Blue ram

[dirtydogg]

I just purchased two new blue rams for my community tank a few days ago, and now one of them seems really sick . He is just sitting on the bottom and when he trys to swim he spins. I am really worried, he was fine last night swimming around chasing his brother etc. but now he really looks in a bad way. Is there anything I can do ?

 

[Sasha]

What is the Ammonia, Nitrate, Nitrite and pH in the tank?

 

[WILDER]

can you post test results in ammonia,nitrite,nitrate,and ph,also what was the ph of the lfs to your ph of the tank.

 

[dirtydogg]

I don't have an ammonia or nitrate test yet. but the nitrites are at 0 ppm. The PH is 6.7. Didn't ask the pet store there exact PH but asked what ph the tank should be at and they gave the generic 7.0. The nitrates shouldn't be very high as I did a 15% water change four days ago. I was out of town this weekend, so I was a little worried about feeding them, but I fed them Friday before I left and Sunday when I got home. Should've been Ok.
It is a very young ram, only a couple of months. Locally bred, and he was one of the larger ones in the tank. The pet store had only had them a week. I don't know how much of this helps, but it is info. Thanks.

 

[WILDER]

It sounds like ph shock to me, but I could be wrong, usually they die in a week from this, you could try adding salt to the tank if your fish can tolerate salt.

 

[dirtydogg]

Thanks for the quick reply, should I be worried about the other ram having the same problem?

 

[WILDER]

Well yes, how is he acting.

 

[dirtydogg]

He seems to be just fine. exploring every nook and cranny in the tank. And I know for sure that he's eating.
Now that I'm thinking of it, I've never seen the bigger one(the sick one) eat. I'm not sure that he hasn't been, but most of the times I've fed since they where in ther he was hiding in some dense plants or in a cave, always near the bottom.

 

[WILDER]

He should be ok then maybe the fish was not in good shape when you bought it, good luck.

 

[dirtydogg]

Thanks.

 

[dirtydogg]

Well he's still alive I went to work and he survived for nine hours, he even moved from his crevice in the rocks into a pagoda decoration. Now hes just chillin in the pagoda completely vertical. Head facing down, breathing really hard. It seems that some of the dark bands of color that where on him earlier have faded a little. . . I wonder if he may pull through this. It looks as if some of his mobility has returned. When I shined a flashlight into the cave to find him he was able to move up into a more hidden spot without doing any flips! I hope that he makes it through the night. Tomorrow I should be able to get him into an isolated tank and observe him better, maybe even figure out what is wrong with him and treat it.