Ram sickness

[Fish4848]

i recently purchased 2 rams (1 gbr female 1 ebr male) they are both small juveniles. at first glance, they look healthy. they were eating within minutes out of the bag. however, i have noticed that the ebr has a slightly sunken belly and the gbr has lightly colored, but not exactly white, stringy poop.
all of my parameters are in my aquarium details. i feed tetra flakes, hikari cichlid pellets, blood worms, and tubifex worms. i also have a male and female pair of apistogramma panduro that the rams have gotten along with very well. they even hang out sometimes. Does anyone know what might be wrong with the fish, how to treat it, or if i should just return them?
i

 

[A201]

If the Rams are eating and otherwise acting normally, likely no worries. Give them time to settle in. Not good to blindly medicate.
Stringy poop & a skinny fish isn't always an indicator of a sickness.
Medicated fish flakes can be found on line and occasionally in LFS 's if you deem it necessary.

 

[coralbandit]

What temp is the tank ?
Rams prefer 80++ in my experience ..
Under 80 leaves them susceptible to anything .
Males often look skinny till you can feed them 'enough' food.
I don't feed my rams any flakes anymore .The foul the water for how much the ram needs .
My rams prefer 1mm slow sinking pellets , frozen bloodworms and freeze dried Australian blackworms ..

 

[Fish4848]

What temp is the tank ?
Rams prefer 80++ in my experience ..
Under 80 leaves them susceptible to anything .
Males often look skinny till you can feed them 'enough' food.
I don't feed my rams any flakes anymore .The foul the water for how much the ram needs .
My rams prefer 1mm slow sinking pellets , frozen bloodworms and freeze dried Australian blackworms ..

the temp is 82. i was planning on getting rams for a while so i kept the water at 82 for a few weeks before to see how my other fish reacted, and they all are doing well. Also, will gbrs and ebrs breed?

 

[coralbandit]

Also, will gbrs and ebrs breed?

They certainly can . I breed all different colors together but it is not always easy .
Rams choose their mates like other cichlids and like many other cichlids are attracted to similar color fish .
Fortunately you only have the two and not a trio so they will pair up if they want .
The results in my years of breeding is nothing like what you may think ..
The GBR/EBR cross is the base for my red rams ..

Some Of The Fish I Breed In My Fish Room | Freshwater Fish and Tank Photos Forum | 351610
Some Of The Fish I Breed In My Fish Room | Freshwater Fish and Tank Photos Forum | 351610

 

[Fish4848]

They certainly can . I breed all different colors together but it is not always easy .
Rams choose their mates like other cichlids and like many other cichlids are attracted to similar color fish .
Fortunately you only have the two and not a trio so they will pair up if they want .
The results in my years of breeding is nothing like what you may think ..
The GBR/EBR cross is the base for my red rams ..

Some Of The Fish I Breed In My Fish Room | Freshwater Fish and Tank Photos Forum | 351610
Some Of The Fish I Breed In My Fish Room | Freshwater Fish and Tank Photos Forum | 351610

maybe that’s why they hang out with my apistos, because they have a similar shape/color patterns. i’m just glad that they all get along. they are still young so i guess i will see. also, if i do decide to breed them, how should i go about it? i don’t want to move the parents. should i just let them take care of the fry or should i remove the fry? i feel like my yo yo loach killifish and apistos would have a field day eating the fry, even with the parents trying to protect them. i have a fry setup with some little platys at the moment.

 

[coralbandit]

Most artificially hatch the eggs or dedicate a tank to the pair and hope they will raise fry .
Many ram pairs are horrible parents so watching them raise fry is a rare treat ..