Bleached looking rams

K

kagal

Large Fish
#1
Oct 22, 2002
128
0
0
55
SW PA
#1
My rams are turning white, from the middle back they look like they are turning white.
the temp is 80
ammonia is almost nil
the hardness is 7.2
the nitrates are 0
I have 1 male in spectacular color and he might ahve killed 1 of my rams but i am wondering if it did it or this whitening that is taking place. I am lost as to what is going on...any help would be greatly appreciated
 

D

discusaquarium

Guest
#4
#4

hmmm, i have no idea,   how old are they - they tend to lose color when they get older
 

R

ronrca

Guest
#5
#5

Are you sure that he is really a he and not a she? The females are not as colorful as males and if a rams is stressed out, they will lose color and also clamped fins and very narrow tail instead of spread out. Are you sure that the white is not a fungus or disease? Is it a paper color white or just lose of color?
 

K

kagal

Large Fish
#6
Oct 22, 2002
128
0
0
55
SW PA
#6
foud out my nitrites are out of wack....never thought to check them cause there is no ammonia in the water at all. and you are correct that drab male is a female.....it looks like a loss of color...to a white shade its hard to describe....
 

R

ronrca

Guest
#7
#7

Is your tank new? It might be cycling! Are her fins clamped together? Is her tail very narrow? Is the male perhaps chasing her around? If so, maybe remove the male and see what happens.
 

K

Kristin

Medium Fish
#9
Oct 22, 2002
89
0
0
#9
  rams like a low ph of about 6.6-6.8 and pretty soft water. they also get stressed out if there are no caves for them to hide in or if the other fish in the tank are fast swimming (like barbs). they are also very succeptible  to injuries from other fish because they are so soft bodied, so make sure nothing is harassing them.
 

R

ronrca

Guest
#10
#10

Im not sure about that Kristin! Maybe its not the same rams we are talking about. My rams were in my 30G along with 10 2" neons and 5 2.5" green tiger barbs. They had no problems, in fact, the rams were the kings of the tank. The male would chase the barbs around if he didnt like them. My pH was 7.0 to 7.4, medium to hard water. The colors of the male were excellant. I did not and still do not have any caves, just some plants. These rams were not stressed out in anyway. If the rams would be stressed out, they would of not layed eggs. I find the rams very easy to care for. A large variety of food is a must, like any fish. The rams do not like change in water conditions and take a longer time to adapt than other fish (my experience). Beware of any nh, no2, and no3.
 

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