Microgeophagus altispinosum
Bolivian Ram

• Scientific name:Microgeophagus altispinosum

• Common name(s):Bolivian Ram
• General nature:Small peaceful cichlids. They often pair for a long time and will breed if given the right conditions. They are not aggressive and can be kept in a normal community aquarium. The males are larger than the females, with a mature ram being between 2 - 3.5 inches
• Difficulty to maintain:Microgeophagus altispinosum are relatively easy to keep. It is best to keep them in soft, neutral water, but they seem to tolerate a fairly good range of pH. Soft water is essential, though if breeding is in their future.
• Aquarium size:15 - 20 gallon, these fish can become larger than many commonly kept community fish. They are good passive community fish, but do tend to be shy. Microgeophagus altispinosum prefer to be given plenty of places to hide and stay protected. They also enjoy digging, both during spawning as well as foraging, so any aquarium plants should be well rooted. They will use plant cover as hiding places, so it can be a trade off when live plants are kept along with rams
• Preferred pH:7.0
• Preferred hardness:very soft water is best, but they have been kept in much harder conditions
• Preferred temperature:Warm Tropical water78^oF - 80^oF
• Spawning style:substrate spawning, will lay eggs on hard surfaces at the bottom such as broken flower pots, rocks or other relatively smooth and cleanable surfaces, there are some reports that they will place their eggs on the actual gravel bottom, in a shallow pit the have excavated.
• Spawning difficulty:Somewhat difficult in a community tank, it is best to allow the bonded pair to spawn in a tank by themselves where they are undisturbed. Fry should be raised in a grow-out tank.
• Parental behaviour:Standard South American Cichlid parental behaviour. The rams are their most belligerent when spawning and will work diligently at keeping all other fish away while spawning and continue to work as a pair when they are protecting the eggs as well. If there are aggressive or larger fish in the aquarium, this can be difficult, so it is best to allow them to do their work in separate breeding tank when they are ready for spawning.
• Preferred food:They are not too fussy about what they will eat. In general a good quality staple food will be taken, they will eat both flakes and micro granules. They will enjoy some freeze dried foods as well as brine shrimp either live of frozen.
• Comments: Like most South American Dwarf Cichlids, the Bolivian ram is a relatively shy fish that requires a well thought out habitat that provides plenty of places where they can go when they feel threatened. They are a peacful and often shy inhabitant well suited to a relatively large (over 15 gallons) community aquarium. They are known to pair for extended lengths of time and are substrate breeders using flat surfaces or even shallow pits that they dig when they spawn. Sppawning time is when they are the most aggressive, as they will protect their eggs from all comers.