# Bolivian ram fry growth



## Isis24 (Dec 10, 2008)

I have 9 day old Bolivian Ram fry (9 days since the spawn). I'm new to all this and just wanted to keep tabs on whether or not things are on schedule.

How fast/slow do Bolivian Rams grow in the first couple of months?

In the first few weeks, should I be able to see a difference every day?

How big are they at:
1 week (when they become free swimming),
2 weeks,
3 weeks,
4 weeks
2 months
4 months?

I know those are a lot of questions, but I'd really like to know! I couldn't find this information anywhere. Right now, they are approximately 3 mm long, tip to tail.


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## Dutch Dude (Sep 14, 2006)

Bolivians are realy slow growers. You won't see a growth diference from day to day but more from week to week. The first 3 weeks they seem to grow slow. You feed enough when the fish all have orange bellies. You should feed at least 4 times a day bbs or 7 times a day dust food like Hikari First Bites (great stuff!). If you keep the nitrate below 15 you will be fine but if you manage below 10 would be better. It is so hard to tell the sizes you ask for in the table becouse we talk abouth 1/10 inches. So for the first 3 weeks they seem to grow quit slow. But,...then they take a growth spurt and grow to the age of around 3 months or so when growth slows down more every month. The fish can be sold at the age around 5 months minimum and they would be around 1 1/2 inch or so. By then they start to show some yellow, have red fins and blue is partly developed. Bolivians can grow up to 2 years. Maybe Ed saved some size/age info.


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## Isis24 (Dec 10, 2008)

Thanks for your reply  I'll wait and see if Ed (or anyone else) has any extra info.


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## edburress (Jun 9, 2007)

Hi Isis,

I don't have as much experience with the species as Ruurd, so if any of our information happens to conflict, go with his word over mine. I don't have information as detailed as you've requested but I tried to put together some pictures in a time line of development from egg to mature, full-grown adult. Some of the pictures are not great quality so I appologize for that. *Pictures from 5 months to last picture are all of same fish (female). All lengths are approx total length. It gives some idea of growth rate, but more importantly shows how the colors develop. Hope this helps,

Ed

egg or "birth" :lol: 









3 weeks, 3/8"









5 weeks, 1/2"









8 weeks, 5/8"









15 weeks, 3/4"









5 months, 1 1/8"









7 months, 1 1/4"









8 months, 1 1/2"









9 months, 1 5/8"









9 months (w/ first spawn)









10 months (w/ second spawn), 1 3/4"









11 months, 1 7/8"









15 months, 2 1/4"









18 months, 2 1/2"









19 months, 2 3/4"


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## Isis24 (Dec 10, 2008)

Wow!! Thank you so so so much!! That was extremely informative, and much more than I expected! The pictures are wonderful. I hope my female ram gets that big and beautiful! She's about 1.75" now, and I'm so proud of her. Her first spawn, and she didn't eat any of her babies! She's a trooper.

Despite all of this, I feel like this is a bitter-sweet time. I'm going away on vacation for THREE WEEKS starting March 28th. The fry will be exactly 3 weeks old at that time. Somebody else will be feeding my fish twice daily while I'm gone. Are my Bolivian babies going to die? I'm so so upset! They're doing wonderfully, and I don't want them to die  Are there any solutions to this? What about one of those slow-release food tablets? Are the particles small enough for the fry, and is this going to help at all? If there's a miracle solution on the net, I'd love to hear about it.

Thank you in advance


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

Great post, Ed!

Isis24, water changes during your absence are going to be just as important as the feedings. Because they have to be fed so often, you've really got to stay on top of the water quality.

I would stay away from the slow release vacation foods...They've totally trashed many a tank!


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## Isis24 (Dec 10, 2008)

Hm. great point!

However...I woke up to a heartbreak. Mom Bolivian was not letting Dad Bolivian near the babies and if he tried, she'd chase him away. At closer glance, there were barely any babies left!!! Mom was still defending the area with as much conviction as before. Did dad eat the kids? I managed to save 7 of them, and put them into a 5 gallon. hopefully they won't spawn while I'm away. I'm SO SAD!!!


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## cichlidaholic (Dec 7, 2005)

Not surprising, Isis24...It's increasingly hard to find good parents these days.

Are they in a tank alone? I've had cories and many other species swarm Bolivian fry and eat them. Once they start venturing out a bit, it's very difficult to save them if there is anything else in the tank.

But, yes, it is possible that dad had a snack...

They will spawn every 3 weeks or so. Your best bet (if you really want to raise some of them) will be to siphon them out into a tank of their own as soon as they are free swimming.


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## Isis24 (Dec 10, 2008)

They're with some dwarf cories (C. hasbrosus). The cories are less than an inch, so I'm not sure if they'd be able to eat the fry. There's also a baby keyhole, but she won't dare go near the fry, and she's an inch long as well. The parents were doing a really great job keeping the fry in a small swarm. I think it was Dad...

Well, I have the 7 survivors in my 5 gallon. I hope I'll be able to enjoy them for months!


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## Dutch Dude (Sep 14, 2006)

> I don't have as much experience with the species as Ruurd, so if any of our information happens to conflict, go with his word over mine.


 :lol: Thats to much credit Ed! Isis,....ed is very very knowledgeble and is a very enthusiastic fish keeper and is a real perfectionist. He knows his stuff very well and wrote an article abouth spawning and raising Bolivians. He exactly added the info you were looking for and also added great pics :thumb:

Sorry to hear the fry are gone. See it as a practice round for everyone,..the parents and you. Don't be surprised if they spawn again in abouth 3 weeks from now. So you might have fry when you come home from vacation. Kim is right,....real good parents are rare thease day's and imo to much artificial raised fish are availeble. I started with artificial raised fish that managed to raise 2 fry in a community tank. Those 2 fry happen to be male and female and they paired up. Those are the best parents I ever had!


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