rises.

4 might be a bit crowded for a 20 long once they get older(breeding aggression), just keep an eye on that. They do have really interesting looking eyes.

It happens occasionally around breeding time when they scuffle over spawning sites. From watching them it never becomes a major issue.

Small sinking pellets were always my go to for my larger juveniles. If they are very small juveniles, something like fine pellets or a powdered food may work better. You can supplement their diet with some frozen baby brine/adult brine shrimp if they aren’t taking pellets or wafers.

The kh in this tank was usually right between soft and hard. They come from low kh waters in nature so I don’t see a problem with your kh.

Their colors can be affected by genetics and overall mood/stress levels. Mine also tend to color up more just before breeding activity. In a 20 long you could potentially house 2 rams. Just be mindful of any other bottom dwellers as the rams will get territorial if they spawn.

@@AVPAquariums it’s a 20 gallon tall - other tank makes are platys, glow light tetras, and a Bristlenose catfish. I think the Bolivian Ram is a female - so was potentially thinking another female

Under those conditions I don’t see any issues with adding a second in there.

40 gallon breeder. The most full size rams I had in this tank at once was 5

I’ve always had to separate out my fry. The last batch I saved, I reintroduced the fry when they were between 1/4-1/2 inch. At that size the other rams and tetras weren’t a risk and they grew into some of the rams in the tank now. The biggest issue I’ve seen with keeping the fry in the main tank is that the other rams pick them off as the fry begin to venture. The longest I’ve seen batches survive in my tank with the parents was when two pairs spawned at the same time; they claimed separate sides of the tank.

With enough line of sight breaks (especially for when any pair off), I can see 4 or 5 working out for you.

@@AVPAquariums Thank you so much! They're such a cool fish and I'm new to the hobby so I appreciate it

This male is one I raised so my guess is food had something to do with the color. Also I’d say time plays a factor; he wasn’t originally to colorful but after a certain age it started to intensify. His father was a pretty colorful fish too(especially for a petsmart ram imo). How long have you had your pair?

@@AVPAquariums as a pair only about 3 months, as I've had a few die, I think he's too big of a bully, I've had the male about a year, he wasn't small when I got him, but I've had this female about 3 months and they spawned soon after she was introduced, I also got another 2 females with her which unfortunately died soon after the spawning, they haven't spawned again yet but she will fight back so I'm confident she'll be ok!

They may just be having a “separation” period. I often see breeding male and female having spats now and then. Sometimes they even lip lock. I’d say just keep an eye on them and if he gets to be too much of a bully, separate him out for a while and try reintroducing him.

@@AVPAquariums OK thanks very much, I am wondering if it would be a good idea to put 4-5 more adult rams (if I can find adults) to try and curb his agression, but I'm not sure if by doing that I'd effectively be killing fish!

Having ssome more rams in there might strengthen your pair’s bond. I would often see mine teaming up to chase the other rams out of their territory. Bolivians are pretty social too and it’s often recommended to have 5/6 of you have the tank space for them.

In the way of bio-capacity, they are fine. The issue is if the 2 blue rams pair up to breed, you’d be looking at a lot of aggression toward the Bolivian ram. Moving the Bolivian to another tank or rehoming it may be necessary.

So the Ram will be okay and if I have any more questions is it alright to keep asking you about them thanks for your help with them I have had the Bolivian Ram and the Rams in the 10g for 2 months

For now it is okay but that could change. Ask any questions, glad to help.

I’ve seen the pair take over one corner of the tank and the others go to another side. If they venture too close they get pushed away but never anything substantial that seems to cause stress or harm. I’ve also noticed that sometimes both of my pairs spawn at the same time so they each claim a corner. I currently have 3 females and 2 males in my shoal.

At those stocking levels you should be good with a pair. My only concern would be the interaction with the cories if the become a breeding pair.

@@AVPAquariums okay, ill snatch a pair up in a few days. Will they eat tropical flakes? Like those from wardley (wardley tropical fish flakes) or should i get a cichlid based pellet? And what should the pellet size be?

A sinking pellet food(not necessarily cichlid specific) rather than flakes would be better in my opinion; Gets down to their feeding level. As for size, any that are good for small/medium fish have worked well for me.

@@AVPAquariums ok, i have api tropical pellets, the one with a molly, dwarf gourami and some other fish on the cover. It says its perfect for all tropical community fish, like angelfish, tetra, barbs and discus. Im guessing this is fine but ill get a discus pellet just in case

When they are in breeding mode and have eggs/fry they get territorial but are good as long as other fish don’t enter a certain radius. Other than that they are chill with their tank mates (at least in my experience).

Those are Rummy Nose Tetra.

Either of those would make a great addition to that size tank and would get along well with your current inhabitants. If the footprint is large enough and it doesn’t overwhelm your stocking levels, you may even be able to do 2 pairs,

@@AVPAquariums i understand that the apistogramma get rather aggressive towards other inhabitants during and after spawning, which is why i am seeking advice and doing as much research as possible before i commit to one or the other. The tank footprint is 100cm in length, 50cm in height and 45cm deep. In your experience which are hardier; bolivian rams or the apistogramma and if you went with the apistogramma which flavour would you suggest? Thanks again ane very mcuh appreciated

Bolivians are pretty hardy and are pretty forgiving. I’ve only just recently gotten into apistos so I can’t say too much about most of them. The type I have (a. Nijsseni- dwarf panda) seems to be hardy. I would assume any that are tank raised are a little more forgiving of water parameters. As for aggression during spawning, I’ve noticed my Bolivian rams usually stake out a territory of about 25cm and my dwarf apistos claim a territory of about the same. I would assume the bigger species of apistos would have a larger territory space during breeding. When it comes down to what type of apistogramma to choose, that’s quite a long list. A. Cacatuoides is fairly common, easy to come by, and you get various color forms to choose from. A. Nijsseni stays rather small at about 2.5 inches tops and is quite an attractive fish. Hope this helps your decision.

@@AVPAquariums thats awesome, i will need to take a look at the a. Nijsseni that you mentioned as i have never heard of them. I was contemplating the a. Agassizii (i think thats how to spell it) the super red looks amazing. Thanks a lot for your advice and keep those informational videos coming, they are great