blue rams

[heatheraustin]

Hi guys I am having some trouble with my Blue Rams. I got one and it did fine acelimating to the tank but I have not been able to get any more to survive. The last one was doing good for almost a month and now it is dying. is is "breathing" very heavy and not eating. Which is what the others did when when they died when I first got them. Does anyone have any idea?

 

[timwag2001]

what are your water parameters? have you tested for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate?

 

[Zagz]

Welcome to AA! The first questions I will ask are what size tank and did you test your parameters?

 

[GhostKnife]

I will have you know that I had the same problem with one. When I got two about 2 months ago or so ... They both were fine and then one died after breathing heavy and not eating. I still have the one and he is doing great. They did bring ich into my tank however this was my negligence and it was remedied. The other GBR did not die of ich however it was starvation and a weird behavior of staying in a spot and breathing heavy not interacting. However since you are new here do as Zags said. Many people are good at helping diagnose with a few things that are standard. Tank size, water parameters, how many fish, and what fish.
P.S. Some GBRs are injected with hormones to present better color and some do not last long because of this.

 

[GhostKnife]

They also need a mature aquarium water is what Ive heard.

 

[timwag2001]

if i remember right, bs6749 is the person to talk to about rams around here

 

[meegosh]

I'd say they are probably inferior fish to begin with. That seems to be the trend, unfortunately. I had the same happen to two of mine I got a while back. bs6749 is the one you want to talk to. He is breeding some right now, hopefully putting a post in the classifieds soon. *hint hint nudge nudge*

 

[mike47517]

if i remember right, bs6749 is the person to talk to about rams around here

yup i agree

 

[heatheraustin]

Sorry I did not really introduce my self I am very frustrated about my fish problem and the only store around here that answers questions is Petco so I have been lost. I am really glad to have found a community of people who are also into fish I have not be able find any one near me. I have had a fish tank for 12 years.
My fish tank is 45 gallons I have a canister filter and a CO2 diffuser. I have tetras, glass cats, danios, cory cats, a bristle nose pleco, two bango cats and live plants. I have tested my water and I don’t have high ammonia nitrite and nitrate. My PH is around 6.7 I don’t know if the PH could be a problem.

 

[xander]

I just lost my ram this same way. all other fish were fine. I did a PWC when I notice his behavior drastically change. He was dead the next day.

 

[bs6749]

Sorry I did not really introduce my self I am very frustrated about my fish problem and the only store around here that answers questions is Petco so I have been lost. I am really glad to have found a community of people who are also into fish I have not be able find any one near me. I have had a fish tank for 12 years.
My fish tank is 45 gallons I have a canister filter and a CO2 diffuser. I have tetras, glass cats, danios, cory cats, a bristle nose pleco, two bango cats and live plants. I have tested my water and I don’t have high ammonia nitrite and nitrate. My PH is around 6.7 I don’t know if the PH could be a problem.

pH is not a factor here, if anything it is right where it should be. Wild rams live in soft and acidic water with a pH of 5.0-6.5. pH is mainly a factor in determining sex of the fish when they are eggs. Store bought rams are often doomed from the start, especially if they come from Asia. Did you get the rams from Petco? If so they are most likely Asian bred.

"Rapid breathing" is common in rams. Causes of extremely fast breathing can include poor water quality (high nitrates, nitrites, ammonia), meds in the water that remove oxygen, and gill flukes among others. I think you should look into your CO2 diffuser as the first possible source of this rapid breathing and then gill flukes if you find your CO2 levels to be in check.