German Blue Ram Possible Parasite??????

[Wyatt Baker]

So my brother and I have somewhat recently picked up a fluval flex 10gal freshwater tank. PH and Nitrite levels are all perfect. All fish and crustaceans are doing swell (danios, neon tetra, mexican dwarf lobsters, ghost shrimp, cory catfish, and german blue rams). 1 of our 2 rams has recently sprouted something on the left side of his head. It started small, so we bought and added lifeguard all in one protection tablets and started putting them in the tank accordingly. After using all of the tablets, he does not seem to be getting any better, in fact the wound/parasite has grown larger. His behavior is not off in any way which is strange, he is eating fine and swimming and interacting normally. We have been feeding them a mixture of flakes, blood worms, shrimp pellets and bug bits. I'm attaching the best photo I could get of him so you guys can get an idea of what I'm talking about. Please help if any knowledge!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[AquaticJ]

Okay so, you've got a lot of issues here. The first being that your tank is way overstocked. One pair of Rams need at least 20g for themselves. The fish you have are not temperature compatible. How many fish of each do you have? danio, tetra, and cory catfish are schooling fish and need to be in groups of at least 6. The Ram looks like it has fungus, and if i'm seeing clearly, also ich. Do you have the actual levels of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate of your tank?

 

[Why me]

It does look like it has ick so don’t separate yet otherwise it will spread. Treat now and if you have another tank. Separate some after the visual appearance of ick ( after treatment ) is gone after 3 days

 

[Wyatt Baker]

Okay so, you've got a lot of issues here. The first being that your tank is way overstocked. One pair of Rams need at least 20g for themselves. The fish you have are not temperature compatible. How many fish of each do you have? danio, tetra, and cory catfish are schooling fish and need to be in groups of at least 6. The Ram looks like it has fungus, and if i'm seeing clearly, also ich. Do you have the actual levels of ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate of your tank?

As far as I understand though, ich is many, small white spots all over the fish (if not all over then generally spread around). It seems to be one pretty open gash with maybe 1 very small white parasite looking attachment. The photo I got does not do it justice as when you see the whole fish, or the rest of the tank I think it's clear to say we don't yet have ich (fingers corssed). On the overstocking issue, we do understand we are a little over stocked, but smaller rams needing 20g???(we have 3 small danios, 4 very small neon tetra, 2-3 small ghost shrimp, 2-3 mexican dwarf lobsters, and one cory cat) (not doubting you of course, just wanna know more since the pet store didn't seem to mind when we told them our plan to put 2 rams in a 10gal along with the others). Again fish's behavior seems to be totally normal, continuing to eat, swim normally and interacting fine.

 

[Why me]

Just go to Walmart or a fish store to by ick and fungus medication in case ( better safe than sorry) When my rope fish and Oscars got ick. It was on there bodies before fins. It’s good that it’s acting normal. Just keep the water clean and prepare for the worst ( just in case)

 

[Wyatt Baker]

Just go to Walmart or a fish store to by ick and fungus medication in case ( better safe than sorry) When my rope fish and Oscars got ick. It was on there bodies before fins. It’s good that it’s acting normal. Just keep the water clean and prepare for the worst ( just in case)

Sounds like a plan, you're definitely right, better safe than sorry. I appreciate the input !!

 

[AquaticJ]

As far as I understand though, ich is many, small white spots all over the fish (if not all over then generally spread around). It seems to be one pretty open gash with maybe 1 very small white parasite looking attachment. The photo I got does not do it justice as when you see the whole fish, or the rest of the tank I think it's clear to say we don't yet have ich (fingers corssed). On the overstocking issue, we do understand we are a little over stocked, but smaller rams needing 20g???(we have 3 small danios, 4 very small neon tetra, 2-3 small ghost shrimp, 2-3 mexican dwarf lobsters, and one cory cat) (not doubting you of course, just wanna know more since the pet store didn't seem to mind when we told them our plan to put 2 rams in a 10gal along with the others). Again fish's behavior seems to be totally normal, continuing to eat, swim normally and interacting fine.

I'm glad you're open to learning, a lot of new fish keepers get very defensive and don't want to hear certain things. Well the Tetra, Danio, and cories require groups of at least 6. No they won't die immediately if they're alone or in small groups, but they will lived a stressed life, won't be as colorful and active, and ultimately just unhappy. The shrimp, lobsters, and Tetras are the only things I'd keep in there. The Cories and Danios do best at temperatures between 68-75, whereas the Rams should always be in water that's 80-86. The thing about Cories, Danios, and Rams is they NEED more swimming space, and a 10 gallons surface area just doesn't cut it. I know when first getting into the hobby, 10 gallons seems like a lot of water, but in reality it's a very small amount of water. My first tank before I knew anything was a 5 gallon bowfront with a goldfish, 2 mollies, a chinese algae eater, and a Pleco. Not one of those fish are suitable for a 5 gallon, so you're at least doing better than I did lol. I work at a pet store with fish, and I can tell you that a lot of employees don't have any idea what they're talking about. Thankfully most of my coworkers do. As far as the lifeguard all in one, it's not supposed to be used with scaleless fish and invertebrates like shrimp, so I'm surprised they survived. Most aquarium medication is not safe for them, so be careful. Can you get a better picture of the ram?

 

[Why me]

Great explaining. But maybe the mollies were ok. At least for a short while

Do you know what sex your rams are? Males will fight. But I don’t know if they do that to each other.

 

[Wyatt Baker]

Do you know what sex your rams are? Males will fight. But I don’t know if they do that to each other.

Is there an easy way to distinguish sex? The one currently injured or infected usually stays pretty colorful and his black spots are very dark, while the other goes in and out of color, I've seen its colors very dark and defined but also I've seen it blank pale if it's stressed or something. Don't really know how to tell myself. Also I've seen the consistently darker one sometimes nip at the other if he's tucked away in a prop or something but no real fighting.

I'm glad you're open to learning, a lot of new fish keepers get very defensive and don't want to hear certain things. Well the Tetra, Danio, and cories require groups of at least 6. No they won't die immediately if they're alone or in small groups, but they will lived a stressed life, won't be as colorful and active, and ultimately just unhappy. The shrimp, lobsters, and Tetras are the only things I'd keep in there. The Cories and Danios do best at temperatures between 68-75, whereas the Rams should always be in water that's 80-86. The thing about Cories, Danios, and Rams is they NEED more swimming space, and a 10 gallons surface area just doesn't cut it. I know when first getting into the hobby, 10 gallons seems like a lot of water, but in reality it's a very small amount of water. My first tank before I knew anything was a 5 gallon bowfront with a goldfish, 2 mollies, a chinese algae eater, and a Pleco. Not one of those fish are suitable for a 5 gallon, so you're at least doing better than I did lol. I work at a pet store with fish, and I can tell you that a lot of employees don't have any idea what they're talking about. Thankfully most of my coworkers do. As far as the lifeguard all in one, it's not supposed to be used with scaleless fish and invertebrates like shrimp, so I'm surprised they survived. Most aquarium medication is not safe for them, so be careful. Can you get a better picture of the ram?

Thank you man I really appreciate all this feedback. Definitely going to take a lot of these points I learned and have a long talk with my local pet store cause I did not know about the temperature especially for the rams and the lifeguard as well I was pretty surprised reading that just now. Again very much appreciated, thanks a bunch!!!!

 

[Why me]

Females have a pink spot on the belly ( mature) and their dorsal spines are pretty much the same size and have a rounded end. While the males first two spines are taller then the rest and the have a point at the end of their dorsal fin

 

[Wyatt Baker]

Females have a pink spot on the belly ( mature) and their dorsal spines are pretty much the same size and have a rounded end. While the males first two spines are taller then the rest and the have a point at the end of their dorsal fin

Looks like we have 2 females then haha!Thanks for that

 

[Wyatt Baker]

I'm glad you're open to learning, a lot of new fish keepers get very defensive and don't want to hear certain things. Well the Tetra, Danio, and cories require groups of at least 6. No they won't die immediately if they're alone or in small groups, but they will lived a stressed life, won't be as colorful and active, and ultimately just unhappy. The shrimp, lobsters, and Tetras are the only things I'd keep in there. The Cories and Danios do best at temperatures between 68-75, whereas the Rams should always be in water that's 80-86. The thing about Cories, Danios, and Rams is they NEED more swimming space, and a 10 gallons surface area just doesn't cut it. I know when first getting into the hobby, 10 gallons seems like a lot of water, but in reality it's a very small amount of water. My first tank before I knew anything was a 5 gallon bowfront with a goldfish, 2 mollies, a chinese algae eater, and a Pleco. Not one of those fish are suitable for a 5 gallon, so you're at least doing better than I did lol. I work at a pet store with fish, and I can tell you that a lot of employees don't have any idea what they're talking about. Thankfully most of my coworkers do. As far as the lifeguard all in one, it's not supposed to be used with scaleless fish and invertebrates like shrimp, so I'm surprised they survived. Most aquarium medication is not safe for them, so be careful. Can you get a better picture of the ram?

Her gash had a little bit of red in it as well as the white this morning but it seems to have gone away now by the end of the day. We picked up another 10gal tank as a treatment/quarantine tank and some more fungus and bacteria medicines. Hopefully this all works, again thank you all for the help!