Blue Rams Head Problem

[ppipanman]

THIS IS JUST MY OPINION!

#1 I wouldn't ever buy anything from him again if i were you. if he doesn't know rams should be at 82F then he shouldn't be selling them.
#2 The water he is talking about better be RO(reverse osmosis) which is basically pure water and would work but i've tried pillows and had NO ill effects infact my rams bred every 12 days. you do however need to keep track of pH.
#3 bring in your water sample you should get you money back. the strips are not very accurate but are somewhat close so if he tests it and comes up with severely bad numbers he's just trying to screw you out of your money.

Good luck I hope you can find a different LFS and some quality Rams

 

[Tolak]

Water softening pillows are a poor excuse for what he is trying to sell you; ro water. This is the only reliable way to soften harder water. Small ro units run about $100, you could run your own, or buy the water. Nonetheless, this would not be the cause of the ailment.

83F is fine, though warmer water will hold less O2. This would not be the cause of the ailment either, though if it is bacterial warmer water will hasten the reproduction of bacteria.

The diet you are feeding seems fine, this would not be the cause of the problem. It is rather rude to assume you aren't feeding the fish properly. This would not be a cause.

I'm thinking HITH, in both pics you can see the beginning of some pitting to the right of the eye parallel to the pupil. Not eating & segrigating from the group, especially if the fish hides towards the back corners are another indicator. If the fish has whiteish feces it almost definitely is internal protizoans. These have been linked to HITH.

Pick up some metronidazole, or a product that contains metro such as Hex-A-Mit. Ignore the instructions. Treat with 40mg/gallon, with a 50% water change daily & remed. A separate tank is a good idea. Don't feed for the first 3 days, and increase the temperature to near 90F.

Pick up some frozen brine shrimp. On the 4th day, sprinkle a bit of metro on the brine shrimp, feed this only once daily. Continue with the feeding, medicating & water changes for 7 more days.

I often advocate using epsom salt when possible with metro. In this case I would not, as epsom salt increases hardness, something that species will not appreciate.

Blue rams are sensitive fish, internal protizoans are quite normal as a part of the intestinal flora of many fish. The problem arises when the fish are stressed, their immune system is comprimised by this stress, and it can't keep the protizoans down to manageable numbers.

For a sensitive fish, which is stressed by being shipped to the shop with that acclimation process, then moved to your tank, another acclimation process, this is very common.