Ahhhhhhhhhhh Ebr Died :(

[chris18181818]

Came home from work last night and my female electric blue ram didnt come and say hello to me, looking around the tank with a torch i found her lying on the bottom dead. Im absolutely gutted they had just paired and looked so happy together really really colourful. I will test the water in a sec but im certain theres no ammonia and nitrites. I did a water change 1 week ago and my tap water has nitrates around 20, could this be the reason?? She was feeding on all sorts of different foods and looked perfect in condition. I know there sensitive to changes in condition but my tank is so stable, this sort of thing does put me off keeping fish.

I was meant to go to Maidenhead aquatics today to get 10 cardinals but not sure if i should now? My male EBR looks really sad lost colour. How long should i wait untill i get him a female partner hes going to be lonely.

Thanks

 

[mattlee]

as well as ammonia and nitrite what are the results for pH, and what temp is the tank at?

these fish are very sensitive and really do prefer a lower pH and a higher temperature to do well.

if there were no sign of disease or any issues then it could also just be a weak fish.... i would give the tank a good water change and substrate clean and maybe leave it a few days at least before adding any new fish and keep an eye on the other fish.

 

[ChilliPepper]

Aww, what a shame

As mattlee says they are a very sensitive fish who like a soft water, low pH and high temps. If all your water stats are correct, and you didn't do a huge w/c which could have upset the temp or pH, then it's probably just one of those things

 

[chris18181818]

Hi, thanks for replys.

Just tested water - ammonia 0, nitrite 0, (nitrates 5-10) tap water is 20 but treat it with some Nutrafin stuff, PH is 8. Temp always above 28C usually 28.5.

Ok so my PH is high at 8 and they like 6-7 ph which is probably not achievable in my area but im not so sure this would be enough to kill them. Ive had them for about 1 month now. Male looks fine this morning fed him and colour looks good. All my other fish look fine.

The female was half the size of the male and did get pushed around alot. Tank is only 60 litres. Could this of stressed her out? I didnt feed them yesterday as i was away and come back to this. Her body looked fine no lumps.

I am going to put some type of wood into the tank to try and lower PH slowly and safely any tips on this guys?

Oh and i did a 50% W/C 1 week ago because it had been a while but temp stayed the same as i heat water up to right temp first. Maybe 1 shouldnt have done such a big W/C?

 

[mattlee]

my tap pH fluctuates between 7.5 and 8 and ive never been able to keep these fish alive longer than a couple of months.... in the same water ive kept discus though!!!! they really are the most sensitive fish ive kept, they looked fine one day then just went downhill from there on

 

[chris18181818]

yeah she looked completely normal 2 days ago just cant believe how there were no signs at all. literally fine on e minute and then dead nothing at all in between. Is the electric blue version more sensitive than the german blues? Or are they equally as difficult?

Im going to leave things as they are for a couple of weeks see how the male gets on but then if everythings fine i dont know wether to get him a friend or leave on his own. I had everything planned out aswell and then this i am really sad and annoyed. These fish are £25 each aswell not that im bothered by that, miss the little guy too much personality its unreal.

 

[mattlee]

yeah she looked completely normal 2 days ago just cant believe how there were no signs at all. literally fine on e minute and then dead nothing at all in between. Is the electric blue version more sensitive than the german blues? Or are they equally as difficult?

Im going to leave things as they are for a couple of weeks see how the male gets on but then if everythings fine i dont know wether to get him a friend or leave on his own. I had everything planned out aswell and then this i am really sad and annoyed. These fish are £25 each aswell not that im bothered by that, miss the little guy too much personality its unreal.

as far as im aware they are the same fish arent they....? just different colour forms
for your water stats i would look at bolivian rams if its rams you want, they require lower temps and do better at a higher pH.

 

[chris18181818]

yep same fish but just thought might be a weaker strain? i do like bolivians not sure my lfs currently stocking them though. what would i do with my male EBR cant mix them in a 60 litre surely?

 

[hamfist]

I can't keep any sort of Rams alive in my water (pH8) either. They always seems happy at first, eating well, and then suddenly die a month or so later. Everything else should be to their taste so it must be the base water chemistry. I've given up trying to keep them now.

 

[mattlee]

yep same fish but just thought might be a weaker strain? i do like bolivians not sure my lfs currently stocking them though. what would i do with my male EBR cant mix them in a 60 litre surely?

take it back to lfs and exchange for bolivians or other fish