I apologize for this being a cross-post from the "Unhealthy Fish" forum but I was hoping that I might get more information from a cichlid-specific group.
I bought 2 bolivian rams about 10 days ago for my 55gal tank, in which I currently have 3 other rams. Since I brought him home, one of the new rams (male) has shown no interest in eating and spends most of his time hiding underneath driftwood or leaves. I've offered Tetra floating crisps, Omega sinking pellets, Hikari carnivore pellets, and frozen brine shrimp, but he's not gone after any of it. I watched him for at least 20min last night after feeding everybody to see if he might go through the gravel to dig up some of the pellets but he just stayed in his little spot.
I've had problems in the past with one of my males exhibiting similar behavior and have found that going through a few treatments with Tetra Parasite Guard seems to get him back to normal, but so far 3 treatments haven't worked with my new little guy. When I bought my first group of rams several years ago (including the 3 I had already) I had similar problems with one of them and he did die within a month of bringing him home, and never did figure out what was wrong. I'm fasting everybody today (Saturday) and will try offering frozen blood worms tomorrow.
Water parameters:
Temp ~ 79
Nitrate ~ 10ppm
Ammonia & Nitrite = 0
pH ~ 7.2
The store has a 14 day return policy on FW fish and I know I could take him back, but I don't think they'd take the time to treat him, though if there's nothing I can do I'd prefer to exchange or return him rather than have him die on day #16. Should I return him or try to treat him and hope for the best? Can anyone recommend other treatments? I'm currently thinking about trying either Metronidazole (SeaChem's Zole) or Flubendazole but open to other suggestions.
Thanks
I bought 2 bolivian rams about 10 days ago for my 55gal tank, in which I currently have 3 other rams. Since I brought him home, one of the new rams (male) has shown no interest in eating and spends most of his time hiding underneath driftwood or leaves. I've offered Tetra floating crisps, Omega sinking pellets, Hikari carnivore pellets, and frozen brine shrimp, but he's not gone after any of it. I watched him for at least 20min last night after feeding everybody to see if he might go through the gravel to dig up some of the pellets but he just stayed in his little spot.
I've had problems in the past with one of my males exhibiting similar behavior and have found that going through a few treatments with Tetra Parasite Guard seems to get him back to normal, but so far 3 treatments haven't worked with my new little guy. When I bought my first group of rams several years ago (including the 3 I had already) I had similar problems with one of them and he did die within a month of bringing him home, and never did figure out what was wrong. I'm fasting everybody today (Saturday) and will try offering frozen blood worms tomorrow.
Water parameters:
Temp ~ 79
Nitrate ~ 10ppm
Ammonia & Nitrite = 0
pH ~ 7.2
The store has a 14 day return policy on FW fish and I know I could take him back, but I don't think they'd take the time to treat him, though if there's nothing I can do I'd prefer to exchange or return him rather than have him die on day #16. Should I return him or try to treat him and hope for the best? Can anyone recommend other treatments? I'm currently thinking about trying either Metronidazole (SeaChem's Zole) or Flubendazole but open to other suggestions.
Thanks