German Blue Ram Discussion

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My male ram is going down hill and I really think I'm gonna lose him. Everything was fine until last night. The male turned really dark in color and started hanging near the top corner of the tank. He seems listless and didn't come to eat at feeding time :x I tested the water and my nitrates were 10 ppm but I did a water change anyway. I didn't want the ram disturbed during the water change so I moved him to an aerated bucket while I quickly changed about 30% of the water and then I moved him back. To give you an idea of his state.....he was way too easy to net out and I didn't have to do any chasing 8O I really believed he would be dead by this morning but he's not. He is still hanging in his corner and he is still very dark in color & inactive. I added extra aeration to the tank last night.....but I'm fairly certain this won't help since there was adequate aeration to begin with. I figured in couldn't hurt. The temp is 78 degrees.

Other then turning much darker in coloration, not eating, and being pretty inacative I don't see any other physical signs. He isn't bloated, pineconed, breathing heavy or anything else. Though he is "hanging" at the top and this is very unusual for him.

Poor guy.
 
Geez talloulou...that doesn't sound good. At this point I would say that he is stressed, though trying to find the cause may prove futile. I can only recommend letting him chill out where he is and keep an eye on him (as I know you are already doing).
 
i have heard of alot of people keeping there tanks much warmer with rams. this may make him more active if the water is warmer. just a suggestion
 
hmmm....the tanks at 78 should I try bumping it up to 80? I don't think that suggestion could hurt so I'll try. I have a bubble wall and another tube on the other side just blowing air so I'm not worried about aeration.

He is still alive but not himself at all. And a new development is that one of my firemouth cichlids was bugging him a bit. I think they can tell he is weak.....the firemouth never bothered him before. So far the firemouth just kind of noses around him and he swims off into some plants. But if that situation gets worse I may have to put the ram in another tank.

Aaaargh so depressing! Plus this fish is named Spike an homage to my favorite tv charachter of all time and very fitting for my mohawked little guy. I can't have a tank with no Spike. Ooooh my poor fishy!
 
since this is something that suddenly occured, I doubt it is temperature related. :? However, I know my rams started thriving when my tank's temp go to be about 85... of course I also lost my female unexpectedly a month or so later so I could be wrong. I am real sorry your ram isn't doing well. I would keep the tank lights off and put a divider in there so the ram won't be bothered by the other fish. Raising the temp won't hurt unless this is a bacterial problem and then it could increase the amount of bacteria, depending on the type of bacteria it is.
 
I am sorry to hear about this talloulou. I'm going to go back through your posts and see if there is something that was missed.

I was pulling for Spike though. :)
 
Sorry to hear that talloulou.. I was really bumbed out when I lost my Ram's... I lost them to a more assertive fish wanting their territory.. :(

Moose
 
Do you think I should try to get another male?......The female looks kind of lost without her Spike....but maybe that's just my perception. I'll wait a couple of days and see how she does. She's eating and acting normal but they were always cruising together so I feel kind of bad for her. At the same time I don't want to add anything new right away.....I'm pretty sure everything in the tank is fine but I want to wait a little bit to make sure no other fish show signs of decline/problems before adding someone new.
 
I'm so sorry to hear about your male talloulou. I would go and get another male, and qt him for a few weeks. I think your female would do well with a companion.
 
Okay, first I confess to reading *only* pages 1~25, 33~36 of this post, but I figure I might as well document my new buddies! Picked up 3 locally bred rams 1.5 weeks ago, put them in my 30"x12"x12" tank with 6 black neons, 2 yoyo loaches & 2 guppies. Also introduced 3 amano shrimp, which have already died (leading to a seperate post). Tank is moderately planted w/ plenty of cover. Rams are mostly still, they "flutter" alot, possibly breathing hard (they are still pretty tiny), but they eat well when the FBS hit the lower regions of the tank. Also pick at veggie wafers. Water parameters are pH~7.5, KH~6, GH~9, Temp~78F, nitrate~0.

Unfortunately, they definitely now have ich. What to do? I saw the neons show little signs first, but the rams are in it pretty bad now. I'm planning on treating chemically, as well as raising temperature. Any other suggested measures to take?

Thanks for a great post JChillin, and all those who contributed. I've learned so much about how to take care of those fry once my rams recover and mature and spawn (long ways down the road! :p)

Update: have now read the entire post and will not medicate w/ chems per Jchillin's advice!
 
You can treat successfully with just heat. Raise the temp to 87d and let it remain that way for a few weeks.

The theory behind this is that Rams are very sensitive to water parameters, which includes meds.

Good luck and hopefully, we will see you back here with a good update.

Note - Shame on you for skipping pages 26-32. :)
 
I FINALLY got my first batch of Rams today. :D I got 6 because I am down to 5 on all of my other schools. I figure that I have room PLUS I know that they are sensitive and prone to early deaths. I just put the bag in the tank and am prepared for a LONG acclimation process.

James actually got them for me for my birthday so I am SOOO excited. The last of my fish are finally in the tank. :D I'm sure there will be more questions later.
 
I know this sounds bad, but I don't know if they are German Blue Rams or the Golden Rams. I pulled out the bag about a half hour after we left the lfs and they looked kind of golden. But at the store they didn't. Maybe it was the lighting they use, I don't know. Or do they lose their blue coloration because of the stress?
 
I just picked up a few Golden Rams yesterday. Should I post pics? I, too, cannot be bothered to go through the other 35 pages of this thread. Why are there only 10 posts per page here? Should be 25.
 
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