I'm afraid I'm stumped on this and I was wondering if anyone could help me with my favorite fish.
I have a male/female pair of German Blue Rams. The female is as bright as ever and is gorgeous to look at, but the male unfortunately looks as though he is losing color. When I first got him he was the brightest looking fish in the store, but now he rarely shows his colors. Most of the time his black spots are barely visible and he keeps his dorsal and anal fins up tight against him, although I can still see his gorgeous blue scales when he turns the right way in the light. He has the same appetite he has always had and eats like a pig. He isnt spending anymore time hiding than he had before. In fact, he seems to follow the female around a lot. He just plain doesnt look happy. Every once in a while he flairs up and his fins go straight and I can see all of his colors just as they were before, but that usually only lasts 30 seconds or so. I introduced the female about a week ago, and his dullness only began about 3 days ago.
Here are my tank stats so far:
12 gallon Aquapod nano
Hardness 2
PH 7.2
no ammonia
no nitirites
10ppm nitrates
79-85 degrees F
Stock:
1 male blue ram
1 female blue ram
4 white cloud minnows
3 otto cats
1 ghost shrimp
6 amano shrimp
Various plants and a bog log
I am currently using Black Water Expert, and adding iron, carbon, and trace elements for my plants. Ive been making water changes with mostly distilled water.
Does anybody have an idea of what is going on with my male ram? Has anybody had similar experiences?
I have a male/female pair of German Blue Rams. The female is as bright as ever and is gorgeous to look at, but the male unfortunately looks as though he is losing color. When I first got him he was the brightest looking fish in the store, but now he rarely shows his colors. Most of the time his black spots are barely visible and he keeps his dorsal and anal fins up tight against him, although I can still see his gorgeous blue scales when he turns the right way in the light. He has the same appetite he has always had and eats like a pig. He isnt spending anymore time hiding than he had before. In fact, he seems to follow the female around a lot. He just plain doesnt look happy. Every once in a while he flairs up and his fins go straight and I can see all of his colors just as they were before, but that usually only lasts 30 seconds or so. I introduced the female about a week ago, and his dullness only began about 3 days ago.
Here are my tank stats so far:
12 gallon Aquapod nano
Hardness 2
PH 7.2
no ammonia
no nitirites
10ppm nitrates
79-85 degrees F
Stock:
1 male blue ram
1 female blue ram
4 white cloud minnows
3 otto cats
1 ghost shrimp
6 amano shrimp
Various plants and a bog log
I am currently using Black Water Expert, and adding iron, carbon, and trace elements for my plants. Ive been making water changes with mostly distilled water.
Does anybody have an idea of what is going on with my male ram? Has anybody had similar experiences?
