New Blue Rams

[cs9]

I have just had a reshuffle and have purchased 2 beautiful Blue Rams from my LFS. The temp in the tank is at a constant 28 degrees C and I have properly acclimatised them. It is planted as well as a piece of driftwood to give them plenty of hiding sports. They are happily swimming around but was wondering what else I could do to help them settle in healthily as I have had a bad experience with the same breed of fish in the past.. 
I also have cardinal tetras and small otto catfish in the tank.
Thank you!

 

[Wills]

Hi what is your ph? Rams are best kept about 6.8 - do you know if they were labeled as wild or F1 fish at all? If your Ph is higher than that maybe try things like Alder Cones and Almond Leaves to lower you ph naturally.
 
Wills

 

[cs9]

I don't know the exact pH of my water but it is fairly high compared to what Rams are used to as I live in a hard water area.. My LFS is very nearby and seemed to think that they would perhaps not be too happy at first but would acclimatise. Driftwood is supposed to lower the pH isn't it? 
I suck at these abbreviations- what does F1 mean? 

I will definitely look into those cones and leaves though as they appear to be very happy and healthy so don't want to lose them!

 

[b3cca]

Softness is more important than PH. Tank bred Rams can be ok in soft/med neutral to slightly alkaline PH water but I've never heard any good stories about them living in Hard water.
 
Also remember your water must be always spotless -- they are very sensitive even to low Nitrates so regular PWC are a must
Yes driftwood and plants are good for them and you could even consider using RO water if your tap water PH and hardness is too much

 

[fm1978]

Soft is better for rams, yes. If you can't get hold of RO water you could always try some pre-boiled water as part of your water change, that will soften the water somewhat.
 
I think F1 may just mean the 1st set of offspring from wild caught parents. It's a label for the number of generations from a pair of parent species. F1, F2 etc...
 
Pristine water is a must as suggested previously, so just keep up those water changes and keep an eye on your water params!

 

[cs9]

Is RO water expensive as I am on a tight budget!? My LFS didn't say anything about Wild Caught or F1 etc.. but the fish from there are always very healthy and have been quarantined. The water is pristine so far and I will start regular water changes once they have settled in. I have also purchased a small filter to go with the existing one in the tank to help maintain excellent water quality!

 

[Wills]

Yeah F1 means first generation from wild.
 
The reason I ask is, Blue Rams are so hard to keep... the problem is wild rams or rams close to wild like F1 F2 etc need to be kept in low ph and high temperature otherwise a huge range of health problems can arise, often they will not be able to survive for long a few weeks maybe months other times they will last 18 months to 2 years and then out of no where drop dead for no apparant reason. This is often caused by problems they have had in their respiratory system or their digestive system but there is nothing really conclusive. But it drastically shortens their lifespan. By contrast tank bred rams need neutral ph and neutral temperatures to avoid the above happening to them - I personally think some of them now need a little salt in their water also due to the sterile conditions farms keep them in but there is nothing to prove that at all. To make it worse its not unsual for farms to breed farm bred stock with wild fish on the batch before they are sent to the shops so once again its impossible to know what the fish you buy will need.
 
I would assume yours are farm bred if it was not stated but they are still very fragile fish. As long as you can keep your ph around 7 and temperature around 25-26 that will be good for them But it is really important to keep your nitrate very low which is tough in the UK because most of our tap water is from natural sources rather than processing plants so a lot of the water is already at 40ppm out of the tap... You can get nitrate removers to go in your filter but it actually means you have a small nitrate spike when you do a water change. Lots and lots of live plants will really help the situation, things like valis and giant valis grow very quick and soak up loads of nutrients
 
Wills

 

[cs9]

They are irritatingly sensitive but I fancied the challenge so I shall persevere, the ones that I purchased are larger than most other shop bought Rams that I have seen and according the the store are bred locally..  
I will be putting a lot of time into them so of course will be doing regular water changes and have lots of live plants!
4 days in they appear energetic and healthy as well as very good appetites! 

 

[b3cca]

Well good luck with them, they are lovely I love mine and I'm definitely lucky to live in an area with natural soft acidic water