Had two rams for about 2 weeks now, but one of them seems to be acting strange now. Its been swimming near the surface, breathing rapidly. the tip of its mouth seems to be narrowly touching the water surface, and it makes a 45 Degree angle with the surface and its body. It started doing this about 2 days ago, so im not sure what could be happening. Parameters are fine, ammonia and nitrites at 0, nitrates less than 5 PPM. I havent really noticed anything else wrong with it or the other fish in the tank. Its colors seem a bit faded though, could it be stressed for some reason? The tank has plenty of plants and several floating plants for it to hide.
Ram very close to surface
- Thread starter Ziggs180
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kdpuffer
Aquarium Advice Addict
dont really know what the issue could be but when in doubt do a water change.
Bl80
Aquarium Advice FINatic
What's your tank temperature and your filtration?
I feed them Flakes about 3 times a week, Bloodworms twice a week, and de-shelled peas once a week. They are also eating some live worms that have somehow gotten into the substrate, as well as some various other bugs. My Tank Temperature is 80 Degrees and i normally dont use Filtration because of my tank setup, but i have a Aquaclear 3000 running to clear the water of Tannins from driftwood i added a month ago.
Took a good look at them, they dont see to have their bellies swollen. I've compared to Rams i've seen in pictures and their bellies seem to be normal. Although i've noticed this morning that one of the Rams has a red spot on its side, where one of its scales are, that wasn't there yesterday. Don't think it could be from a fight, all i have are peaceful fish like guppies, harlequins, and amano shrimp. But as of today both of them seem to be at the surface, although the one with the red spot is not breathing as rapidly and is occasionally swimming down to the bottom.
AMMONIA POISONING
Symptoms:
Fish gasp for breath at the water surface
Purple or red gills
Fish is lethargic
Fins are torn & jagged
Loss of appetite
Fish lays at the bottom of the tank
Fish may appear darker in color
Red streaking on the fins or body
Symptoms of Stress & Disease
Ammonia Poisoning General Description
Ammonia poisoning is one of the biggest killers of aquarium fish. Ammonia irritates the fish by burning there gills and scales and sometimes the scales even fall off. It occurs most often when a tank is newly set up. However, it can also occur in an established tank when too many new fish have been added at one time, when the filter fails due to power or mechanical failure, or if bacterial colonies die off due to the use of medications or sudden change in water conditions.
Now when you see a fish that has Black edges on the fish some of the times this is do to the ammonia burning the fish and is in the healing end of it. Nothing to worry about just keep the levels in the tank in a clean environment
Ammonia Poisoning Treatments
Do daily water changes to reduce ammonia levels to 1-2 ppm for freshwater or below 1 ppm for saltwater. Aerate, and make sure pH is at or below 7.0 for freshwater tanks. In addition to or instead of changing water, you can also add a dose of something like AmQuel, but I prefer the water change method. Find out why ammonia is present and correct the problem.
Ammonia Poisoning Prevention
Stock new tanks slowly, proper cycling.
Feed sparingly and remove uneaten food (I'm serious)
Change water regularly 20% weekly.
Test water regularly.
The key to avoiding fish death from ammonia poisoning is to not let the ammonia build up in the first place. Completely cycle the tank before adding fish. Even in an well established tank, avoid overstocking.
Feed fish very small quantities of foods. They really don't need much to eat. Gravel wash and change 20% of the water weekly, taking care of fish is a responsibility.
Symptoms:
Fish gasp for breath at the water surface
Purple or red gills
Fish is lethargic
Fins are torn & jagged
Loss of appetite
Fish lays at the bottom of the tank
Fish may appear darker in color
Red streaking on the fins or body
Symptoms of Stress & Disease
Ammonia Poisoning General Description
Ammonia poisoning is one of the biggest killers of aquarium fish. Ammonia irritates the fish by burning there gills and scales and sometimes the scales even fall off. It occurs most often when a tank is newly set up. However, it can also occur in an established tank when too many new fish have been added at one time, when the filter fails due to power or mechanical failure, or if bacterial colonies die off due to the use of medications or sudden change in water conditions.
Now when you see a fish that has Black edges on the fish some of the times this is do to the ammonia burning the fish and is in the healing end of it. Nothing to worry about just keep the levels in the tank in a clean environment
Ammonia Poisoning Treatments
Do daily water changes to reduce ammonia levels to 1-2 ppm for freshwater or below 1 ppm for saltwater. Aerate, and make sure pH is at or below 7.0 for freshwater tanks. In addition to or instead of changing water, you can also add a dose of something like AmQuel, but I prefer the water change method. Find out why ammonia is present and correct the problem.
Ammonia Poisoning Prevention
Stock new tanks slowly, proper cycling.
Feed sparingly and remove uneaten food (I'm serious)
Change water regularly 20% weekly.
Test water regularly.
The key to avoiding fish death from ammonia poisoning is to not let the ammonia build up in the first place. Completely cycle the tank before adding fish. Even in an well established tank, avoid overstocking.
Feed fish very small quantities of foods. They really don't need much to eat. Gravel wash and change 20% of the water weekly, taking care of fish is a responsibility.
absolutangel04
Daphnia are People Too.
I am not completely sure what you mean by saying you don't use filtration. The Aquaclear 3000 is a filter, right?
Anyhow, since you water params are good, the best thing I can tell you is that sometimes this happens with rams. They are notoriously sensitive and it takes them quite awhile sometimes to adjust to a new place, and sometimes they are hard to keep alive. I agree that a water change or 2 couldn't hurt, but I don't know that it would help either.
I am really sorry and I hope everything turns out ok.
Any idea what sort of worms you have? Any chance they are affecting the fish?
my tank is very much cycled, and as stated in the OP, my Ammonia levels are at 0. Additionally i have Guppies and Harlequins as well as Amano shrimp which are doing absolutely fine. I've heard alot of times that Blue Rams suddenly die because of hormonal imbalances injected into them at fish farms, i hope this might not be whats causing them to act strangely.
absolutangel04
Daphnia are People Too.
Unfortunately, many people have a really hard time keeping gbr's alive. They tend to die soon after purchase. I don't know that it is because of hormones (depends on where your fish were raised), but it is certainly not unheard of. It doesn't look good though.
Any idea what the worms are? Most common worms shouldn't affect the fish at all, but you should figure out what it is for sure to make sure.
the Worms are definitly tubifex, i cant clean my gravel because i have dirt underneath and it would cause alot of problems if i uplifted the dirt underneath the gravel, so they started appearing. my GBR hunted them down and i havent seen any in a week, they also killed atleast two very small dragonfly nymphs, and some weird spider-like bug that i cant identify. One of the GBR's is starting to act lethargic and is sitting at the bottom, I dont think hes going to make it.
Just got home, found one of the Rams at the bottom of the tank being eaten by my Amano shrimps! I inspected its corpse, and its sides seemed a bit bloated, but not its belly. Additonally, the other Ram thats still alive seems to have some whiteish layer on its skin, and it almost looks like some of its scales are falling off. It definitely looks like some sort of Fungus, I will have to buy some Anti-fungal medicine to treat the tank, although it looks like my Guppies and Harlequins are perfectly fine.
I have Primafix, but i attempted to treat it a few months ago and it caused a massive Bacterial bloom that choked oxygen out of the water, and did more harm than good. Anybody suggest some Good Anti-fungal medicines?
I have Primafix, but i attempted to treat it a few months ago and it caused a massive Bacterial bloom that choked oxygen out of the water, and did more harm than good. Anybody suggest some Good Anti-fungal medicines?
absolutangel04
Daphnia are People Too.
Thats too bad. Sorry about the death. I hope the other guy can pull through!
Where did you get your dirt under the gravel from? Did it come with worms and bugs and dragonfly nymphs?
Cichildlife
Aquarium Advice Addict
- Joined
- Jul 22, 2011
- Messages
- 1,146
Im sorry for your loss, hope your other fish make it..
the dirt is called Miracle-Gro, my Tank is a Walstad Natural planted tank. I usually change the water from the tap, however i have a source of Well water in my backyard for watering the grass, and that water has a lower PH. I Occasionally get water from said underground well pump, and put it into my tank. I'm pretty sure they got into the tank as eggs through that water source, considering that around one of the times I changed the water, the Dragonflys were in Breeding season.
absolutangel04
Daphnia are People Too.
Ah. That makes sense.
Can you put up a picture of you last ram? Sorry to say it doesn't sound good, but we will still help in any way we can!
Won't be able to get a Camera til tommorow morning, but i will post a picture then. Hopefully the Ram will make it through the night, I will also perform a water change tommorow to try and clear up any possible bad water chemistry, see if that makes her situation better.
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