Bolivian Ram Not Eating

[Chad]

Its only when I buy new one's that trouble brews!
 

That's why I recommend a quarantine tank for all new fish and a few weeks of observation.

 

[KieranBoyne]

yep, I agree with tcamos, it is always a smart move to have a quarantine tank, that way you can check for any diseases or anything that they may have from the pet shop. And as you have found out some stores don't give a damn about anything other than the money they get. Dissapointing really. The only thing I have ever seen that has been healthy in a pets at home store is their live plants, which are guaranteed to have snails but hey ho. They clean algae so there good lol.

 

[mark4785]

yep, I agree with tcamos, it is always a smart move to have a quarantine tank, that way you can check for any diseases or anything that they may have from the pet shop. And as you have found out at p@h, they don't give a darn about anything other than the money they get. Dissapointing really. The only thing I have ever seen that has been healthy in a pets at home store is their live plants, which are guaranteed to have snails but hey ho. They clean algae so there good lol.

 
The P@H stores in my area (the 2 I go to, 1 based in Chesterfield and the other in Clay Cross) have dead plants covered in algae. They keep the Tropica iron fertiliser under a hot light resulting in it looking like its been diluted with 1 part orange 1000 part water. As for the fish, well, this thread goes to show how they treat their fish.
 
With regards to keeping a QT aquarium, I have 3 points to make:

• I have quarantine aquariums for small tropical fish and large cold water fish.
• No amount of quarantine tanks will make a fish start eating after what seems like weeks of not eating in the store in which it was kept.
• Thirdly, the fish that the Bolivian was put with are very healthy and eating.

 
 
Thanks for the help WILDER and others. There's only so much you can do for a fish, the rest is down to the fish getting better by itself.
 
 
Regards,
Mark.

 

[KieranBoyne]

 

yep, I agree with tcamos, it is always a smart move to have a quarantine tank, that way you can check for any diseases or anything that they may have from the pet shop. And as you have found out at p@h, they don't give a darn about anything other than the money they get. Dissapointing really. The only thing I have ever seen that has been healthy in a pets at home store is their live plants, which are guaranteed to have snails but hey ho. They clean algae so there good lol.

 
The P@H stores in my area (the 2 I go to, 1 based in Chesterfield and the other in Clay Cross) have dead plants covered in algae. They keep the Tropica iron fertiliser under a hot light resulting in it looking like its been diluted with 1 part orange 1000 part water. As for the fish, well, this thread goes to show how they treat their fish.
 
With regards to keeping a QT aquarium, I have 3 points to make:

• I have quarantine aquariums for small tropical fish and large cold water fish.
• No amount of quarantine tanks will make a fish start eating after what seems like weeks of not eating in the store in which it was kept.
• Thirdly, the fish that the Bolivian was put with are very healthy and eating.

 

Ah, well I suppose it depends on what store you go to then yeah? Because mine are decent. Actually, mine are excellent for a pets at home store to be honest. Oh, I wasn't aware that you had a quarantine, sorry for that. And I know that no amount of Qt's will make it start eating, but I was just saying that you can spot it in a Qt tank and can treat more effectively than in a main tank sometimes as certain fish may be intolerant to chemicals in some treatments. And another reason for qt tanks is that sometimes diseases take a couple of days to notice, they might be contagious therefore spreading to other fish in the tank. However in a qt, there is nothing for it to spread it to, unless there are multiple fish in qt but chances are they would already be affected by it anyways. And as internal infections are highly contagious, there is a good chance the other fish may become infected too.

 

[Chad]

I agree Mark. Sometimes a fish is so sick that it won't eat, or it's been starved for so long it hasn't the energy to do so. These are, to me, the most tragic cases there are. 
 
How long did you keep this particular fish in the QT before introducing it to the main tank?

 

[Sickbound]

I just wanted to add that Bolivian rams don't appreciate caves in the same way that Kribensis or GBRs do. Bolivian rams like flat surfaces, such as slate rock; I assume this is because they lay their eggs on flat or concaved surfaces, unlike the Kribensis and GBRs who are cave breeers. I have many caves in my aquarium but the Bolivians only pass through them while exploring, and never defend them or rest inside them.
One of my rams adamantly defended the right half of my old setup from all other living things simply because it had a couple flat rocks.

 

[mark4785]

I just wanted to add that Bolivian rams don't appreciate caves in the same way that Kribensis or GBRs do. Bolivian rams like flat surfaces, such as slate rock; I assume this is because they lay their eggs on flat or concaved surfaces, unlike the Kribensis and GBRs who are cave breeers. I have many caves in my aquarium but the Bolivians only pass through them while exploring, and never defend them or rest inside them.
One of my rams adamantly defended the right half of my old setup from all other living things simply because it had a couple flat rocks.

 
My GBR's never go in caves, tubes or pots. They have always laid eggs on flat open surfaces. I guess they may adapt and utilise caves etc if there were lots of other tank mates getting in their way.
 
 
In other news, the replacement Bolivian is eating crisps and Tetra Tabimin. Like the other, it looks slightly emaciated but I'll ensure that it doesn't suffer anymore in this respect.

 

[WILDER]

Thanks for the update.
Good LUck.

 

[Chad]

Nice to hear it's eating! I always say that if a fish will eat it will survive.