German blue rams= dead fish!?

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ColemAnthony1

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So My uncle decided to surprise me and buy me a bought a German blue ram from PetCo about a week and a half ago and it died within about 3 days of him buying it. I wasn't too surprised about the ram's death ( I havnt had much luck with Rams), but I was surprised when my fish that have been thriving for a year and a half slowly started dying one by one. I checked the water parameters and everything appeared normal. No signs of ich or any parasite or abnormality in the fish. This exact same thing happened the last time I bought a GBR from PetCo a couple of years ago. I've bought other fish from PetCo with no ill effects. This only happens when I buy GBRs. What is going on?!
 
When you say "normal", what do you mean? Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH?
GBRs are very sensitive to nitrates. Also need to be acclimated slowly. I usually drip acclimate.
 
The fish that were infected did stop eating. I still have an electric blue Acara who hasn't eaten in days. My water parameters are
pH: ~8.0
Ammonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: ~40(+)
My well water naturally has high nitrates in it and there really isn't anything I can do about it. The fish have been doing fine with the nitrate level for a year and a half, so I don't worry about it.
 
The fish that were infected did stop eating. I still have an electric blue Acara who hasn't eaten in days. My water parameters are
pH: ~8.0
Ammonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: ~40(+)
My well water naturally has high nitrates in it and there really isn't anything I can do about it. The fish have been doing fine with the nitrate level for a year and a half, so I don't worry about it.

The nitrate level may have been just one issue why the rams died so quickly but the other fish, the ram probably brought something in with it that has infected your other fish which is why they are dying so rapidly after doing so well for so long. There are many more diseases besides parasites that kill fish so just because you can't see them on the outside does not mean they aren't on the inside. :eek:
This is just another example of why it is ssooooooooo important to qt all new fish no matter where they come from for a period of time ( not just a week or 2) to make sure they don't bring anything with them into your tank.

As for your well water having such high nitrates, you may want to use some type of nitrate absorbing filter/ material on your water prior to adding it to the aquarium. Depending on what type you use, this can be done by holding water in a plastic garbage pail and running a HOB on it with the material or adding it to an inside corner filter until the nitrate level is down to 0 and safer to use. Just because it comes out of the tap that way does not mean you have to use it that way. All water can be altered if you want to do it. :whistle: In your case, at 40PPM, I would highly suggest it as that level is a bit of a stress on a lot of fish types.
Another option is to do some live plants that are know nitrate absorbers. Do more frequent smaller water changes so that the plants have a chance to absorb the new amount of nitrate being added. This is a more costly and slower method than filtering however but it does give you more options. (y)
 
The nitrate level may have been just one issue why the rams died so quickly but the other fish, the ram probably brought something in with it that has infected your other fish which is why they are dying so rapidly after doing so well for so long. There are many more diseases besides parasites that kill fish so just because you can't see them on the outside does not mean they aren't on the inside. :eek:

This is just another example of why it is ssooooooooo important to qt all new fish no matter where they come from for a period of time ( not just a week or 2) to make sure they don't bring anything with them into your tank.



As for your well water having such high nitrates, you may want to use some type of nitrate absorbing filter/ material on your water prior to adding it to the aquarium. Depending on what type you use, this can be done by holding water in a plastic garbage pail and running a HOB on it with the material or adding it to an inside corner filter until the nitrate level is down to 0 and safer to use. Just because it comes out of the tap that way does not mean you have to use it that way. All water can be altered if you want to do it. :whistle: In your case, at 40PPM, I would highly suggest it as that level is a bit of a stress on a lot of fish types.

Another option is to do some live plants that are know nitrate absorbers. Do more frequent smaller water changes so that the plants have a chance to absorb the new amount of nitrate being added. This is a more costly and slower method than filtering however but it does give you more options. (y)



Thanks for the reply. Could you maybe be a little more specific on how to lower my nitrate levels? What kind of "material" would I put into the HOB filter to remove it?
 
You change water to remove nitrates

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I believe they say purigen removes nitrates?
It is rechargeable so a way better option then most other choices...
 
I change my water on a weekly/ bi weekly basis and I have Purigen in my canister filter, but the nitrates still read ~40(+). My well water has nitrates in it already, so changing the water doesn't remove it.
 
There are lots of choices for nitrate removing filter media. Just walk down the fish isle at petsmart or petco and you'll find some. Not sure of any specific brands. Adding plants would be my personal choice though.
 
I change my water on a weekly/ bi weekly basis and I have Purigen in my canister filter, but the nitrates still read ~40(+). My well water has nitrates in it already, so changing the water doesn't remove it.

You need ro or distilled water





I believe they say purigen removes nitrates?
It is rechargeable so a way better option then most other choices...




jury is out as far as I know, I've read that a cannister full of seachem matrix will off gas nitrates??


There are lots of choices for nitrate removing filter media. Just walk down the fish isle at petsmart or petco and you'll find some. Not sure of any specific brands. Adding plants would be my personal choice though.

Maybe but I wouldn't put much stock into anything short of altering the water source for desired results.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G891A using Aquarium Advice mobile app
 
There are pre made filter pads for some HOBs that specifically remove nitrates and there are cut to fit pads as well. There is also a product by Seachem called De-Nitrate that can be used in a sock or bag or an old fashioned inside the tank corner filter.
I think your best bet is to do this to the water BEFORE adding into the tank so that you are consistently reducing the level in the tank with every water change. Each time you add the "bad" water and wait for the filter to remove it, you may be damaging the fish in the tank. It could take days to remove all the nitrate in your water so I continue to suggest getting yourself another container to treat your water change water. (y)
 
GBR's are finicky. I breed them for fun and the babies are near impossible to keep alive. Temperature is also big for them. I keep my temperature at 82. Having a planted aquarium will help with the high nitrates, especially floating plants like salvinia minima. I would normally recommend not to buy from Petsmart or PetCo because there have been inbreeding issues and who knows what else. I get mine from a guy out in California where I know the strains are pure which helps me know their immune systems are strong. I used to have a breeding pair, but the male died this year, but the female is going strong. She is almost 2 years old now.
 
I used to have bucket loads of floating water lettuce, but I got rid of it because it demanded so much light and that resulted in algae problems. I would love to have live plants and have tried several times with no success [emoji53]. Any tips? I have tried even simple Anubias but they never attached to the driftwood and never grew anything but algae all over the leaves and they eventually just withered away. If I could keep plants alive I gladly would.
 
I used to have bucket loads of floating water lettuce, but I got rid of it because it demanded so much light and that resulted in algae problems. I would love to have live plants and have tried several times with no success [emoji53]. Any tips? I have tried even simple Anubias but they never attached to the driftwood and never grew anything but algae all over the leaves and they eventually just withered away. If I could keep plants alive I gladly would.

Algae is probably from the high nitrates, which is a storm you need to weather. I have always found success with either Frogbit or Salvinia Minima, and tried Water Lettuce once and didn't like it. My tank has Anubis Barteri and Crypt Wendti among many other plants and those do just fine. I haven't attached any plants to my driftwood though, just straight into the substrate. Plants are a really good way to help lower your nitrates, but I would also recommend to use Seachem Flourish tabs as well. Don't gravel vac at all, if you want plants. Plants need nutrients. Plants compete with algae for nutrients, and over time the plants will win.

I also think it is necessary (opinion) for a happy German Blue Ram for planted aquariums to help reduce stress. But try to stay away from pet shops unless they are specialty shops. If they do not quarantine the fish in separate tanks away from the show tanks before selling them, that is usually a good sign to stay away from buying anything alive.

For example, there is only one shop in Atlanta I trust to buy fish (I buy most of mine online anyways). He quarantines his fish for a minimum for 3 weeks and if there any signs of sickness he will keep them in quarantine until they are healthy.
 
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GBR's are finicky. I breed them for fun and the babies are near impossible to keep alive. Temperature is also big for them. I keep my temperature at 82. Having a planted aquarium will help with the high nitrates, especially floating plants like salvinia minima. I would normally recommend not to buy from Petsmart or PetCo because there have been inbreeding issues and who knows what else. I get mine from a guy out in California where I know the strains are pure which helps me know their immune systems are strong. I used to have a breeding pair, but the male died this year, but the female is going strong. She is almost 2 years old now.
Sounds like Yunite???:whistle:
I hold firm rams are not beginner or 'easy' fish...
Getting them from a reputable breeder is why I breed them...
I know all fish are better this way because we as breeders are better caretakers of our finny friends. But name another fish besides discus that says out loud in most descriptions it is best to find a reputable breeder....(y)
 
Sounds like Yunite???:whistle:
I hold firm rams are not beginner or 'easy' fish...
Getting them from a reputable breeder is why I breed them...
I know all fish are better this way because we as breeders are better caretakers of our finny friends. But name another fish besides discus that says out loud in most descriptions it is best to find a reputable breeder....(y)

You got me! I have used him for years and will continue to do so. Certain types of Gouramis and Cichlids I would add to that list along with Class N Endlers. Endlers are one on the most inbred species out there due to commercial breeders not caring anything about them. Thats why they are so expensive to find pure strains, or even cross strains (different from inbred). Also since it can be argued that they are extinct in the wild so finding a pure strain is hard to find.
 
I don't understand why all of my plants just die. What do you do to have the success that you do with your plants?
 
How long has the tank been running? Do you do gravel vacuums? Do you plant your plants straight into your gravel? Did you fertilize your plants at all?
 
How long are your lights on and what light are you using.
Besides nutrients algae often grows from a light cycle too long.Many planted tanks keep lighting to 6-8 hours a day I believe .
 
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