Help, Sick Blue Ram?

[kholton]

I've only had the poor little guy for about 8 hours now, but he hasn't looked good at all the entire time he's been in the tank. He's breathing at what seems to me to be an extremely high rate... I've checked ammonia several times now, and each test has confirmed that there is less than .25ppm. I'm not sure what could be causing this... I bought him today along with a bunch of plants. He's in a 10g planted tank along with 7 neon tetras (which are all acting normally) and none of them are gasping at the surface or anything, but it still looks as though he's suffocating or something. pH is around 6.4, I know it could definitely be a little lower, but I'm working on doing that slowly. Could that be what's causing his has respiration? Just please let me know if you have any ideas... I'm worried about him.

Tyvm,

~Kaden

 

[subliminalanarchy]

I wonder if the store you got him from used a different water source? The only thing I can think of would be that he's stressed from a tough transition.

 

[kholton]

I had thought that it might be stress, I'm just unsure because of the severity of it... I'm going to bed though, so I'll just have to hope for the best, and see how he's doing in the morning.

 

[ChelseaLake]

Good luck! Let us know how he's doing! Best wishes!

 

[kholton]

Woke up this morning and he's dead... All the other fish are just fine though... Well... I'm just going to hope that there wasn't anything that I could do, and attempt to make my way back to the LFS sometime today. (difficult because I don't have a car at the moment) haha... They have a 48 hour guarantee... But I'm not sure how I'm going to make it there in the next 24 hours! Well. This sucks. I guess I'll let you guys know what unfolds.

 

[mfdrookie516]

how did you acclimate the fish to your tank?

 

[kholton]

I suppose I didn't really acclimate him at all, aside from temperature acclimation... I've never kept fish that were sensitive enough to require anything more than that. I hadn't really thought about how susceptible Blue Rams are to things like pH changes... Still though, I hadn't thought that it would hurt him... He made it at least 10 hours, but after that I can't be sure when he died. I called the LFS back, and they said that they would take it (along with a sample of my water) for a refund or exchange, but the problem is that I may have a hard time getting there. We'll see I suppose.

 

[meegosh]

With fish like blue rams you will want to drip acclimate them. They are very sensitive to water parameters. To make matters worse, usually the stock going around in petstores is sub-par to say the least.

 

[DragonFish71]

All I can say is +1.


After having such bad luck with GBRs in the past, we've finally gotten 3 pairs doing great. (knock on wood) Now I'm no longer a GBR murderess.

 

[mfdrookie516]

I'm actually planning on getting a pair for my new tank. They are, from what I have read, extremely sensitive.

That being said, I drip acclimate every fish i get for at least 30 minutes, usually 45. This is the case even if I am moving them from one tank to another in my house.

 

[kholton]

Thanks guys... Looks like I'm going to be purchasing a drip acclimation kit whenever I make it back to the fish store...

 

[mfdrookie516]

nah, don't waste your money... just buy a 6-8' piece of air line tubing, tie a knot in the bottom very loosely... suck on the bottom until water starts coming down the tube, aim it at the bucket, then tighten up the knot so that it drips 1 drop a second or so

 

[RamCichlidLover]

nah, don't waste your money... just buy a 6-8' piece of air line tubing, tie a knot in the bottom very loosely... suck on the bottom until water starts coming down the tube, aim it at the bucket, then tighten up the knot so that it drips 1 drop a second or so

then let it go for half an hour or so

 

[kholton]

Haha, thanks, I guess I'll check that out... My LFS sells them for $5 I think? with little clips that hold them on the edge of the tank and everything... but I suppose I'll have to see how "convenient" they really are.

Thanks!

~Kaden

 

[mfdrookie516]

well, if it's only $5, its not that big a deal... airline tubing is just a couple bucks though. whatever floats your boat

 

[DragonFish71]

I always seem to have feet of tubing around the house and some of those fittings that you would use to attach several airstones to one pump. I use the tubing with one of the fitting that has the screw type dial to control the flow. Same principle as tying the knot. Lets you adjust the flow.

 

[RamCichlidLover]

i personaly would just use regular tubing and tie it in a knot

 

[Homedog98]

Just curious, but are bolivian rams any less sensitive? And I've never heard of drip acclimation, would I need to do it with a Bolivian too?

 

[RamCichlidLover]

it's best to do it with any fish to reduce stress

 

[mfdrookie516]

Bolivians are not as sensitive, but drip acclimation, IMHO, should be done on all fish