I bought a Bolivian Butterfly from a local pet shop about 6 months ago now, the shop assistant assured me that they are peaceful as I already had 2 guppies, 2 peppered catfish and 3 goldfish and I wanted to ensure they would all get along. I bought it along with an Angelfish as they were in the same tank at the pet shop so I figured they would get along.
Since buying the Bolivian Butterfly 'she' has eaten one of my guppies, one of my goldfish's fins dissapeared and died soon after and now it is chasing another one of my more favourite goldfish around the tank constantly. Overnight it's fins have nearly completely been eaten away at. I have separated them for now in another small plastic fish tank with an air stone but I really don't want to have to keep it there for long.
I have looked around on the internet and it all says that they are peaceful. I have noticed though that there is no colouration in the fins.. could this mean it is a Bolivian Ram and thats why it is aggressive?
Would it be best to try sell it back to the pet shop or does it just need a bigger fish in the tank or something? I dont know how to fix this problem.
a Bolivian rams finnage is'nt exactly cclear of colour the anal fin and the ventrals have quite abit of colour plus the dorsal and caudal have red edges.
if you could post a pic of the fish it would help us guys to tell what the fish is.
have you seen it attacking other fish though.
mick
Looks like very aggressive as it even attack goldfish,a photo will be good for identification.Originally Posted by squirt
Love all,Trust few,Do wrong to none
I would not expect this behavior from a Bolivian Ram. They can be somewhat aggressive and territorial but do not usually persist in attacks. I agree that a photo for ID would be good.
DC
It could be because we have mixed hard and soft water fish..
"Bolivia" her name is changes colour a lot, sometimes she turns really really dark, almost black. Other times she is a normal dark colour with stripes down her back and a really big dot in the middle of her tummy on both sides. Then sometimes the dot turns really dark. And other times it's not visable at all and she turns a really light colour. I hope these pictures will help you a bit..
Bolivia and the Angelfish both gang up on the others. I see them both follow certain other fish continuously around the tank after them. Mostly just chasing but every now and then it gets worse (the dead fish and fin-eating for example.) I tried to get a video of it for you but she was being mellow last night.
haha the pictures aren't too great, usually i have an external flash and a better camera but i had to use my parents for this one.
Yup that's a bolivian ram alright. And a very aggressive one by the sound of it. Mine were never this aggressive. Like you said, they are normally docile fish. Cichlids are territorial and usually fin-nippers. Bred variants of goldfish and guppies with long fins, and being slow swimmers, are prime targets for them. I think your best bet would be to sell it back to your fish shop, I'm afraid.
yup same as Enda, it's only a young female as well, i'm sorry but you have a rogue, it does happen with all sorts of species.
i had a full grown pair that lived and bred in a large community tank and they were soft even when caring for eggs/fry.
take it back to the shop.
mick
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