Rams keep dying

[rohitp78]

Hello All,

i had 2 of my female rams die within 1 day. they both had similiar conditions. One of them died this morning. It was healthy and doing good 2 days back, it ate frozen worms.

Then suddenly yesterday it was not active and stayed at one place for a long time. I thought that since it was pregnant it might be a little less active. But then later in evening i saw its colors were very dark, dark grey. and it died this morning. (the same thing happened with my previous ram female)

Water parameters are good,
ammonia - 0
nitrite - 0
nitrate -5-10
water changes - weekly 30%

I am treating my tank for ick and temperature is set to 88F. My male ram and other fish are fine.

Also i lost some fish (2 cardinals, 2 threadfin rainbows) after raising the temperature. Does increasing temperature not safe for some fish species?

Thanks in Advance

 

[Zagz]

Sorry for your loss. Increasing the tank temps will not hurt the fish. How quickly did you raise the temps?

The rams probably had ich even though it wasn't visible on them. Do extra water changes to keep the water extra pristine, although your parameters look good.

Are you using any other treatment for the ich than the heat? Other methods of treatment for ich can harm some fish.

 

[rohitp78]

Thanks for the reply Zagz

Few days back i had increased the temperature to 88F from 80F in 2-3 days. I have not seen any ick spot in last 3 days and i will continue to maintain the temperature for one and half week more. Rams were added when the tank temperature was 88F.

my tank has 4 dwarf rainbows, 3 neons, 2 corys, 2 otos, 1 hatchet, 1 theradfin rainbow, 1 Ram, 1 male betta in 30 Gallon. all other fish are doing good.

I will make an extra 30% water change today, good i have python .

Does anyone know the reason my Rams are turning dark grey few hours (5-6 hours) before they die?

Thanks again!

 

[JustOneMore20]

Usually rams lose their colors when they are stressed. If you added the rams when the temp was 88F, it probably stressed them out because the temp at the LFS (if that's where you got them) was most likely alot less.

IME rams don't handle any kind of stress very well.

I'd wait until you lower the temp and the ick is gone before introducing anymore. Your water parameters and PWC schedule look fine, so that shouldn't be the problem.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Also, many of the rams you get from the lfs are usually very weak, even though they seem to be fine. Getting rams through a breeder is probably the best way to get GBR's. I recently got 10, and they are doing fantastic.

Also, what is the gh and kh of your water, as well as ph? Just curious as it seems people with much harder water seem to have more problems with rams not making it. They can be acclimated, but do seem much weaker in hard water. I have fairly soft water here, and have had no problems with rams from the lfs or breeders here. Could be another possibility.

 

[rohitp78]

It might have been the intital shock my ram got when i introduced in my tank at 88F (i did float the bag for 30 mins). I bought it 2 weeks back, she was doing very good for 2 weeks and had layed eggs in 2-3 days after i got it, but did not see then next day. Probably my cories ate them.

She would have layed eggs in next 2 days also, but unfortunately she was not able to make it.

Do you think that she might have died after 2 weeks of shock?

Thanks!

 

[Lonewolfblue]

The shock probably took a lot out of her. Also, with the stress of the males wanting to spawn, could have been too much. It's like for the ick treatment of any fish, you raise the temp over a 2-3 day period. Floating them for only 30 minutes to the 88 degrees may have been too much. But GBR's are better off in higher temp waters anyways, so it's hard telling. Currently I have my tanks at 89-90 degrees, completing my ick treatment. And my GBR's are loving it. But then again, the hardness of the water is also key, IMO.

Water changes is the other key as well. I do a minimum of 50% weekly, sometimes a little more. GBR's need pristine conditions, as stated above.

 

[rohitp78]

Thanks for the reply Lonewolfblue! Gh is 75(soft), Kh is 80 (moderate) and ph is 7.8, the same as tap water. I don't add any ph lowering agents.

I also think that it was temperature shock and breeding that stressed out my female. Good that my GBR male is doing good.

Thanks for suggestions, i will be adding fish only after 2 weeks.