IIIHawKIII

ok. just got a gold and german blue yesterday. very slow acclimation.

german is doing quite well. gold, is kinda sheepish and breathing kinda fast.

can i add just a little salt to kinda soothe things? or should i go get some stress coat +?

everyone else in the tank seems to be doing just fine. there are plenty of hiding spots in the tank.

ammo 0, ites 0, ates were just under 40 so i did a big water change. will test again in the afternoon tomorrow.

he looked good in the store, nice two tone orange and yellow. he was a little nipped up from over crowding and not enough hiding spots in the tank they were in. but now he's like white with very little color. maybe he just needs more time to settle in....dunno, maybe i'm just bein a little paranoid.

any ideas or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

untitled1209

ive had my fish begin to start breathing fast .. accualy it happend two days ago i added a little salt and they all started to calm down.

agabr123

i wouldn't add salt, i think it will act as more of an irritant than anything else. do you have an airstone or bubble wand in the tank? if not then it may be that your ram is suffering from oxygen depletion, or your ram could just be adjusting to they new tank. i'd give him a few days to adjust before adding anything, just keep on top of your water changes and keep it pristine

capekate

When I brought home my rams they were pretty pale and stressed out. Which would be the fast breathing. I also would not add any salt to the tank, it will be an irritant and why would you want to add salt just because a fish is pale in color?
It took my rams a few days before they got their color back. They were stressed from other fish in the tank that were bigger than them and it took time for them to feel secure there and know that another fish was not going to eat them, as they were the smallest fish in my tank.
You should give your guy some time to acclimate to his surroundings before you start wondering if he is sick or not. I almost brought home some of the gold rams as well, they sure are pretty. Best of luck with your new fish!

IIIHawKIII

he died. actually got all his color back after death. my blue is still doing fine and is active and searching the tank. the gold didn't seem right even when he was in the bag acclimating. which was very slow over the course of 2 hours. just adding like 4 oz of my tank water into his bag about every 15 to 20 minutes.

i dunno why everyone on here thinks salt is evil. it's a general stress reliever and helps replenish/sustain the slime coat.

i'm not talkin like adding 2 pounds, just like a tablespoon per 10 gallon. of freshwater aquarium salt.

capekate

The reason that salt stimulates the slime coat of a fish, is due to the fact that salt acts like an irritant, which in turn makes the fish produce more slime coat to protect it from the irritant that is caused by the salt. Sort of a catch 22 situation.
It is not IMO a stress reliever, due to it being a irritant. For these reasons I am hesitant to use salt in any of my tanks.
Im sorry to hear you lost the gold ram... Rams are so sensitive.. and it sounds like you acclimated it correctly. It may have just been in a weakened state when you bought it. Best of luck with the remaining GBR.

IIIHawKIII

huh....never really thought of it that way. thanks for takin the time to explain it from that perspective. you can still find info on the net sayin to do it and not to...

but when you put it that way, maybe i'll just get some stress coat+ and be done with salt.

got another gold ram, replacement, and he's doin great. all his color is back, active and exploring.

capekate

Best of luck with the new gold ram. I was very tempted to pick some gold rams up from my LFS every time I see them. They are really sweet looking rams.. and a nice addition to the GBRs as well, and a lot cheaper for some reason too!
Stress coat should be a good product to keep on hand for when you need it.

Amanda

When my Rams started breathing fast, I knew that they were dying. Sorry you lost yours.

IIIHawKIII

yeah, he never got his color back from when they netted him at the pet store. he was just max stressed i think. i acclimate with the lights off and everything, but he just couldn't take it i guess.

agabr123

i'm sorry about your ram good luck with your new one!

IIIHawKIII

new one died! he was active and swimming all around last night. not like OVERLY active, but looking around, searching for food, that kind of active. had all his color, eating good.

and i thought maybe it was an aggression issue, but he was always the aggressor. and it wasn't really even AGGRESSION towards my blue, just more like, territory chasing.

blue is still doin fine.