Is this finrot or an injury

[Goody330]

Hi Please can you help I have recently got 2 Ram Cichlids and i am concerned about one of them.

It has been harrassed a bit by the other Ram and 3 days ago stopped eating and is looking very lethargic. I noticed today that his bottom fins are looking a bit damaged but I'm not sure if this is because the other one has attacked it when ive not been looking or something else like illness.

could the change in behaviour be due to stress?

I have bought some finrot treatment but don't want to use it unless it is 100% necessary so any advice would be greatly appreciated

 

[Goody330]

another image thats a bit clearer

 

[carlobellina]

Sounds like he stopped eating because he's stressed due to being bullied. But I'm no expert

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[Byron]

What you describe is most probably due to bullying from the other ram. I see no evidence in the photo of disease (fin rot was suggested) and it is never wise to add a substance to an aquarium unless it is definitely needed and is then the best treatment. Additives to the water, whatever they are, get inside fish, and at the very least this adds stress which could be sufficient to kill the already weakened fish, and cause harm to other fish too.

Back to the two rams. This is a fish that is best on its own, or in a male/female pair that have accepted each other, what we term bonded. The ram will not accept any mate, so putting two together at random is usually going to fail. I recommend you separate them now, or the one being harassed may soon be dead. Bullying stresses fish seriously, and it affects several internal physiological processes, further weakening the fish. Refusing food is a sure sign of this occurring. The darkened colouring evident in the last photo added is another sign of severe stress.

I won't go into the method for acquiring a bonded (or likely bonded) pair, but I can if asked.

Byron.

 

[Goody330]

I will call the shop i got the pair from in the morning and see if they will take it back. I have no where else to keep him than in the tank until then unfortunately.

It's frustrating because i want to keep a happy tank of healthy fish but the shop sells these in pairs (even offers a discount for 2) so I was given the impression that they would be fine together. Hopefully he makes it through the night and can be rehomed