Dying Rams

[Minkymoo]

Hi, I have falen in love with Rams. I have had 2 but for no apparent reason they have died. All other fish are alive and all ph, nitrate, nitrite and ammonia levels are perfect.
I'm fairly new at this so any information would be greatly appreciated as I would like to get some more.
Any Rams experts out there?

 

[indigoj]

What is your PH?

What type of Rams?I know some are quite inbred and prone to disease etc.

 

[Minkymoo]

My ph is approx 7.0. I was told they like a high ph is that wrong?

 

[RadaR]

General Hardness. Rams do quite badly in water that isn't soft. They don't last more than a few months. If you live in a hard water area then you can buy an RO unit, or construct an efficient way of collecting rain water that is then ran through carbon.

 

[Minkymoo]

Ah that could explain it! I felt that my Kribs were bullying them so took them back to the fish shop.
The Rams died so I'm now four fish down LOL!
My water is hard. I'll have to look into changing my water to soft. Not sure if the other fish will cope with the water change. I'm still new to all this.
Thank you for your help x

 

[PRW1988]

Rams do quite badly in water that isn't soft

I don't find that info to be 100% precise... I've had Rams in water that's hard, and I'm on well water, they thrived and lived nice and long (longest one lived til 3, others I gave away because I was bored of them), most fish adapt to hard water or higher/lower PH. In a fish farm, the tanks are not going to be all suited to the natural conditions of the fish, it'd be too expensive. Most fish learn to adapt or die, my guess is that there's something else wrong in the tank, for instance what's the Ammonia, Nitrate and Nitrite levels? Any free chlorine in the water? Temperature? Size of tank?? Many things can effect a species of fish, I'd say check the levels, search online for ideal conditions and attempt to duplicate that.

 

[-cAtFiSh-]

Depends on the type of ram. Bolivian rams are much hardier than German blue rams. If you have German blue and continue having trouble with them then get some Bolivians instead. They look quite similar (though not nearly as brightly coloured) and grow a little bigger than German blue.

 

[bubblej17]

Hi, I have falen in love with Rams. I have had 2 but for no apparent reason they have died. All other fish are alive and all ph, nitrate, nitrite and ammonia levels are perfect.
I'm fairly new at this so any information would be greatly appreciated as I would like to get some more.
Any Rams experts out there?

hi there, i have the same problem as you, we got a 50pound voucher to use on fish at out local lfs 50quid is a lot when you can only spend it on fish lol, anyway i fell in love with what read "green rams" on the label but i researched and figured they were blue rams, the woman bagged 3 instead of 2 which was great for me as she only charged for 2 = 9 pound (quite alot for two small fish) anyhow a month went by all was well then one night i notice this horrible white fluff ball on the surface of my water it was a ram obviosly been trapped somewhere due to its colour, i checked my levels and they were spot on, but tonight (2-3weeks) later i have another very ill looking ram who is now in the hospital tank i have no idea why they are dying the way they are, as my ph is also at 7.0 and all stats are good,
sorry there is no useful info in what i've just written, just thought i'd say your not alone with this problem, hope it gets sorted soon

 

[Minkymoo]

Thank you so much. Yes all my stats are spot on too. I feel a bit disheartened as I really like them.
I think maybe I'll keep trying and hope that one lot survive te hard water.
Blue rams are more sensitive but I think they're lovely too.
Good luck with yours x
Moo ;-)

 

[Minkymoo]

Just checked and they are the German Blue Rams. Such a shame cause I think they've got such a great characters.
Most fish shop just sell 'Rams' but all have been the German blue ones. Or golden Rams but I think these lok too much like goldfish lol
Thanks for your advice
Moo x