Rams Having Breathing trouble?

Okay, so I'll lower the pH, and the KH.
On the temperature exactly what should I shoot for?
(Keep in mind, I have livebearers in the tank as well...)
The saltiness of the water could cause gill damage?
wow, If that's so I'll fix it by the end of the day!

Jeesh, I didn't know salt bothered these guys! :eek:
 
My tank is at 82. I used to keep it at about 79 but I added heavier lighting now that I am trying to grow plants and it has raised the temp some. The altispinosa seems to be very active at this new temp. You might try raising the temp. Live plants will also help keep your nitrates down, adding them to my tank eleminated them. Try adding some more java fern as it is hardy and can sustain in low light conditions quite well with the simple addition of Flourish.

Adernyglas, I agree that conditions should be ideal for fish but consistency is much more important than "ideal". As previously stated most of these fish are farm bread and have no idea what the wild conditions are.

I think with your mix of tap and ro to lower the TDS is a great start. I think raising the temp and adding some more plants might help to. Good luck!
 
I'm not sure if the salt will cause gill damage in particular, but I do know these little guys are very sensitive to salts. They come from streams with very little in the way of disolved salts and organics. They are not blackwater fish but do benefit from the addition of peat to soften the water. Temp. about 82F and a mix of tap and RO water will be great. Plants will also be great as they make the rams feel more secure and you will find them swimming out in the open more. They are great fish, just sensitive. Another thing is that they don't have long life spans, only about 2 years.
How are the fish doing?
 
:( Unfortuantely, they died last night

I changed out a full quarter of their water with RO water, and they continued to get worse.

I'd like to at least LEARN from this experience, so that perhaps in the future I could keep them, but for now, maybe I should just stick with Gobies :(

Thanks for helping me so much, I greatly appreciate all the time you spent trying to help me save my fish. I'm still unsure about what killed them, and I was considering posting on General Freshwater to figure out what happened...
 
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