Bolivian ram looks terrible

[RackinRocky]

I bought this fish about 2 weeks ago. She looked great. have never seen her eat, just pick at the substrate. I've tried everything--bloodworms, brine and mysis shrimp, NLS flakes, NLS pellets, daphnia, krill, shrimp pellets. She acted interested in the food at first, but didn't eat. Now she's not even interested. As of last night, she rarely erects her fins anymore and is lethargic. I think she's losing weight. Water parameters are Ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 5. I had the temp at 78, but bumped it up to 81 last night. Other inhabitants are a Peacock Gudgeon and a male betta, in a 20 gal. tank. Even if food passes right by her face, she shows no interest. What can I do?
I attached two pics. Any ideas?

 

[brennae]

Have you tried live foods to stimulate the fish? Also have you treated for any parasites? Did you quarantine her before adding to your display tank?

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[Ricky 1]

It's got to be water quality even though your readings are good, do lots of wc asap.....

 

[skylane]

I agree with that water quality , and nitrates should be 0 ppm , ammonia 0 ppm , nitrites 25 ppm. I believe that these are good reading's . do a 20-30 % water change as it will buffer your ph to a safer range and your ammonia spike will disappear. I prepare my water before adding it , and its a better Temp for the fish. I hope this helps you , good luck .
Save the RAMS !!![emoji1]

CLEM.

 

[Ricky 1]

I like, Save the Rams......lol

 

[tiger terror]

I agree with that water quality , and nitrates should be 0 ppm , ammonia 0 ppm , nitrites 25 ppm. I believe that these are good reading's . do a 20-30 % water change as it will buffer your ph to a safer range and your ammonia spike will disappear. I prepare my water before adding it , and its a better Temp for the fish. I hope this helps you , good luck .
Save the RAMS !!![emoji1]

CLEM.

Believe you've got this one backwards...should have 0.0ppm nitrites and nitrates at 5ppm are good..maybe spell check gotcha?!?!
Save dem Ram!!!
sit in silence...

 

[coralbandit]

Internal parasite.
Quick guess says a worm hopefully praziquantel will kill.
Have you seen any worms hanging from fish?
Wasting disease can have a couple causes(sources) ,but in most cases a general wormer will work.
The prazi is really safe for those not comfortable with meds.

Did you sterilize this tank before current stocking or was it existing?

 

[skylane]

Believe you've got this one backwards...should have 0.0ppm nitrites and nitrates at 5ppm are good..maybe spell check gotcha?!?!
Save dem Ram!!!
sit in silence...

Yes and thanks , I thought I got it rite . [emoji22]

 

[RackinRocky]

She started getting listless AFTER the water change that I did yesterday. I have crickets, but she stays at the bottom exclusively, and the crickets float, as a rule. I could try to get one to sink for her, though. No, I have not treated her for parasites. Didn't want to stress her out if she didn't have them, plus she looked so good when I got her, and active. And no, I didn't quarantine her. I know I should have. I do have Prazi-Pro. And no, have never seen a worm hanging from her. The tank and stock were already existing when I got her.
I agree, save the rams! Should I go ahead with the Prazi-Pro? I have nerite snails in there.

 

[brennae]

I've read on this forum that the prazi is fairly gentle. Maybe put the snails in another tank or container just to be safe? I was thinking something like blackworms or white worms. They sink and are very wiggly as they sink and once they hit the bottom. At the least the betta will go nuts for live worms and so will the peacock gudgeon. Very nice little fish, I used to keep a group of them. They really do better if you have more than one and a group is fun to watch.

Oh and something else I'd like to add. Sometimes fish don't present with symptoms right away. Some people qt for 2 weeks but I really feel 4 is best. I have fish from people I don't know and because of that I'm qt those fish for 8 weeks just be sure and so as not to risk any of my other fish.

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[RackinRocky]

I don't know where to get black worms or white worms around here. I'm pretty rural. I'm afraid to get more than one Ram, as I've heard the males can fight, and then where would I put the other one? The only other options are a 10 gallon with rasboras and a female betta, and a 55 gallon with a variety of fish that would certainly get the food before the Ram did.

Were you saying, Brennae, that you kept a group of the gudgeons, or Bolivians? I did used to have four gudgeons, but am down to one due to an accident with the siphon. (They had a nest behind the wood and I wasn't careful enough--awful). Anyway, I'd love to get another Bolivian because the thought did occur to me she could be lonely and/or depressed now that she's the only one. She was in with a lot of other Bolivians at the LFS. I'm grasping at straws here.

 

[brennae]

I had peacock gudgeons, 15 or 20 of them actually they were in a 55g tank. Siphon accidents happen to the best of us. I had short lengths of smaller pvc pipe zip tied together. That's where the were supposed to have eggs but one time I took out the really large sponge filter and out fell a male gudgeon onto the floor. He recovered but there was a cache of eggs in the filter where the airline went in. Those pretty much got eaten by the other gudgeons. I had babies occasionally but they were not in a species only tank and I think that was part of the problem. So you can order worm cultures on Aquabid for pretty cheap. If you go over to the classifieds sections I have a RAOK going on for a white worms culture start. I'll be randomly drawing names from those who posted to be included. Totally free if you win. I cover shipping etc.

I have never kept rams. They're very pretty fish but I just have settled on breeding other fish.

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[brennae]

Oh I meant to ad if it were me I'd treat for parasites. You can order the meds online if you have to. I've seen the prazi for sale in a few pet stores but worst case scenario it's available online.

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[Brookster123]

If the fish is healthy than it'll eat anything really. What's the temp at? How old is the tank? All by itself or other rams? They prefer Sandy bottoms, maybe that gravel has er stressed a bit?

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[RackinRocky]

The temp is at 82. I bumped it up from about 78 or 79 when I saw she was listless. The tank is several years old. A male betta and a Peacock gudgeon are the only other inhabitants. I just did a water change and added Prazi Pro this morning. I'll keep everyone informed. Thank you so much!

 

[Brookster123]

Temp is high, they do better in mid 70's. Could the betta be beating on it?

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[Gillie]

The temp is at 82. I bumped it up from about 78 or 79 when I saw she was listless. The tank is several years old. A male betta and a Peacock gudgeon are the only other inhabitants. I just did a water change and added Prazi Pro this morning. I'll keep everyone informed. Thank you so much!

Temp is high, they do better in mid 70's. Could the betta be beating on it?

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Brookster is right, Bolivians and blue rams require completely different temps, anything above 78 is just wreaking havoc on the fish's system. It's not ich so there really is no need for a jump in temp anyway.


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[RackinRocky]

Just turned the temp back down to 78. Thank you! The betta pays no attention at all to the Ram, or the gudgeon. He's totally laid back. She is more active in the late afternoon and evening. She's even spreading her fins sometimes tonight. She did take a bloodworm today, but chewed it up and spit it back out. Does she look like she's very skinny/starving to you? Second pic was taken just now, in the evening, when she's a lot more active.