Lethargic/non hungry blue ram...

[Corey]

My female blue ram hasn't been acting in her usual exploratory, hungry ways the last day or two. She is lethargic (stays in one place staring at a wall for long periods of time) and was not interested in food today (VERY unlike her). Her coloring is also darker than normal (she looks to be in "battle mode"), and her eyes are a darker red than normal. She seems to be breathing somewhat heavily.

Last week, I brought home several cories that died within several hours of being introduced to the tank. They seemed very disoriented, doing barrel rolls, and having difficulty staying upright on the bottom. Not sure what was wrong with them, but when I found one of them dead, its tail was missing. The prime suspect in the tank to have eaten the tail would be my female blue ram, as she is always exploring and picking at things.

PH is low/mid 7's, ammonia/nitrite are 0, nitrate is ~20.
All other fish are behaving normally, including the male ram.

I am worried she has picked up the sickness from the dead cory.
Any idea what that could be? What should I do? I have the means to quarantine/treat her, but I wouldn'tt know what to treat her with.
She is probably my favorite, most personable fish, so any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[Zagz]

It is possible she got something from the cories. QT tank's are the best thing you can do for your exsisting fish.

That aside, I would do a 50% pwc right away as sometimes that can help immediately. Are there any other external symptoms than you mentioned? You could also add an airstone or bubbler if you haven't got one in the tank already. What is the temp of your tank? What size tank and what tank inhabitants?

 

[Corey]

It is possible she got something from the cories. QT tank's are the best thing you can do for your exsisting fish.

That aside, I would do a 50% pwc right away as sometimes that can help immediately. Are there any other external symptoms than you mentioned? You could also add an airstone or bubbler if you haven't got one in the tank already. What is the temp of your tank? What size tank and what tank inhabitants?

Mindy has passed away. Mork is pale and searching the tank frantically looking for his lost mate It breaks my heart to watch, poor little guy.

I did a 25% water change. Temp was ~81. No external symptoms that I noticed. I placed her body in the freezer, hopefully I can find a marine biologist to take a look. Tank is a 45gallon.
Inhabitants:

1 L052 Pleco
1 baby clown pleco
2 dwarf cories (have lost 4 in the past 2 months)
1 normal cory
6 Zebra danios
3 otos
1 blue ram

I found a dwarf cory dead when I did the PWC with missing eyes and tail. They have been coming up dead for the past 2 months, 4 of them so far.
I'm guessing she picked at either that one or the 2 normal new cories that died last week, and got sick.

I actually can't believe how upset I am. She was such a great little fish. She'll be missed dearly.

What can I do to keep my other fish safe?
Thanks.

 

[Zagz]

I am so very sorry for your loss. I truly understand your pain. I have lost a prized fish and been upset for several days over it. We can certainly get attached to our fish.

 

[rich311k]

I am sorry for your loss. Non fish keepers just dont understand how attached we get to our little friends.

 

[Corey]

Thanks very much for the replies.
Rich, its funny you put it that way - I always half-jokingly refer to my fish as my little underwater friends

I'm thinking about Mork, the male ram now. The fish are sleeping with their moonlights on right now, and its sad to see him all by himself in their corner without her. If I were to add a female ram, could they become a mated pair? Or would it be best to add several rams? How should I go about finding him another friend?

On a side note, is it normal at all for a male to follow a female ram around all the time? I've heard that usually the male will lead with the female following, but in my Ram's cases, the male (Mork) would follow the female (Mindy) around. That's one of the reasons I liked her so much.

Thanks again.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Sorry to hear for your loss. I recently lost a male due to another fish taking a chunk out of his forehead, and he took a nosedive from there. Didn't make it 2 days. Just hid and didn't eat.

I actually think it would be better to add a few more, and not just 1 female. 3-5 total would be fine. I have 4 in mine, and 3 Bolivians. They all get along great. And as for size, if you can add a female of similar size, I'd do that. And if they have some babies, about 1/2 to 3/4 inches, I'd get a couple of them too. When I added my babies, the female GBR took them under her arms, so to speak. And the baby female likes hanging out with the larger male. Quite the characters they have. And the baby male, well, he thinks he owns all the real estate, lol.

 

[Corey]

I actually think it would be better to add a few more, and not just 1 female. 3-5 total would be fine.

Sorry to hear of your loss as well.
Your tank sounds like it'd be a lot of fun - I like the idea of a family of rams.
Do you think its safe to add fish for me right now? Although I don't think my tank is sick, but rather I introduced a sick fish which made others sick, I'm not sure if I should add more right away.

Again, the cories I bought last week were sick from the store, as they were not doing well in the bag (still, idiot me didn't QT them). But I don't understand the slow die-off of my dwarf cories? 4 in 2 months. I have not lost a single fish (until today) other than SIX cories - I guess I just have bad luck with them, which is ironic considering my name.
I have religiously done water changes, and I don't believe my tank parameters have ever been anything but great.

Any input is appreciated,
Thanks.

 

[Jchillin]

I am sorry to hear about your unfortunate episode. From what I can see from your posts, everything was fine until you introduced the new cories. You mentioned that you found another cory during the water change that had evidence of being partially consumed (eyes out and missing tail).

This tells me that whatever did in your cories has the possibility of having been introduced to your other fish. Your bottom dwellers may have seen this as an opportunity for a quick meal (nature abhors a vacuum).

You would do well to monitor your tank for any new signs of problems. It could well be an internal parasite that was introduced with your cories.

And, a tip regarding new fish purchases. When you go shopping, watch the fish you want for awhile. Ascertain how long the store has had them as it is never a good idea to buy any new arrivals. Look for the healthiest fish and ensure that you get the exact fish that you want. Most LFS, especially when netting fast, hard to catch fish, will usually grab whatever fish they can since it's easier on them.

 

[Corey]

You would do well to monitor your tank for any new signs of problems. It could well be an internal parasite that was introduced with your cories.

Thanks Jchillin.
Do you think I should treat the tank with an anti-parasite medication?
Should I wait to add fish? The male ram is still kind of pale and seems to be looking for the female (making a continuous search around the tank). It'd be nice to get him some friends as soon as I could (I will be QTing from now on however...)
What signs should I look for in the remaining fish?
Thanks.

 

[RoK]

And, a tip regarding new fish purchases. When you go shopping, watch the fish you want for awhile. Ascertain how long the store has had them as it is never a good idea to buy any new arrivals. Look for the healthiest fish and ensure that you get the exact fish that you want. Most LFS, especially when netting fast, hard to catch fish, will usually grab whatever fish they can since it's easier on them.

That is very good advice. I do that as well.

Do you think I should treat the tank with an anti-parasite medication?
Should I wait to add fish? The male ram is still kind of pale and seems to be looking for the female (making a continuous search around the tank). It'd be nice to get him some friends as soon as I could (I will be QTing from now on however...)
What signs should I look for in the remaining fish?
Thanks.

You can use an anti-parasite medicated food or parasite clear might work.
Waiting to add fish when there's a pathological problem is always a good idea.