Concerned About My Rams

[mislisa]

ok, well i'm now a bit concerned about my rams. i've just finished treating the whole tank for internal parasites, as many of my harlequins and cardinals were showing symptoms and dying. now my rams (one in particular) are mostly just sitting on the bottom, one of which is in the front corner and not moving, even when i approach the tank. they are both usually quite skittish, so this has me concerned.
is this a sign of illness, or are they just stressed?

Pics:



also, would anyone be able to tell me the sexes? i'm pretty sure the darker one is a male, but i'm not sure about the paler one.

thanks

 

[Athena]

Hi - the rams do look stressed by something. Are these GBRs? Only they look very dark/greyish which usually only happens when they are very unhappy/stressed out.

Have you finished medicating? If so, do a water change (about 50%) and leave the tank lights off for a few hours. If you have a water testing kit it would be helpful to see what your stats are showing.

How long have you had these rams? If they are new they are probably not settled in yet, anyway.

They are quite sensitive little fish and if their tank conditions/feeding requirements are not spot on they will react like this.

What are you feeding them?

Regards - Athena

 

[coldcazzie]

Hmm, did you quarantine them before adding them to your tank? It could be that they brought something in with them from the lfs, and that's what's making everything poorly.

 

[fluttermoth]

They don't look sick to me, just very, very stressed; I don't think I've ever seen rams as stressed as that actually.

I think if I were you, I'd do a couple of water changes and keep them dark and warm for a couple of days. Then try feeding them with something they really like, frozen bloodworm or something and see how they look then.

They both look like males to me, but it is hard to tell.

 

[StandbySetting]

Yeah they're stressed, the darkening in colouration and black bars that they express is a sure give away, what are your water parameters OP?

 

[mislisa]

thanks for the help everyone!
my water parameters are:
pH: 7.0 or just below (colour is slightly lighter than that on the paper)
ammonia:0.0
nitrite:0.0
nitrate: > 5 mg/l
tank temp: 23 degrees celcius

I checked yesterday (at school atm) but will do a 50% water change today anyway, perhaps there's still a trace of the meds that is making them stressed.
i'm not sure about hardness of the water... i need to get a test for that.

they are longfin rams, not sure which variety though... my lfs doesn't label them very well. i've had them for about 3 weeks.
i usually feed with flake food, sinking shrimp pellets and bloodworm 1-2 times a week. should i be feeding something different? also, if i have 2 males, should i take one back? and should i quarantine these guys? i didn't quarantine when i got them, as i had a cardinal with fungus in my quarantine tank.

 

[StandbySetting]

They're M.ramerizi it would be too late to quarantine now as they've already been in the tank and if they are diseased it will have spread, try increasing your temperature up to about 28oC, your Harlequins and Cardinals will do fine at this temperature, are they the only tank mates?

 

[mislisa]

I also have peppered corys, kuhli loaches and a pearl gourami.

 

[StandbySetting]

In that case I'd up the temperature to 26oC and leave the aquarium lights off for a day or two, do you have access to a KH test kit?

 

[mislisa]

i'll try to pick one up tomorrow. i'm afraid i don't have time today...

 

[StandbySetting]

If you can get your LFS to do it then that'd be fine, they're not strictly necessary but are a good indicator of things, Rams generally do best in soft water, are you in the UK? You can probably find the average KH online from your water company.

 

[mislisa]

i'm actually in canada... i'll check the website though, i never thought of that!

 

[coldcazzie]

Hmm, blue rams need to be in higher temps - 27+ and cories need low temps - max 24, which makes them essentially incompatible. You could go for 25-26 as a happy medium, but I'd guess that neither the rams or the cories would flourish.

 

[mislisa]

well, i've just done a 50% water change, turned up the heater a little, and turned off the lights.
how long should i keep the lights off? a few days? will my plants be ok for that long?
i'll try to get a KH test kit tomorrow.

thanks everyone!

 

[StandbySetting]

I'd leave them off for 2 days, the plants will be fine, it should ease the stress slightly by giving them a more secluded environment.