Help with GBRs

[Melinda P]

So I am at a loss; I have tried multiple times to keep German Blue Rams but have never been successful. I am careful not to stress them out, keep their water at their optimal temperature (~84), and quarantine them with the Trio. I have tried a couple of different places (both chain stores, online sellers, etc) but no dice. What am I doing wrong? I love this species so much and want to keep them, but I also don't want to splurge money and time to end up with dead fish. 

I know they are difficult to care for, but I don't know what I should change, or if it's my water or what. The girl I picked up today looked healthy at the shop (at high 70's temperature), and had gotten her colors back over the past two days since I brought her home. I checked on her an hour ago (in hospital tank) and she was fine; half an hour later, she's belly up.😞

Any advice would be greatly appreciated...

[nabokovfan87]

Can you show the setup you have for the tank?

I ran into an issue with some other species of rams and it was temperature based (yours seems good).

I would be interested to see if you're having an oxygenation issue. When I ran into issues I definitely noticed a lackluster behavior and the fish seemed very dejected and out of sorts.

Please also share water testing parameters if you can just to double check everything.

[Melinda P]

On 3/25/2022 at 5:12 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Can you show the setup you have for the tank?

I ran into an issue with some other species of rams and it was temperature based (yours seems good).

I would be interested to see if you're having an oxygenation issue. When I ran into issues I definitely noticed a lackluster behavior and the fish seemed very dejected and out of sorts.

Please also share water testing parameters if you can just to double check everything.

Hospital tank is set at 84F (thermometer confirms). I have a Co-Op sponge filter for filtration and oxygenation/agitation.
 

pH 7.1, NH3 0, NO2 0, NO3 5 

My fish have always acted perfectly normal, except maybe a little pale.

[nabokovfan87]

On 3/25/2022 at 5:22 PM, Melinda P said:

Hospital tank is set at 84F (thermometer confirms). I have a Co-Op sponge filter for filtration and oxygenation/agitation.

Is there any sort of a cave?

I hope someone else can clarify, you can also ask the shop to confirm what temperature they should be at? The website I saw recommended 78-85, and I would try starting at about 82 if possible.

They also may benefit from salt while everything is going on for QT and you can try dosing meds one at a time instead of loading the tank up. Because you're using a sponge, it might be difficult to make sure the tank is clear of meds and there might be some residuals causing stress. You might want to just clean it well or have some method for running carbon in between each med to clear the water for the fish and reduce stress.

Something is causing stress. Likely culprit is oxygen (seems fine), PH (seems fine), or Temp (should be fine).  I would also add on there environment and just making sure that the fish has a lower light, comfortable tank or even a place to find some cover. Just a piece of wood works, but something in there. 

How is water hardness?

I'm watching this now to verify what temperature is recommended.

Edit: yes. Absolutely I would check what the store is running for temp. It very could be the transition that is causing issues and a jump or drop in temp.

Make sure the fish has some salt if they need it to help as well, some cover. If you *still* have issues then I would dose one at a time to reduce stress even further.

Edited March 26, 2022 by nabokovfan87