wot_fan

My male GBR is sitting on the bottom of the tank. He is kind of pale. I am not sure how to help him.

Last night he was fine. In fact, I took a video of my tank and posted it in this thread. If you watch the video you can see he was acting normally.

Here is a video of him now.

All of the other fish in the tank are fine including the female GBR. The only thing I have done to the tank since last night was to add some liquid plant supplements (Seachem Flourish) before I went to bed.

All of the water parameters that I can measure are fine (ammonia, nitrite and nitrate). As soon as I noticed him, I did a partial water change. It was the only thing I could think to do.

Any ideas as to what is wrong and what I can do to help? TIA.

Update: He has now hiding in the far upper right of my tank behind the tubes from my Fluval canister filter. It is not looking good .

Lucy

I'm sorry your GBR isn't feeling well. He's a very pretty fish.
Is is possible he got a dose of the liquid plant suppliment? Maybe try moving him into a QT with warm fresh water, see how he does.

wot_fan

It is possible that I poured the supplement right on him. The tank was dark and I didn't pay any attention. From now on I will dilute it in a cup of tank water and carefully add it.

How warm should I make the water? The tank water is about 81F.

AlyeskaGirl

It needs to be the same temp as he is in now or close to so it doesnt stress him out when you put him in there.

Lucy

As close to the tank water temp as you can get. I hope some time in fresh water helps in. If anything it'll keep him from getting picked on.

wot_fan

While I was preparing the water he took a turn for the worse. When I got back to the tank he was swimming spasmodically. I got in the fresh water without stressing him any more, but I don't have much hope. I just wish I knew what happened so I don't make the same mistake again.

Update: He is now at the bottom again and on his side. I don't think it will be long now .

Lucy

I'm really sorry he's not doing well. It's frustrating not knowing exactly why he's like this and not knowing how to fix it.
Please keep us updated.

wot_fan

I was able to get a good look at him. I can rule out physical damage. I have to believe I dosed him with the Seachem Flourish. It never occurred to me that I could hurt a fish with it.

If he dies, am not sure what the best way to replace him is. Originally, I bought 2 pair of GBRs. They paired off and both pair spawned within a few days of each other. Before I could save them, the second pair to spawn killed the first pair. I want to have a breeding pair, but I don't want to have anymore GBRs die. Do you think I should buy another male and hope the female likes him? Or should I buy 2 males and remove one as soon as I see aggression? Or maybe a female and a male?

wot_fan

I am sorry to have to report that he didn't make it.

I am off to the LFS to get a replacement. I have decided to get one male. If he doesn't get along with the female, I'll figure out what to do then.

Thanks for your help .

Lucy

Aw, I'm really sorry you lost him.
I wish I could have been more help. I don't know about GBR's but with a lot of m/f ratios should be a couple of female per 1 male to avoid him harassing the same girl. Don't know if this applies to rams or if you have room in your tank.

AlyeskaGirl

Oh, I am sorry you lost him.

wot_fan

Thanks for the condolences. He was really a good looking fish and I am sorry to see him go.


I picked up his replacement. I like to add fish in the evening (shortly before the tank lights turn off). I find that they settle in to their new home with less conflicts with their new tank mates. I think I got a pretty good looking fish. Hopefully he and the female will hit it off.


Thanks again .

Edit: I am not sure why the link to the full size pic isn't working. Here are some links to copies on imageshack. Hopefully they will work.

Lucy

Gosh, they're so pretty. I'd love to have a pair.
I hope your girl likes the new boy.

agabr123

i'm sorry you lost him he was a gorgeous boy!

Steve420

sorry to hear that you lost your ram. I recently lost my male too...actually based on your description, it sounds like our guys had alot of the same symptoms. All my other fish (including my female ram) are fine. And just to let you know, I don't have live plants so I never added any chemical to my tank. One morning he was fine and then that same evening he died.

Can you keep us (well...me anyway) posted on how your new male adapts with your existing female. I've been thinking about getting a new boy but am worried that they won't get along....

wot_fan

So far the new male is doing well. He is eating and has colored up nicely. I will try to get some pictures of him this weekend. I will post them in the picture forum if I am able to get any good shots.

The first day he followed the female around the tank, never leaving her side. He then started showing off for her. He is now chasing her and nipping at her. It doesn't appear too serious yet since he doesn't actually make contact with her. Her color is good and she seems to be able to lose him in the plants if she wants. I noticed similar behavior with the old male until they paired off. I am hoping that they will eventually breed.

Steve420: I noticed that you are from Chicago. I live in Streamwood. I purchased my GBRs from Aquarium Adventure (Hoffman Estates store). All of their rams look great. If you decide to get another male and it's not too far of a drive, I recommend you check them out.

wot_fan

The new male is still doing well. In fact, I haven't seen him nip at the female in awhile.

Here are some pics I took of them today.

Steve420

Hey Wot - I know of Streamwood...I know it really well actually. I live there!!! I listed Chicago in my profile because I figured more people would be able to identify with a big city.

Where about in Streamwood? I live right off of Barrington and Irving...kinda behind the Wal-Mart over there.

And another funny thing is that Aquarium Adventure is like my home away from home. I work right by Woodfield (Zurich Towers), so I find myself going over to AA at lunch and just wandering through the aisles. Every fish I've ever purchased has come from there.
I have a buddy who works there (Aaron) and he says that they get really good rams. He was surprised when I came in complaining that my ram died. Just curious...do you remember when you got yours? I'm wondering if we got ours from the same batch

Oh and your new guy looks awesome! I'm pretty sure I'm going back for more!!!

wot_fan

Hey Steve, LOL I listed my location in my profile as Chicagoland for the same reason. Small world. I live basically at the intersection of Irving and 59, just up the road from you. I work in Schaumburg (right by Woodfield Mall) so I drive right by AA every day.

I purchased my original male Feb 25th. At the time they had large and medium sized GBRs in stock and I went with the medium ones. It was shortly after the great sale AA had. In fact, that sale is one of the reasons I decided to get a tank again. I got rid of my 75 and 55 a couple of years ago when I did some remodeling. Since then I have picked up photography and thought it would be fun to combine an old hobby with the new one.

Good luck with your tank and if you decide to replace your male, please post some pics .

Steve420

I'm planning on a trip to AA tomorrow night. Not sure if I'll get my GBRs...only because I am in the process of setting up a 10g and its finally cycled and I'm ready to stock. I wouldhave gone tonight but they close at 6 on sundays and my kids were to crazy to take out .

I should be picking up the GBRs in a week or so. As soon as I get some $$ from the governemnt ;-). I'll try and post picks but mine always come out really crappy. They are either way to bright, or if I turn off the flash, way to blurry.

wot_fan

Well I have some bad news to report. My new male is sick. I am afraid he has the same thing that killed my last male There is a little good news as well, but I will save that until later in this post .

Since losing the last GBR, I have been watching my new male a little more closely than usual. Yesterday I noticed that he seemed to be breathing a little harder than the female. He was otherwise acting normally, his color was good and had a good appetite so I chalked it up to being paranoid.

Today he was definitely not himself. He was swimming around the tank, but not with his usual speed. He seemed very lethargic. As the day has gone by he has gotten less energetic. Late this afternoon he was at the surface and appeared to be gasping for breath. I immediately did a water change and left the tank a little lower than usual to allow more surface action from the back filter.

That seemed to help a little. He was less energetic than before though. When he chose to move he was swimming normally at least. He would go to the surface for a while then settle towards the bottom for a while. This continued for about an hour.

While this was going on, I frantically searched the internet for a clue to the problem. I found several people with similar symptoms. The general consensus was gill flukes. At this point my GBR was at the bottom and not moving much at all. I jumped in the car and went to the LFS for some fluke medication and advice.

The lady that helped me agreed that it was likely gill flukes. GBRs are very prone to them I guess. Anyway, I bought some medication as well as some aquarium salt and sped home. When I got back, he was in the same spot I left him in. I medicated the tank and added some salt.

That was a little over an hour ago. He has just started swimming around the tank again. He doesn't seem to have as much energy as usual and he is still breathing heavily, but I am very encouraged. He hasn't been this active since this morning. I think he may actually make it . I'll post an update tomorrow.

Lucy

Oh, I hope the meds perk him up and get rid of the flukes. Keep us posted.

wot_fan

Thanks . I have been watching him for the past 30 minutes or so and he seems to be getting better the more time that passes. I can't believe how fast the medication worked. I forgot to mention it's called "PrazilPro". Great stuff.

capekate

Im so sorry to hear about your new male getting sick...
I sure hope the meds work and he is on the mend...

wot_fan

Well it looks like I may have been overly optimistic last night. Today he is sitting on the bottom of the tank and breathing even harder then he was yesterday. I was able to get a good look at his gills and they appear to be sticking out from his body a little more than usual. I still think he has gill flukes, I am just not sure if I medicated in time to save him. I haven't given up hope, but I have less than I did last night .

AlyeskaGirl

i am sorry your fish isn't feeling well. Oh, I hope he makes it!

wot_fan

I just got back home from running some errands to find my male dead . I wasn't surprised based on his condition when I left, but still it's depressing. At least I am fairly sure I know what killed him.

Last night I reviewed some of the video I shot of this male and the previous one I lost. It appears that they both had been gradually getting sick based on how hard they were breathing compared to the female. The female doesn't even look like she is breathing in the vids and the males' breathing was noticeable. I think if I had been more observant and knew what to look for, I could have saved both of them. Live and learn I guess, but I hate for my ignorance to be the cause of deaths .

I am going to give it one more shot. If I lose the next male for any reason, I am going to have to give up on GBRs. I really hope the next one has better luck than the last since I really like GBRs. In fact, I chose all the other fish for this tank based on their compatibility with GBRs.

Thanks again for all the well wishes.

agabr123

i'm really sorry you lost him

it's unfortunate that GBRs are so sensitive, they're such gorgeous fish

wot_fan

Thanks .

I decide to add another male today while the medication is still in the tank. I am not sure how the flukes got into my tank so I figure it wouldn't hurt to make sure the new male gets treated just in case he already has flukes. The medication states that it is safe enough to use a preventative and it doesn't have any negative impacts on the biological filtration. In fact, I may medicate with it every time I add a new fish until I can setup a quarantine tank.

I'll post pics as soon as he settles in.

AlyeskaGirl

I am sorry you lost him.