new german blue ram

[blizowman1]

so i got my first german blue ram today i opted to just get one instead of a pair. I believe i got a male. In the tank at the lfs he was very colorful very bright, when i got him home i drip acclimated ( kept adding water to the bag for about a hr or maybe alittle longer). once i put him in my tank he seemed to just chill moving from spot to spot not paying any of my other fish any mind. but i noticed his colors have faded out is this just cause hes new will he brighten back up? my other fish consist of 8 pristella tetras, 6 cardinal tetras(thinking of adding a couple more), 4 corys(2 emerald and 2 julli), 1 albino bristlenose pleco. may add a dwarf gourami for the top of my tank later on but thats still yet to be decided.
this is in a 29g planted tank with a aquaclear 70. my tank is fully cycled and parameters is ammonia0 nitrites0 nitrates around 10. my ph satys at 7 i think and my temp is between 76 and 78. so what do you all think will my ram color back up and what exactly do they eat i bought some dried plankton and my dad gave me some frozen mysis shrimp and frozen bloodworms.

the pic of my tank is kinda old my plants have grown in a bit

 

[Harryhorse]

Yes he will color back up depends on his mood lol,I have had rams for about a year and I love them so cool to watch.they seem to change color every couple off days,dull one day than bright the next

 

[jakester334]

He should color back up. The discoloring or whatever you want to call it is probably just from the stress of rehoming etc...... Otherwise it is a beautiful fish.

 

[bs6749]

It's a male for certain. It might not color back completely to what you saw in the store. Are you using 6700K plant lights? I prefer the incandescent lighting when it comes to rams.

 

[blizowman1]

incandescent? yes im using a 6500k 31w and a colormax 31w

 

[bs6749]

Incandescent meaning the "stock" lighting that comes with tanks. The bulbs themselves can give or take much to/from a fish's colors.

 

[blizowman1]

oh thanks for all the encouragement he seems to like his new home he was swimming all over this morning and actually seemed to be playing with my corys I think he might be my favorite fish with my albino bristlenose pleco in second

 

[blizowman1]

well since I've put him in I've slowly raised the temp to 80. and he seems to love it swimming around and exploring.I have got him to eat some frozen blood worms and caught him eating on one of my corys sinking wafer but he only ways things off the bottom so far. I think im gonna have to turn my filter off long enough to feed frozen foods cause while the sink they get blown all over the place this is the first time I've fed more than flakes and wafers so if you've got some tips or tricks let me know

 

[gabysapha]

well since I've put him in I've slowly raised the temp to 80. and he seems to love it swimming around and exploring.I have got him to eat some frozen blood worms and caught him eating on one of my corys sinking wafer but he only ways things off the bottom so far. I think im gonna have to turn my filter off long enough to feed frozen foods cause while the sink they get blown all over the place this is the first time I've fed more than flakes and wafers so if you've got some tips or tricks let me know

GBRs definitely like things warm. Warmer than Bolivian rams, which I have. I think they like it 82-86? Google it, it's some warm temperature like that. I didn't choose GBRs partly for this purpose.

If your filter has a setting to turn it on high or low, use the lowest setting instead of unplugging it. Unplugging filters has caused problems with my power filters (Aquaclear, Top Fin) (~_~)

I think like Bolivian rams, GBRs stay close to the bottom most of the time. He'll probably get use to swimming up for flakes eventually. If he isn't interested in the usual food you feed, fast him a little. Feeding fish to-order food is not happening in my restaurant, so to get new fish used the food routine, I will fast them for a little while. They always eat everything I give after that!

 

[kdpuffer]

Nice ram and welcome to the club, rams are awesome little fish. With feeding you could always try a small sinking pellet. I feed a mix of pellets and flakes so my top dwellers eat the flakes and the bottom gets the pellets.

 

[a.tetreault]

what a gorgeous fish! im jealous!

 

[Dreamingdragon]

My or just 2 days old I bought them this wednesday from petco they just came with the shipping they were still in the bag I took all 3 of them







The Oder 2 or hiding

 

[blizowman1]

So here is a update on my little guy he is really pretty and turns so blue when it's feeding time

 

[Bottomfeeder88]

I just added a female to my planted community! She hangs out with my rainbows during the day and corys after lights out. Badass fish! With a little work comes a lot of joy.