Kribs and Rams - question

[lethalp]

Ok I have 2 kribs,(29gtank) one of them is very healthy and the other is a bit pitiful. It has some torn fins on top and is sort of thin. you can't see much of the red on the belly. He hides all the time and when he does come out eveyone picks on him. I have considered moving him into a tank with 5 danios till he gets better? He eats and swims fine (when I see him) I put him in the tank first hoping to let him find his own spot. Anyway, should I leave him in there or move him till he gets better? And on the rams- THEY FIGHT all the time! THe funny thing is the healthy krib almost always breaks it up and chases one away. They stay on seperate sides of the tank most of the time but when they get together they lock lips. One of them has what looks like a hicky on his upper lip, no tear, but it is red. Any suggestions for either? Do I need to seperate the rams also? Everything I have read says these are both peaceful species, whats going on?

[Tim Bo]

I'm a little unclear on the maturity/age of the fish, but I would suggest taking the one krib out - make sure he's healthy enough to get to the food if he's in a tank with those fast moving danios.
Rams have a nack for chasing each other a lot. IME the male can get very aggressivve on the female at times, but this will only happen for a short time and then things go back to normal. If things get really bad and injuries occur, I remove one of the pair for a while (usually the dominant one).

[Dwarfnut]

IME, the Kribs and Rams are not very compatable with each other... especially if they are wild caught Rams. I know the Rams and Kribs are both supposed to be community fish, but that has not been my experience. I have not been able to put any other lower water column fish in with my Rams without the Rams terrorizing the other fish. Sometimes they just chase them around and stress the crap out of them, but sometimes they have actually done damage. I found that Blue Rams bullied fish even 3 times their size and thought nothing of it! I found the Kribs much more peaceful, until they start spawning, then all hell breaks loose! They will fight and kill fish many times their size during spawning!
For some reason, I can put quite a few of the Rams together in one tank and have no problems, just not another species of fish. I can put middle column and upper column species in just fine, so make sure everyone has their own space!

My suggestion would be to pull both Kribs out and get them their own space in another tank.

Good luck,
Bill C.

[lethalp]

The 2 rams are fighting.They are dwarf rams from what the lfs said. Its the one thats slightly smaller that is doing the damage to the bigger one. Is there any way to tell the sexes? The krib that was looking beat up seems to be doing fine with the danios. I moved him last night and I saw him eat!yeah! I have floating food sinking food and flakes and I also have blood worms, so I have made sure he can get something. When he was in the other tank I put food in the decoration he was in but I could never see if he ate :( I figure if I move him he will either die or get better one or the other. Now I am wondering if I should treat him with antibiotics? I have put stress coat and some salt in the tank, and the Danio tank is about 2 degrees warmer than the 29g. Any more?

[Tim Bo]

I wouldn't put any antibiotics in until you know exactly what the problem is. If the Krib is eating, it could very well be recouperating so give it a few days and see how things transgress. Make sure the water is clean.
The female Ram often has blue spangles on a black spot on both sides of the body.I have a page on Rams that describes and shows the sexes of them. If they start injuring each other it can help to move some of the ornaments. This changes their once familiar surroundings/home and can be a trigger for mood changes IME.
http://hjem.get2net.dk/Best_of_the_Web/blue%20rams.html