Blue Rams

[fishboy619]

i bought 2 blue rams on saturday, they settled in well with my platies,shrimps and cardinal tetra.however, every time i drop food in, the platies always seem to eat it quicker before the rams get a chance, the rams are shy, hanging out at the heavily planted area in the back corner and often hiding in the caves. i fed flakes, but they spat them out like i thought they would, they didnt seem intrested in tetra prima, and the cichlid pellets i have float and the platies eat them. when i fed bloodworms, i squirted them using a turkey baster into the plants and i saw them eat one or two each.but then the platies caught on and soon appeared.how am i suppose to make them eat, will they venture out to the surface when hungry and settled in after a few days?
how long can they go without food?
anyother hints and tips welcome,
cheers

 

[thegnu]

i think its not so much their tank mates or getting enough food. the key here for me is your water. if the pH is under 7 and softish that will suit your rams, if the water's pH is over 7 and hardish, that will suit your platties. if your water is very low on nitrates(under 20PPM) this will be beneficial to all your fish, especially your rams. all these things will determine whether or not your rams will ever thrive or just come out of their shyness. i'm not talking of extremes of water params/quality/breeding or anything. just the above favouring the rams a little and they will do fine given time

 

[fishboy619]

my PH is 7, its been neutral for a while now, everything else is perfect, i got it checked at the fish shop before i bought the rams.im certain its not the water quality. i was told, at the fish shop, and on fish forums, that keeping platies and rams together was fine.

 

[Katchan]

First up the rams are eating (bloodworm), thats good

second, the rams are staying in one part of the tank plants/caves etc, whats the rest of the tank like? It could be that they are a bit shy and taking a bit of time to get used to the new home (some dwarf cichlids are like this, others are not its as much individual dependent as species). Its also possible that you dont have enough cover for them feel comfortable round the rest of the tank. With many dwarfs more cover equals more viewing, it basically comes down to if the rams feel safe (ie they can get to cover quickly) they will come out more. Smaller dither fish help here as well (platies are getting a bit big really for dithers to rams)

third many small fish, rams included will take a large piece of flake, much bigger than they can swallow (which isnt much in reality) gulp it and appear to spit it back out, but whats actually happening is either a- a small piece breaks off in their mouth wich they concentrate on or b-none breaks off in their mouth BUT it does break up as they spit it out and they grab a piece or two of smaller flake, since they are eating bloodworms means they will probably take flake, if your concerned crush some up a bit smaller submerse your hand in the water and swish it around abit trying to get some food in the rams direction without getting to close and scaring them. Another possibility is contact the store you purchased them from see what they feed them, they might feed crumble and not flake (all the stores round here seem to)

HTH

Andrew

 

[fishinessex]

Hi fishboy...

I tried cichlid pellets for my Rams and they didn't work. Didn't sink well, and when they did, they were so light that my Rummynose tetras stole them away from the Rams.

I tried JMC Catfish pellets and they work great. They sink as soon as I drop them in the tank. My Rams love them and so do my Corys. They will eat flake, but they don't care for it much. I also feed bloodworms. I bought a live food feeder, which is like a sieve that attaches to the tank with a suction cup. I put the bloodworms in it for the Rams. They hover around it and suck the worms out. None of my other fish go near it. The bloodworms I drop in the tank are eaten by my other fish, and the Rams too.

Hope this helps.

 

[fishboy619]

cheers guys, my tank has a well planted back corner, with smaller plants forward, a few floating plants aswell.only small leaves though.yes they do eat bloodworms, will i have to feed them that all the time. i usally feed it every 2 days cause i have to defrost it as its frozen.do you think i should add a few larged leafed plants to the front, to give the rams more cover?
the platies are about the same size of the rams, maybe a tad bigger.i'll keep on trying flakes and tetra prima.they do sometimes go for it, but are either beaten to it by the platies are spit it out, or so i thougt. maybe they are eating small bnits of flakes.are flakes a staple diet for rams. i was hopeing they would eat the cichlid pellets, but they are crap. good idea though, i will phone the fish shop tomorrow and ask what they are feeding.
i have one of those bloodworm live feeding cups, but dont often use it as i feed frozen mostly. i will have a look for those JMC catfish pellets, anythings worth a try, and if the rams dont like them, im sure my cories will.
thanks for all your replies.
i thought i had this all planned out when i bought them, seems not.

 

[thegnu]

fishboy, you state;quote; "i usually feed bloodworm every 2 days cause i have to defrost it as its frozen." why is this. it only takes 15 minutes to defrost. or if you use a plastic cup, fill it with water from your tank, drop in a couple of cubes of frozen bloodworm and after 5 minutes gently swish it around and tip it in. if you are letting your bloodword thaw for two days it will probably go off!

 

[Vodalian]

Yeah for feeding frozen foods the above mentioned way is the best. I always grab a shot glass and fill it with tank water... drop in a small chunk of frozen brine shrimp or beef heart and let it thaw... stir it with a toothpick and dump in tank. I pour it in all at once so it reaches the bottom for my bichir.

 

[fishboy619]

sorry for not being clear, i meant i only feed bloodworms every 2 days because firstly, my frogs gets fed every 2 days on bloodworms,secondly, i feed flakes,freezedried tubifex worms and tetra prima on the other days. i thought you didnt need to feed bloodworms every day as its bad for fish to only eat them, if i feed my rams bloodworms everyday, then my platies will also get bloodworms everyday.its not the effort of defrosting thats the problem, the simple fact is i didnt think it needed to be done.i have a small container that i fill with tank water, drop a cube of frozen bloodworms in there and feed though out the day, i would never leave bloodworms defrosted for 2 days, hell no.i dont pour it all in, as my platies will eat it all at once and will be very bloated and fat, i feed a bunch every now and then over the course of the day, also, my betta, and cardinal tetras get some. i also feed a few after lights out for my kuhliis and frogs.