Rams and nitrates

I really want to get a couple of these guys at some point in the future. They are gorgeous! I've read that they are more sensitive to nitrate and other pollutants in the aquarium than other tropical fish; could someone who has kept rams please tell me what level of nitrates is okay for them? My nitrates currently go from 7.5ppm to just under 20ppm in a week, with a weekly 25% water change. I'm prepared to do more, like 50% a week, if that is better for rams Also, how long do rams live?

Thanks!

~Bill

 

I just got a pair to day ur right they are gawjizz and they are sensitve fish they like a lower PH I no but they like the nitrates as low as possible mine is about 5-10ppm I think

Peace Out Callum!

 

Thanks

Just tested and my water is 7.5ppm out of the tap! I think I'll add another plant to help keep the levels down. To reduce nitrates more, is it better to do larger water changes or more frequent ones?

 

I think that u should never do more than a 50% (unless treating for soemthing) I would do a 20% water change more frequently than larger I think its better that way. but u might want to ask butterfly or someone with more experinse

Peace Out Callum!

 

Thanks Callum

 

no prob i'm only help to help (well and ask questions lol) and u have to post some pics of ur rams

Peace Out Callum!

 

Will do! Off to get them...

 

ok hope u gt the best looking and r u planning on breeding them? coz they aren't a pairing fish I think

Peace Out Callum!

 

Oh really Bill? Lucky you, off to the pet store on a Monday. Now THERE's a start to one's week.

Oh bummer! :-X Ah well, you'll REALLY enjoy them now you've had to wait .... again.

 

See, it happened again! I did NOT write "dang". Is there some kind of auto-correct thing on my posts?

 

yep certain words get changed
As for the rams your ph is fine unless they are wild caught which I doubt since so many are tank raised now. They need lots of plants, places to hide. Are we adding them to the overstocked tank? Here is a not real good vid of my blue ram fighting with the siphon tube.

Carol

 

Thanks for clearing that up Butterfly, I thought I was losing my mind Your ram is gorgeous. I really want to get some (or one), so I'm researching as much as I can so I can see when/if my tank will be okay for them. I know that a trio is best, but would a pair of rams be happier than a lone ram? I'd like to get a trio but they're quite expensive, ?4.95 each (about $10). I can't afford too many when I'm on ?15/$30 a month and already ?100/$200 in debt. If it's really necessary I'll get 3, I'd just like to know whether it's worth buying 2 rather than one.

Thanks

~bill

 

Bill,
Rams are as you already know very sensitive fish. I would do several 25% changes a week to keep nitrates down to around 5 if you can. Sometimes this requires changing water every day and vacuuming gravel well to first get it down, then keep it by very frequent changes.

As far as getting 2 or 3, I believe Rams like even numbers best, or so my LFS told me. That would be a male and female. BUT the #1 thing is to introduce them VERY slowly to your tank, and withhold food the first day. Also it helps to have active small tank mates to encourage feeding. They need plenty of places to hide while they are getting used to their new home.

Whether you use peat or blackwater additive is up to you, but I would highly encourage using vitachem to provide vitamins they don't get in their food.

Good Luck
Fish in the Frozen North

 

As far as getting 2 or 3, I believe Rams like even numbers best, or so my LFS told me. That would be a male and female.
Fish in the Frozen North [/color]

Actually a trio is better because the male will harass the female literally to death with only one.
Carol

 

Thanks for the info, Butterfly, I should know better than to trust anyone at a LFS, the lady who told me 2 was the owner of the best store in Anchorage, but you really can't trust anyone except forum folks........ I got 4 the other day, and have 2 left. Popeye!!!, I am very sad. :'( At this point no one if harassing anyone!

Fish in the Frozen North

 

Thanks for the great advice! I will get three, if the lfs has enough females in the tank.

Nitrates around 5? That makes me feel tired just thinking about it! My nitrates are 7.5 out of the tap. Keeping nitrates at around 15 or even 10 would be easy enough, like I said with my current fish stock with 25% weekly water changes my nitrates go from 7.5 to under 20 in a week, but keeping them at 7.5 might be a little too labour-intensive for a beginner like me :-\ Maybe I'm not ready for rams.

If I got 5 more lowlight plants, would that make an impact on keeping nitrates down or not much difference at all?

If that would keep them a fair bit lower, then I could handle some more water changing and thus the rams. Maybe 25% every 5 days rather than every 7, or 50% weekly? If that still wouldn't be enough, I might as well forget getting rams. I don't want to get a fish that I can't take care of.

Thanks!

~Bill

OK, I have ?17.45 (about $35) to spend. Rams are ?4.95 each, plants are ?2.50 or 95p (bunched, hornwort etc) each... so here are the combinations I could get:

3 rams, 1-2 plants
2 rams, 2-3 plants
1 ram, 5 plants

Gad, I'm poor ;D
So I'd get better water quality for one ram than for 2 or 3 rams... so the choice is fellow rams or cleaner water.

Handling one ram would therefore be easier. Is it okay to have 1 ram in the tank? Would he be happy by himself or too lonely?

Thanks

~Bill

*edit* Just read on that they should be kept in pairs like your lfs said, susitna-flower. I think I'm going to go the safest route and get only one and give him the best environment I can.

Update! ;D I found that I have a fiver in my paypal account. So I can get 2 rams and 5 plants. So the question is, should I get a pair or just one?

 

I would say u should gte pair of rams when u do post some pics

Peace Out Callum!

 

Yeah, I think a pair is the best way to go. I won't be able to get them for a while though; the lfs gets them in next Friday, and I don't get back from London until the Monday after that, so I won't be able to buy them until Tuesday.... I hope they have some left!

 

the hrdest parts always waiting lol

Peace Out Callum!

 

I have 2 male rams now They are so beautiful I'll add my photos to the ram photos thread in a few minutes. My gourami, Colin, was chasing them so I put him in solitary confinement. I'm not sure how long I should keep him in there though, any advice on that would be great.

 

Two Male Rams? There may be trouble with them fighting, unless you give lots of space, and hiding places. How big is your tank?

Fish in the Frozen North

 

They seem to be best friends There are plenty of hiding places (see the link to My Tank in my signature for a photo) and the tank is fairly large, 4ft long, so if any fighting does break out I think they should be okay.

 

got 2 new rams today they are so pretty! But When I got home I noticed that my nitrAtes were around 40ppm. How sensitive are they to this? what should I do? I have an uncycled tank that I jsut setup in the past 2 days with all parameters 0 should I move them to that until I can do a water change?

 

they are swimmin on the bottom but breating normaly. I jsut don't wantt o lose them. please help.

 

got 2 new rams today they are so pretty! But When I got home I noticed that my nitrAtes were around 40ppm. How sensitive are they to this? what should I do? I have an uncycled tank that I jsut setup in the past 2 days with all parameters 0 should I move them to that until I can do a water change?

The way I see this is you have one tank with high NitrAtes and one with peram's at 0 but uncycled.If you placed the rams in the uncycled tank the Ammonia would rise...Can you get RO Water form a shop and use it to do a water change?

 

I was planning on keeping them I the uncycled tank only until io do a waterchange tomorrow. after the water change they go back in the origional tank.

 

I have my own RO water at my house. I like to be prepared.

 

The Rams should have a large well planted tank with plenty of caves, driftwood and other hiding places. If the fish is not happy in its surroundings it will just lurk in a corner and be very pale. The water should be soft, slightly acidic and the temperature in the range of 73 to 77 degrees. Feeding is not to hard as they accept flake food and really love any live food you can offer. The Rams are very intolerant of poor water conditions and the quality must remain high. They also do not take to medications well, so the use of them should be limited. They only live about two years. The rams are a timid fish and should not be kept with others that are aggressive or overly busy, good tank mates would be smaller Tetras and Rasboras.

Just copied this .look at the water conditions I would place them in the other tank.. but watch the Ammonia!
And start to look at why the NitrAtes went up

 

They Wont Be Int Ehre More Than 24 Hours

 

do you have prime or amquel+ to treat the water with? that should help.

 

I changed 7 oput of 10 gallons and the nitrates only went form 40 to 20pp. Should I do another one?

 

What is an acceptable nitrate levle for bolivian rams? <20ppm?

 

20 at the most

 

I finaly got it down to 5 after 3 50% water changes. I only vacuumed the gravel once.

 

How are the rams going?

 

there still skittish but seem much happier. I got them back in their origional tank around 3 today. I also added more fake plants which I really don't like but oh well there only in that tank for a week or two before they go to my 56 gallon. I had bought 3 german blue rams and they brought ich to my tank and then died. so I'm quarantining these guys.

 

Great to hear the rams are happier

 

me too it was 16 bucks for both of them

 

they ate some frozen bloodworms today and seem good. They stay at mostly mid to low tank regoin is that normal? I also got a Sailfin Leopard Pleco for 5 bucks! WOO! hes fine already munching on algae wafers.