my ram died!

[Doby_the_Dojo]

well i checked on everyone this morning (hard to miss the tank wen its right next to ur bed) and everyone was good, later i came in and there wuz the little girl lying dead in the gravel! i'm going to cry! i have no idea wut wuz wrong i've only had them a week, so i can still return it, but it won't be the same all i could do is a water change

 

[EMdina]

I'm sorry to hear about your loss... I know the sadness that comes with losing a beloved fishy...

You said that you had your fish for a week, how long have you had your tank going? Is it new? If it is a newly running tank, your fish could have died from the cycling...Rams are extremely sensitive...

Are there other fish in with them that could have attacked him?

Or it could have been sick when you bought it...but I think it would have shown signs of being ill and not have just dropped dead...

Ericka

 

[Alien_spawn]

I know how you feel I lost a Ram today

 

[Doby_the_Dojo]

well lets see, i've had it going for 5 years, but had to refill it completely for the move to the basement, so its been cycled for at least 2 1/2 years hmm... tankmates are 2 fm guppies, 4 platies, 1 variatus platy, 1 ram, and a krib(not in the tank but in a net trap thing) what does the whitish poo mean? i noticed that the other day, but it was the other ram, i didn't see anything wrong with the one that died

 

[EMdina]

I think white stringy poo indicates an internal parasite...I'm not 100% sure though, and I don't know what type of medication you'd give for that...

will your lfs refund your money...

 

[Alien_spawn]

I agree on the white string poo, that normal indicates an internal parasite

 

[Doby_the_Dojo]

well i exchanged my ram for the last one there, and the white poo is no more (the poo looks normal now) is that good? could it have to do with what they are fed?
oh... i've also noticed that the rams at the petstore were a lot darker than mine (their color seemed to fade a lot) so i tested the water of the petstore and compared it to mine, theirs has a higher pH than mine, just wondering if it wuz just the stress of adjusting to the new tank or if my water had some problem? (sry i cant give a hardness level, i don't have a kit yet, kinda out of money )

 

[sandyd]

Sorry to hear of you lost it is very hard to loose anyone in the tank.

I have never kept rams, but my skirt tetras do get very pale when moved and stressed. My thought is that it is just stressed. Keep and eye on it and please let us know.
sandy

 

[Alien_spawn]

From my (short) experience of Ram's they do get paler when stressed I noticed that when I first brought them, they are as bright as in the shop now (two weeks ago)

come to think of it most fish get paler when stressed

 

[Doby_the_Dojo]

i figured that to be the reason, it just seemed kinda long to me, i gess sum fish take longer to settle in, i'd luv to get more plants for cover but i cant manage to find an LFS with a good stock of reasonably priced plants, $9 for a plant is too much IMO i barely ever buy fish that much

 

[Doggfather]

i'm so sorry to hear, rams are such beutiful fish