Ram Cichlids

Question
Hello as you may know my name is kyle and i have 4 freshwater fish tanks and i am having trouble with a Ram Cichlid in my 45 gallon. I just got 2 of them day before yesterday and its a male and female ( i not knowing this until i came home ) the male wont stop smashing itself against rocks and gravel in my tank. He also wont stop nipping at my fantail fish. The Female i have ive had no problems with nippind and smashing. She and the male do not want to eat flake food. I have had other cichlids before and they ate flake food just fine. How Do i get him and her to eat flake food and how do i stop the him fin bitting and smashing into things?

Thanks,
      Kyle

Please Reply  

Answer
Dear Kyle,
Rams can be shy even though they are cichlids. He could still be trying to adjust to his new surroundings too.  To make them a little more relaxed and feel more secure try having alot of hiding spots and cover.  Add several plants, real or plastic, and some type of cave structures. Observe to see if any other fish is being a bully toward either of them or competing for food.  Also, for food you might want to try high quality frozen food such as brine shrimp, mosquito larvae or         worms-not tubifex. As for the fine nipping, assuming this is a fantail goldfish, he may be eating the slime coating that they have. You'll probably need to remove the fantail to solve this problem.
Hope this helps!
Karen