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 German Blue Rams

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ENBG




Posts : 19
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Join date : 2011-11-08

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PostSubject: German Blue Rams   German Blue Rams EmptyThu Jan 26, 2012 10:02 pm

Hey everyone, I am just curious if anyone has any experience in acclimating and keeping german blue rams? First Ill explain my tank status.. I had an issue with cyanobacteria due to neglect and probable over feeding after being gone for the majority of winter break (came back once a week for a water change but had an auto feeder w/ flakes on). I spent about an hour scrubbing and manually removing the stinky gunk and removed my carbon and dosed with Marycin for three days, which cleared up the bacteria quite well. I waited about a week or two and did one large water change followed by two small ones, then I went to Animal House in corvallis and purchased 2 male GBRs, 2 pearl danios and 2 long-finned blue danios on Tuesday. The danios immediately loved the tank and made frinds with the 2 zebras in the tank... but the GBRs did not look as excited about the move. One looked as if it was gasping for air and later that night hung out in the top corner of the tank, while the other just looked sluggish and hung out in the heavily planted areas. The next morning the weaker one was dead on the bottom, and the other looked even less happy. I went into AH with a water sample and discussed my issue and was told my water was good with a constant temp of 78-79, pH around 6.7 or so with 0 nitrates 0 phosphates and that I should turn off one of my 2 tube lights to try n make it less bright... and i also turned the water flow down a bit. That night I noticed the GBR hanging out near the bottom under some plants but also swimming around a bit more although it wasn't eating.. and this morning it was also dead on the bottom. I am a little frustrated because it always sucks to kill a fish, but especially 2 in 2 days... does anyone have any experience or advice on how I can successfully acquire/maintain some GBRs?
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badxgillen

badxgillen


Posts : 2139
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Join date : 2011-07-14
Location : Corvallis Oregon

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PostSubject: Re: German Blue Rams   German Blue Rams EmptyFri Jan 27, 2012 2:59 am

well that sucks...sorry to hear that man.it sounds like your perameters are in the clear.i know when i am in question i do the water change and make sure the carbon is still good as it will remove any risidual medications and dissolved organics.these fish usualy do fine in neutral and slightly lower PH so thats not an issue.you state that your nitrate is zero so its not lock out of oxygen through hemoglobin.its possible there was a bacteria or parasite involved in them succumbing to death but its hard to say without having the fish looked at.were you able to get some credit for the loss of the first on?i know there is a short term garanty if the water chemistry checks out.on another note i like to get rams that have at least sat at the pet store for a week or so this way any big problems happen on there time not mine also ask if you can see them eat as this is a good indicater of survival.once in a while you can aquire some through a local breeder but lately that has been scarce.once again sorry to hear about the loss and i must say that it sounds like next time you aquire some rams you should be in the clear.
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ENBG




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Join date : 2011-11-08

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PostSubject: Re: German Blue Rams   German Blue Rams EmptyFri Jan 27, 2012 2:52 pm

Yeah I have heard that they are real finicky when they are being moved from tank to tank, and all the stuff I have found on the web says that what I experienced is not uncommon. I didn't recieve any credit on the first one but I will probably go in today to see whats going on and what everyones opinion is. Are you going to be working today?
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badxgillen

badxgillen


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Location : Corvallis Oregon

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PostSubject: Re: German Blue Rams   German Blue Rams EmptyFri Jan 27, 2012 8:18 pm

i already did my time for today but that doesnt mean you cant get some more input from some other well informed hobbyist.
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badxgillen

badxgillen


Posts : 2139
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Location : Corvallis Oregon

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PostSubject: Re: German Blue Rams   German Blue Rams EmptyFri Jan 27, 2012 10:26 pm

oh and i will be keeping my eyes peeled for some rams as well since it seems these guys are alwasy in demand and i wouldnt mind having a breeding pair for myself. Smile
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Summit MicroFarm

Summit MicroFarm


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Join date : 2012-01-25
Location : Corvallis

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PostSubject: Re: German Blue Rams   German Blue Rams EmptyWed Feb 01, 2012 9:41 pm

I have bred Rams fairly extensively in the past. The last pair I had producing offspring was about 6 years ago.
Sounds to me that your issue was a water quality spike/shocking incident. Many fish cannott tolerate audden changes in water quality issues...that means from worse to better. Just by cleaning you tank you could have sent them into decline. Your description is very incmplete as many many factors can be the root of the cause... when you say you scrubbed the tank that brings up several questions...how? with what? Plus when cleaning a tank it is never a good idea to clean the entire tank at once...certainly never clean all your filter media in a tank at the same time. In my tanks I have a large air driven sponge in every tank. I never clean both the sponge and HOB filters in the same week. Even trimming too many plants or removing tons of algae can cause a drastic and sudden water quality issue.
As for Rams, they are generally pretty hardy as long as they are acclimated slowly to whatever environment you will be keeping them. Your water parameters sound good. I have bred them in very hard and alkaline water but they prefer soft acidic water much like angels, brostlenose, neons etc. They nearly always spawn after a water change...they like very low/soft light when breeding...use a diverse diet with more "live"(non dried) foods to condition. I prefer brine shrimp, bloodworms, earth worms, wax worms etc... Like any other fish, you will know when they are gravid/conditioned and some soft lighting and a well timed water change and you will have eggs in no time. They care for their eggs like cichlids and are a mouth brooder...they do not hatch their eggs in their mouth but will gather and move their offspring using their mouths. This leads me to say NEVER use a net pen with babies and adults in the same tank. the parents will try to gather the babies to "move" them from the net pen and suck them all through the net pen walls killing them...learn from my mistake...only happens once and you are bumming! Good luck!
alien
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ENBG




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Join date : 2011-11-08

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PostSubject: Re: German Blue Rams   German Blue Rams EmptyWed Feb 01, 2012 10:40 pm

By scrubbing the tank I meant that I hand pulled-off as much of the cyanobacterial gunk that was forming on the rocks, plant leaves, and grape wood as possible with my fingers and placed them in a cup which I flushed down the toilet. I didn't touch my filter media, and only took the carbon out the next day after the first maracyn dose because I realized I had rinsed the carbon filter out (in tank water) two weeks before. I know it is unwise to clean the filter out entirely, and I haven't touched the other two sections of my filter for a month or more... and have only rinsed them off in tank water, and never within 2 weeks of each other. I rarely even vacuum more than 1/2 the tanks gravel during small weekly water changes. I would like to have an air driven sponge filter in my tank, but lack the space for such additions. I try not to remove too many leaves at once, often leaving trimmings in the tank to root them and only take out completely dead leaves that don't seem to be getting attention from the snails.

I suppose the removal of all the algae could have been a problem, but I waited a good week after doing this before the water change/fish addition. I added fresh carbon back into the tank 3-4 days before the water change, and had ran it under several cups of tank water. I plan on waiting a week or two after the next batch of GBRs arrive at the AH before picking any up and will be careful to not mess with the tank much for a few days before that.
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