Im nervous about getting my german blue ram because i heard all of the storys about them dieing in days. What types of things can i do that will make my GBR live longer. Also what PH should I aclimate my tank to before putting the GBR in
How can i make my german blue ram live long
- Thread starter adamx457
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We got a blue ram within a month of starting our tank (before it was totally cycled). We were doing 50%pwc changes when the ammonia hit .25 and our ram is happy as a clam. It's now 3 months and he's looking great. The hardest part is when you get him he'll loose all his color for 24-48hrs from stress. The rams are seriously fun. We just got him a female Bolivian ram for fun. From what I had read and found here Bolivian rams are much easier to work with though considerably less cool looking without the shining blue body. If you're very good with water changes and you test at least 1ce per day (or more if your tank isn't cycled) and are ready for big water changes you'll be fine I think.
Edit - Our pH is 7.
What size tank and what are your parameters?
Edit - Our pH is 7.
What size tank and what are your parameters?
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Sorry I couldn't reply sooner my tank is a 29 gallon (lightly planted). I hope to be able to get my water parameters up tonight and I will put up a picture of my tank.
Hopefully the image uploaded but, it's a 29 gallon, planted with anubias. In there I have a honey gourami, 10 rummynose tetras, a panda Cory, and 2 mystery snails. I plan on getting java moss as soon as I visit my pet store and you can't see it but, behind the driftwood there is a cave.
thomasina
Aquarium Advice Freak
I have a german blue and love the little guy! He waits for his food every morning, other wish he likes to stay under the pennywort where he can see everything but still has cover. I feed him flexworms that I put down about 1/2 way down the inside of the tank. Then I squeeze it against the glass till all the bubbles come out. (otherwise it will float and they are mid to bottom eaters) I only use 1/3 of a square and he comes as soon as my hand leaves the tank. He also like to nibble on algae wafers. Hope this helps!
Zimmanski
Aquarium Advice Addict
The ph at 8.4 is a little worry some. They prefer slightly acidic water and may not do well with your ph. What kind of rocks and what substrate do you have? What's the tap ph? Trying to figure out how your ph is so high
Very nice tank layout. I like the sand with the rocks.
I agree the pH is a bit high but might be OK if it's the same out of the tap and the ram has time and readjusts to it. Also you should definitely add some more cory (should have a school of at least 5 and you can mix and match them as you like). Bigger problem is high ammonia and nitrite. Nitrates of 0 is a bit odd too as you should have some (>5) if the tank has cycled. What is your ammonia and nitrite? How long has your tank been running for? Sounds like it isn't totally cycled yet but so long as you're keeping ammonia < 0.5 you can add another fish. I know the urge to keep adding fish as you get the tank running.
I agree the pH is a bit high but might be OK if it's the same out of the tap and the ram has time and readjusts to it. Also you should definitely add some more cory (should have a school of at least 5 and you can mix and match them as you like). Bigger problem is high ammonia and nitrite. Nitrates of 0 is a bit odd too as you should have some (>5) if the tank has cycled. What is your ammonia and nitrite? How long has your tank been running for? Sounds like it isn't totally cycled yet but so long as you're keeping ammonia < 0.5 you can add another fish. I know the urge to keep adding fish as you get the tank running.
Also you're going to hear this a lot on these boards but people do not recommend the test strips but instead try to use the API droplet kits. They're <$20 shipped on amazon and will cost you almost double that if you buy it in the local fish store (at least here in nyc). One box will last you awhile and gives you very accurate readings for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate.
Yeah i was useing the testing strip and the color didn't really look quite like anything on the guide. I will probably get a liquid ph tester. I tested my tap and the same thing came back just softer. I also tested water that came right from our well and the same thing. Maybe it was the strip.
I'm sure somebody who has been around these tanks for longer will chime in but my understanding is that pH does not matter so long as it is stable. The fish can adjust to a low or high pH but cannot tolerate large swings in pH so you should be OK from that point of view. I'd definitely test ammonia and nitrite though. Depending on where you live you can also bring some of your water in to a pet store (petco, petsmart, any mom & pop store...etc) and they'll test your water for free. We had one ammonia spike we didn't catch until the next morning and we had 2 dead cory and 2 sick ones. It litterally happened over the course of 30hrs since we had been checking every evening and skipped one! Thankfully both sick ones turned around OK with time but our ammonia only spiked to 1-2ppm overnight. The ram was a-OK so I'm always a bit skeptical when people say x fish is very sensitive and y-fish is not when the less sensitive fish died during an acute ammonia event. In any event I'm sure you'll enjoy your friend. The rams are very very pretty and fun to watch.
Ahh I see. Looks like you have SOME nitrates which is good and I'm sure your tank is probably cycled if its been up for 5 months. Funny that test kit does nitrite and nitrate but not ammonia. Only thing is when you get your ram I'd just acclimate him/her very slowly due to the higher pH. If you're very concerned you can start with a bolivian ram which is (again) not as cute but supposedly more resistant. You can then add a blue ram later if you want. Just make sure they're opposite genders. Hope that helps!
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