2 Blue Rams died one night... Ideas?

[Crazed Demasoni]

Hey guys,

I decided to get a pair of blue rams to keep in my 29g. It's a gravel substrate (vacuumed often) with 6-7 lava rock chunks in it.

I floated the 1.25" rams, then slowly introduced tank water to them, then released them (all over the course of about an hour to an hour and a half). they were great for a few days, active, and each ate 2 or 3 pellets of New Life Spectrum Cichlid food.

I woke up 4 days after I bought them, and found both of them dead. My water is as follows:
PH: 6.2
Nitrates: 10-20ppm max
Nitrites: 0
Ammonia: 0
hardness was average (don't remember the exact measurement)
Zero chlorine.

Any ideas? I also have a pictus and am growing out a small pleco in that tank, and they've been in there for a while. I really want to raise rams, but I'm hesitant to throw down $9/fish if they won't last.

 

[Crazed Demasoni]

PS filtration is an AC110, but I keep the water high enough that there isn't too much of a current.

 

[Sarah88]

what temp are you keeping them at? i havent personally kept rams but i was looking into it for possibly setting up a ram tank with my small empty tank and most people said they had the best luck with them when keeping their water really warm like mid 80s, it could have also just been stress since these are more sensitive fish they may have just got something from stress at the petstore and couldnt get over it, hopefully the petstore refunds them since you only had them for 4days and there doesnt seem to be anything wrong with your water, and i dont see a pleco or pictus doing anything to them if the pictus is small

your water is also quite acidic, though it shouldnt be a problem for them but i dont know, i cant recall right now what the lower pH spectrum for them is, but does it come out of your tap that acidic? thats really low

 

[Crazed Demasoni]

The guy at the store actually recommended somewhere in the range of 5-7 for them, but my tank has been hovering around 6.2-6.4. I had the tank at 78-79 degrees, which is also supposed to be within their temperature rating. I'd have to relocate the pleco though, because I've heard that anything over 80 is bad for them if I were to raise the temp. Sadly the store has an amazing selection of fish, but their return policy isn't quite so generous. 100% within 24 hours, or 50% within a week. It wasn't worth my time to drive 30 mins each way for $9.

I may end up talking to someone I know at a local petco and seeing if they'll order some... at least then I can have the 14 or 30 day return policy... whatever they're at nowadays.

 

[Lusus_Naturae]

I personally wouldn't keep the PH that low, most Blue Rams I've seen in the past few years are raised at higher PH and are used to it. If they were at the store for awhile I would have them measure the PH they have been kept at and match it, but if they just came in on Wednesday and you buy them Friday it could have been anything. The lowest PH I've kept is 6.8 for blood parrots I had back in 2000, and that was low because they needed a water change after vacation. Once adjusted the rams are pretty hardy.

 

[Kanta]

I don't know why but it seems that rams have a sudden death syndrome. I went through about 3 females and 2 males before I could get a stable trio.

 

[Chicklette]

I had a couple rams die on me when I first got them. They are very sensitive, not like the other hardy cichlids. They are delicate, you probably didn't do anything wrong.

 

[aclockworkorange]

Through working in the industry at a wholesale dealer, I can tell you blue rams DIE ALL THE TIME. Even healthy blue rams usually don't live over a few years in a tank. You might get lucky, as I have a friend that has had a pair for 4 years, but they generally die... usually quickly.

 

[Somethingfishyinc.net]

As a store owner I have had some like right now that are doing great then at times I get them in and they look prefect then start dying one by one? I keep them in the upper rows where the temp is 80+ with our Cleve PH around 7.2-7.6 average. We feed brine, blood worms, flake, nls foods. If I get a batch where I start to lose one a day etc.. I treat them with Metronidozole or jungle internal parasite guard & add a little salt plus water changes. I Have saved some doing this.
I have a pair of the new electric blue rams in a Discus display for over 6 months with themp about 85 & have cory cats, & bushy nose pleco doing good.

me Dave

 

[Sarah88]

thats crazy that their return policy is so stingy, i would think that maybe they dont take that good care of their fish if they wont even stand behind them for a week, but yeah i know everything says that within their range but everyone i have talked to that has kept them successfully kept the tank at like 84+, pH shouldn't be to much of an issue as long as you acclimated them slowly