Advice for a new fish owner

[cait.russ]

Hey everyone! I recently got 2 German blue ram’s and for the first couple days they hid away in the corners of the tank so I got an extra couple live plants and another ornament for more hiding space. One seemed to be very aggressive towards the other for a day or so and now they both seem to stay at the bottom of the tank and it looks like they are struggling to swim. I’ve tested the water and everything seems fine and I’ve been back and forth to the pet store for advice but they’re not sure what could be causing it either. Any advice would be amazing!!!

 

[Naughts]

What did you use to test the water? Strip tests don't test for ammonia which is the first thing to show up in an uncycled tank. You need to have a test for ammonia because it is very dangerous for fish. If this seems to be the problem then large water changes will help.

 

[Retired Viking]

Are you aware of the nitrogen cycle? As @Naughts indicated your tank sound like it is not cycled. Tanks can take up to 6 weeks to cycle and then be safe for fish. I would suggest you pick up a bottle of Tetra Safe Start Plus to help jump start your tank and a water test kit to test for ammonia, nitrate and nitrites. Until then you should consider doing daily water changes of at least 50% to 75% to keep the ammonia levels down until your tank can develops the good bacteria to take care of it

 

[Retired Viking]

Oh before I forget- Hello and welcome to the forum

 

[cait.russ]

@Retired Viking @Naughts Thank you guys! I was given a bottle of water conditioner to put in and told to let the tank settle for 24 hours before putting any fish in and it should be fine. I have the strip tests and that is all okay but I’ll buy an ammonia test kit as well!

 

[vanalisa]

Welcome!
Glad you're here.
(Doesn't seem like the best fish store), sorry you are having problems with your rams.

 

[HoldenOn]

Rams (mikrogeophagus ramirezi) are aggressive amongst themselves and need temperatures of 83-85 Fahrenheit.

 

[HoldenOn]

@Retired Viking @Naughts Thank you guys! I was given a bottle of water conditioner to put in and told to let the tank settle for 24 hours before putting any fish in and it should be fine. I have the strip tests and that is all okay but I’ll buy an ammonia test kit as well!

This doesn't count as cycling because the bacteria doesn't have a real chance to get going.

Welcome!!!

 

[Naughts]

OK, until you have the ammonia tester do a 50% water change every day. Use a dechlorinator and match the temperature of the new water.


@AdoraBelle Dearheart found this useful video:

knowledge on the nitrogen cycle is key to the hobby.

Cycling Your New Fresh Water Tank: Read This First!

Cycling Your First Fresh Water Tank What is Cycling and Why is it Important? Fish waste, and especially fish breathing, plus uneaten food and other organic matter breaking down in a tank all produce Ammonia. This can quickly become toxic to fish if it is allowed to build up to any measurable...

www.fishforums.net

Read the "fish-in cycle" part.

 

[Naughts]

Rescuing A Fish In Cycle Gone Wild - Part I

RESCUING A FISH IN CYCLE GONE WILD Part I If you are reading this it means you have tried to cycle your tank using fish and have run into problems and don’t know what to do. Before we begin to discuss the potential solutions, we would like to make it clear that we do not recommend to...

www.fishforums.net

Rescuing A Fish In Cycle Gone Wild - Part Il

Part II SO YOU STILL WANT TO KEEP CYCLING WITH FISH? If you are determined to ignore the above advice in Part I and still think you want to proceed with a fish in cycle, then you need to be aware of the information presented below. SOME IMPORTANT FACTS ABOUT AMMONIA Ammonia in water exists...

www.fishforums.net

 

[Essjay]

You need to test for ammonia every day, and do a water change every time either of them read above zero. Using Seachem Prime will help as that detoxifies ammonia and nitrite for 24 hours. This will keep the fish safe between daily water changes. The live plants you've added will help as they take up ammonia and don't turn it into nitrite. If there enough live plants, they could deal with all the ammonia.



Besides the issues with an uncyled tank, rams do have other species related issues.
They need a temperature higher than most fish, around 28 deg C/82 deg F
Two males will fight over territory
They need to choose their own mates and just any male and any female may well not get along.

If the water is not warm enough they will be sluggish; and the aggression you saw in the first few days could be due to them being the same gender or an unbonded male and female.