cosmiccreepers Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 My male Blue Ram has suddenly taken ill. Sunday afternoon he was fine, but that night he was acting a bit strange. His fins are not clamped, he is breathing rather hard, his colour is faded except for his blue. He has a slight his eyes are a little swollen ( nothing like popeye that I've seen in Bettas) there is also a slight swelling on his head between his eyes,and he sticks as close as he can to the glass. He also looks rather dazed. Could he have concusion? The only other fish in the tank is his girlfriend, and until Sunday night they were getting ready to lay eggs. In fact, the female is still 'raring to go'. She is still healthy with no troubles. Water changes 25% every week. 2ft tank with 2x Aquaclear 150 Temp- 28-29c Food- cichlid pellets, frozen blood worms twice a week and live bs when LFS has them in stock (1-2 times a month) Moderetly planted tank with wood. I've had this pair since January in the same tank. They bred like rabbits until a few months ago when they stopped. A few of us came to the conclusion that they stopped due to the cooler months. They were actually in the courting process and cleaning a log over the last week or so. Any ideas? Cheers, Cassandra. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeW Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 Cas - These are tricky fish to keep (as you'll know from my previous rants on rams). Is it possible he injured himself when the lights were turned on etc? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosmiccreepers Posted December 21, 2004 Author Share Posted December 21, 2004 Yew- I thought somewhere along the same lines, only perhaps the female was a little over zealous and he tried to escape her and smaked into a log/glass or pot. He was fine on Sunday morning, but that night was when I noticed he was a little under the weather. Touch wood, he has not gotten any worse- but he has also not gotten any better. He does still have that dazed look in his eye. I'll keep you updated. Cheers, Cassandra. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brett4Perth Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 How old do you think he is? These are not long lived fish. Hope he recovers , love these fish Merry Xmas Brett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbeer Posted December 21, 2004 Share Posted December 21, 2004 Cassandra, I am afraid I am pessimistic. My bet is a bacterial infection of some type given eye and head swelling you describe. South American Dwarfs I think are generally susceptable to bacteria and have little natural protection as soft acidic water stops bacteria. I would probably try seperating, to avoid any risk of spreading and making sure water nicely conditioned and clean. Hopefully someone has better ideas. And start looking for a new decent male. Let us know what happens and good luck. Stephen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosmiccreepers Posted December 21, 2004 Author Share Posted December 21, 2004 UPDATE! The male now has the black stripe across his eyes showing again and he also picked a little at food this morning. I think this is a good sign. Touch wood he won't have a re-laps. I have started 10% water changes morning and night. Cheers, Cassandra. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YeW Posted December 22, 2004 Share Posted December 22, 2004 Hi Cas - I think the water changes are a bit much actually, I wouldnt recommend changing more than 10% a day. You'll get the water chemistry swinging around which doesnt help stressed fish (unless there is an obvious pollutant you are trying to remove eg: ammonia/nitrite). soft acidic water stops bacteria I dont think this is true. Bacteria as a domain are massively diverse and you just get different bacterial species in softer water. The problem really is with rams (which are, I believe, an immunocomprimised species (at least the "strain" commonly available in the aquarium hobby)). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cosmiccreepers Posted December 23, 2004 Author Share Posted December 23, 2004 Sad news my friends The male ram died. It's still a mystery. The female has no trouble- except loosing her mate- so I don't think it was a bacteria. Some one asked me who old he was. Well I bought the pair in January this year and he was about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch long. So could it has possibly been age? Cheers, Cassandra Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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