German blue rams

[parky]

I was just wondering if anyone else has experienced, what is currently going on in my tank.

I've had GBR plus electric blues for a while now and everything has been fine. Up until about three days ago when I woke to find one of the females laid at the bottom dead. Then last night another female and the male, weren't as active as normal and then this morning didn't want to eat.

So I checked my water and all tests came back with a normal reading!

Not sure whats going on any help or advice welcome thanks

 

[Khuligirl93]

Can you tell us a little more about your tank? The size, how long it's been set up, how you cycled it, what other fish you have, what your exact ammonia, nitrite, abd nitrate levels are, and what your water changing schedule is are all pieces of information that will help us figure out what could be going on

 

[parky]

The tank has been established for over 6 months and was a fish less cycle. Its a 55G, I'm running two external filters which between them turn the water over twice an hour.

Levels
Ph 7
Ammo 0
No2 0
No3 0

I had the 3 rams that have died plus 1 more 10 x cherry barbs for schooling
3 x cory dora!

The tank is not planted.

I did have a small green algae problem but seem to have that beat!

Water changes are done every 4th day with either 20/30%. Filters are clean every twelve weeks with a six week gap between the two.

The fish seem to loose the colour then about an hour or so before they die they get full colour back. The whole thing from the first colour loss takes about 12-18 hours

 

[Luananeko]

This is exactly the problem I've been battling every time I try GBRs in my tank as well. They seem fine for 4-6 months and then randomly drop despite water parameters being perfect. The prevailing theory is that the genetic stock is weak, so you need to get them from a reputable breeder. Otherwise they just randomly drop like this

 

[Brookster123]

Does the tank have plenty of cover and hideaways?

 

[Old Scales]

Quality of stock is a big part of it. I bought two from Petco and they lasted two weeks. I bought 1 male and 2 females from a breeder in Calif. that were raised by him and they are still going strong after 6 months. With GBR's, keep temp 80-84F, NO3 below 10ppm, soft water <8dKH, and lots of plants and hidey places for them. Even if NO3 stays below 10ppm they still do better with weekly 50% WC's. They also seem to like low to medium light better than high light. OS.

 

[Khuligirl93]

It seems strange that you have zero nitrates and your tank is not planted.. Are you sure your tests are accurate?
Also a red flag to me was that your filters only turn over your tank volume 2 times an hour? Generally you want them to turn over the tank volume 10 times an hour.
For example, for your 55g you would want filters to total 550 gph.

 

[parky]

Thanks for all they advice guys seems its more than likely the breed strain in my LSF

 

[abw0004]

What I have done is I have ordered my Blue Rams online from a person who does nothing but breed Blue Rams. What he does is buys the parents wild, and does not add any hormones to them. Once the parents spawn combines the fry and lets them pair naturally. After that he puts the pairs in tanks of their own and then you can buy them. They are about $30 with shipping included but I was willing to pay the premium for non-inbred or hormone injected Rams.

 

[Brookster123]

Sounds great! I'm thinking of doing something similar! Keep us posted!!

 

[Old Scales]

That sounds like the same person I bought my Rams from. Awesome healthy fish. He even threw in an extra female for free and a GBR care tips sheet. OS.

 

[drbabigrll]

Where do you get your rams from? I would love to check this breeder out and maybe get a pair

 

[abw0004]

I originally found them on eBay by typing in Blue Rams but here is their website: YUNITE | SDRAMS - Your No.1 Source of Quality German Blue Rams. They are a little cheaper on eBay though.

 

[drbabigrll]

I originally found them on eBay by typing in Blue Rams but here is their website: YUNITE | SDRAMS - Your No.1 Source of Quality German Blue Rams. They are a little cheaper on eBay though.

Thanks! I think I'll give them a try

 

[Old Scales]

Ah yes. YUNITE is who I bought my Rams from. OS.

 

[parky]

Don't think they will ship to me in Germany !!!!