I think my Ropefish killed my Ram!

[GouramiFanatic]

Last night when I fed everyone I noticed that only 2 of my 3 Rams came out to eat. Very odd!! I started looking around and found it's body laying under one of the caves that the Rope has been seen hiding in from time to time. I scooped it out and it had a 'hole' on it's belly about the size of the Rope's mouth. I think the poor thing was probably sleeping and the Ropefish mistook it for a fish that it could swallow. I feel awful. I really like my Rams and I'm surprised that the Rope would try to eat one of them, if that's what happened. I tested the parameters and they're still fine so I don't know what else would've happened to have caused it's death. So, now I'm down to having only 2 Rams.

 

[bs6749]

Wow that really stinks. Sorry to hear about that. : (

 

[locorosa]

Let's assume he's innocent until proven guilty...
I am very sorry about the Ram. With the water perims being good it does make one suspicious...

 

[Jarred Darque]

Rams are pretty finicky though. Was it an unpaired maile or female? what are the sexes o nthe other two? I have had them die seemingly from depression. The female of my pair died off from being overbred, within a few months, the male became sluggish and then started trying to commit suicide in otherwise perfect water params until he died one afternoon.

 

[toddnbecka]

If the ropefish had been the culprit, it's more likely the ram would have been swallowed whole. They aren't likely to kill something too large to eat. I once had a small bicher in a tank with a pair of African butterfly fish, and several other fish as well. One day I found the female butterfly with a chunk missing from her abdomen, and immediately scooped out the bicher to return it to the lfs. The misssing chunk was just about the same size as the bicher's mouth. When I got back, the female butterfly was in worse shape, with more of her abdomen missing. 8O After watching the tank for a few minutes, I saw the small Leporinus swim up and nibble off another tiny bit. The butterfly seemed oblivious to what was happening, didn't even react or move away. The really sad part was that she was full of eggs, they were clearly visible with part of her belly gone.

 

[tropicfishman]

awww sorry to hear that! what was his/her name?

 

[hc8719]

i've heard that a mated pair of rams will chase off an unpaired (third) ram, it could have been this, and stress could have killed them. the ropefish, being an opportunist saw a dead ram...