Keeping German Blue Ram

[mark razmandi]

how big is your tank?

[Darbex]

The pH shouldnt be the problem if they were introduced correctly. My rams are happily living in my tank that is about 84 and pH of about 7.6. How long did you drip?

[DUHK]

10 gallon but nothing else is kept but them

[Zulaab]

GBR's unless they are wild caught can be kept in Houston Tap water.
I have kept them in Houston tap before.
Problems with GBR is where did you get the fish from ? Some places buys them cheap and they are shot up with hormones which makes them look good at the store but after a few weeks when the roids wear out the fish becomes weak and some die out.

[Darbex]

I just realized you said that you cycled for three months and this was the first fish in the tank. Is that correct? Did you use "test" fish to make sure the conditions were right? Also when was the last water change? They are also very suseptible to water changes and like "old" water or seasoned. Meaning you could drip the water very slowly and they may still die due to the fact that the water was "new". This is a decent article. http://www.fishlore.com/aquariummaga...am-cichlid.htm

[DiscusKid]

Maybe its just a bad batch...ive had my 2 male rams for 4 months, and in that time ive done like 4 WCs, i didnt even acclimate em i just dumped em in the tank, theyre in houston liquid rock tapwater at 78 degrees, and theyre healthy, another possibility is that i may have SUPER rams lol

[danielp]

GBR's are an interesting fish and they have always looked good in the store to me. That being said I've purchased several pairs over the years and put them in my community tanks.

After putting a pair in my 75 gallon community plant tank they have thrived in standard Houston water. To me they have just blended in and lost that wow factor I felt when seeing them in the store. They are in with Tertra's and a pair of Irian Rainbows and recently added albino congo tetras. They are probably being over run and adding them to this mix on hindsight probably wasn't a good idea

In a small community tank with a minimum number of species I think this would be an excellent fish. I have heard of them being successfully breed in our area.

[DUHK]

The pH shouldnt be the problem if they were introduced correctly. My rams are happily living in my tank that is about 84 and pH of about 7.6. How long did you drip?

I dripped for about 3 hours.

GBR's unless they are wild caught can be kept in Houston Tap water.
I have kept them in Houston tap before.
Problems with GBR is where did you get the fish from ? Some places buys them cheap and they are shot up with hormones which makes them look good at the store but after a few weeks when the roids wear out the fish becomes weak and some die out.

I got them at fish gallery.

I just realized you said that you cycled for three months and this was the first fish in the tank. Is that correct? Did you use "test" fish to make sure the conditions were right? Also when was the last water change? They are also very suseptible to water changes and like "old" water or seasoned. Meaning you could drip the water very slowly and they may still die due to the fact that the water was "new". This is a decent article. http://www.fishlore.com/aquariummaga...am-cichlid.htm

I never used test fish cause I feel bad for putting the test fish in possible crappy conditions. I have red cherry shrimp in there and amano shrimp and they have thrived and bred. I did a water change last sunday so the water shouldnt be very new. But if I season my water, my plants will suffer from algae so yeah..

Maybe its just a bad batch...ive had my 2 male rams for 4 months, and in that time ive done like 4 WCs, i didnt even acclimate em i just dumped em in the tank, theyre in houston liquid rock tapwater at 78 degrees, and theyre healthy, another possibility is that i may have SUPER rams lol

I <b>WISH</b> my rams were your super rams but obviously they arent. :(

Thank you guys so much for all your help and input. I hope all the answers I've provided has helped you troubleshoot this problem

[Darbex]

How often did you do water changes and what volume?

[DUHK]

I do a 50&#37; water change every sunday. But my water wasnt changed yet when I dropped those guys in

[Darbex]

Is it heavily planted?

[DUHK]

My whole tank is covered with HC and hairgrass.

[Darbex]

Reason why I ask is if it is then 50&#37; WC weekly isnt needed and may or may not be leading toward the early retirement of the rams. I know from experience that when I was doing 40-50% weekly I couldnt keep them alive for very long. Now I do about 20% every 3 weeks and they are healthy as can be but this is a heavily planted tank and low bio load.

[Darbex]

I would go longer between WC changes and reduce the amount if the rams are the only thing you are going to have in there. That will help season your water and may make them live longer.

[DUHK]

Yeah, by all means they will be the only fish I keep in my tank. I will definitely try not to change the water as often. I was actually planning on changing the water tomorrow but I will not for another 2 weeks? (do you think thats a good idea?) I am just afraid that if I don't change the water as often my algae will explode cause I dose ferts in my tank and there will be a accumulation of nutrients for the algae to go crazy on