Are Rams really that difficult to care for?

[silver_leaf]

The title pretty much says it all, ive been doing some reading and was wondering if they were really that hard to care for or not...what are your experiences with them???

Peace
Anna

[slipknottin]

http://www.aquariacentral.com/species/db.cgi?db=fresh&uid=default&ID=0306&view_records=1

[silver_leaf]

Thnx fo the link...andthnx fo movin da post as well...my brain is on hiatus....

anyone know what they are like from personal experience?

[Dwarfnut]

IME, I don't really think that they are al that hard to care for... a little sensitive, good not bad. I feel the real problem is getting some decent stock to begin with. Almost all of the Rams I've seen lately come in pretty sick and don't last long. I've heard that they are real suseptible(sp?) to internal parasites and such which is why I recommend that as soon as you get some, you quarintine them and threat with an antibiotic. They also seem prine to betting lymphocysts which looks much like a fungus, but doesn't seem to harm them.

Otherwise, I keep them in a variety of tanks the 'worse' being just our local tap water that is fairly hard, ph right at 7, and I keep temp about 78 degrees.

If you are worried about them, I'd recommend trying thr Bolivian Rams which seem much hardier and not prone to the illnesses like the Blues.

Good luck,
Bill C.

[silver_leaf]

Thank You!

Question for you... noticed you live in colorado springs, where do you get your rams?? I live by the springs and so i was curious...

Peace
Anna

[Alex]

I would agree with Dwarfnut, they are easy to care for, just hard to find good stock. I went through a couple of pair each of Blue and Gold Rams before I found some good stock and I have each pair in their own 10g tank and they are healthy and spawning every month.

Alex

[Tightdog1]

IMO the reason they get sick a lot when you buy them is that they normally require good water conditions and also little stress amounts otherwise they can develop disease, this is from all the handling from shipping/LFS and being bagged and in notthe greatest water conditions.

Just keep the water good and you should have no problems.

[silver_leaf]

Ok, cool. Looks like i may run into a prob tho...were movin soon, and the well there has astronomically hard water...im not sure exactly how hard...the test results are around here somewhere...when i find em, ill post em. but it's pretty much to the point that if i want to have any fish im gonna hafta do some form of softening... the stuff is amazing, you can TASTE the minerals(mostly calcium) in it! right now im looking at the ion-exchanging basins,(anyone use these?) another hundred dollars to save...but nevertheless i think it should take care of what i need to do...

Hey Tightdog! havent talked to you in a while...got kicked off aim:rolleyes:

[Faramir]

That ion-exchange - it is the acid/base type, not the salt recharge type, isn't it?

The latter type will do you no good at all - there's a thread about it on the General Freshwater forum.

[Dwarfnut]

silver-leaf,
Here in the Springs, I usually shop three different shops, sometimes 4. Closest to my house and probably the nicest is Seascape Aquatics in SE corner shopping center of Academy and Union. They are a nice clean shop that is pretty small. They are good about trying to get whatever you want if they don't have it. They are also really knowledgeable about stuff. It is run by a husband/wife team... she's the freshwater expert, he does the saltwater. They also have fresh and salt purified, deionized water for sale if you need.
Next on the list is the shop by my work... Exotic Aquatics over on Wood Ave off Fillmore. Trey is the owner and a pretty young guy, but seems to know his stuff. He is more into Africans, but carries a little of everything. He deals quite a bit in used equipment and consignments so you can get some good deals on stuff there. He will also special order if his suppliers can get it.

3 and 4 are a toss up... don't get to either one that often, but there is Fishy Business at Maizeland and Academy and the Aquarama downtown in Old Colorado city. I don't think I've ever bought fish from Aquarama tho...

Last but not least... I've actually bought some decent fish and plants from Petsmart on North Academy. They actually have a pretty decent setup and take pretty good care of stuff.

I've gotten Rams from Seascapes, Exotic, and Fishy Business, all about equally healthy. I'm sure the reality is that a lot of the shops use the same suppliers, so you are really getting the same fish at different stores.

How soon are you moving? I've got a few Bolivian Rams that will need a new home in the next month or so... and another batch just went free swimming yesterday! We'll see how many of these survive as I'm going to leave them with the parents longer this time... no more room to move them to!

About your hard water... I'd really suggest that you look into some kind of whole-house water conditioning equipment. Not only is the hard, mineral ridden water not good for Rams, it is not good for any of your appliances or pipes and tubs and sinks! Several friends and co-workers live out East and in black Forest where they have wells and I constantly hear of different problems associated with the water. Something to think about...

Alex,
Can you give me some details on your water conditions for getting the Gold Rams to spawn? thanks,

Best of luck...
Bill C.

[Tightdog1]

yea SILVER_LEAF its ben awhile but im still on there a lot. under tightdog1 same as AC name. hehe

[silver_leaf]

Dwarfnut, I think ive been to seec=scapes..it's by cameraworks right? If it is, i've been there, i was at cameraworks, getting some photog. equipment and noticed the fish store, and as we all know it is a rule that any fish enthusiast MUST stop at a lfs if they notice one they havent been to;) I agree, Its a nice shop. I actually do all my shopping at the N. Academy Pets Mart by Circut City etc... theyre closest and ive only had good luck with them and the people there. I'll hafta try and visit the other shops, especially the one that deals in used equip. But ive been thinking i probably ought not to get any fish, cause its an eight hour drive to the new place, and id hate to lose em on the way. in answer to your question well be moving next month or so...

Mom told me we will be putting a whole house softener in, but the water will still be hard. It was tested at 55.5gpg (grains per gallon) hardness, and considering that 10 gpg is considered very hard water, thats some pretty hard stuff!!!! I was looking in fosters and smith, and i think i'll get one of the ion exchangers that hook up to the faucet and soften the water you pull from the faucet. That way i can use it for filling my tank, and then put it away(not to mention its only $30 as opposed to $100)

Peace
Anna

[Skippy]

I live in Dallas and I havent seen and Blue's in any of the stores I frequent in quite some time. all say that thier supplier has some but they are in the half an inch long range. (Maybe they all use the same supplier, i don't know).

I have seen ads for some on aquabid, but I havent taken the plunge on them yet. The seller on aquabid seemed to be quite a ram person and have good stock from what I was seieng described.