Thanks for the video, it’s very true. I have been going through more GBRs than I would’ve like to in relatively short time. Last night noticed the male just sulking in a corner and thought here we go again. Remember reading about the antimicrobial waters they’re kept and or bred in, added some medicine and saw him perk right up, instantly! Next day he’s still fine, colours are back up and normal behaviour. I’ll care for these as best I can but will not return to the same store for fish in the future. I won’t want to run my tank on medicated water.
Great to know, I work at Petco as an aquatics specialist and bought time after time beautiful blue Rams we got in, and shortly thereafter they died on me. I've had fish since I was a kid and grew terribly frustrated. Definitely will be trying to drop them from our re-orders. No use ordering them to die.
+Scuba Steve I've already spoken to my manager about your video and we're discussing removing them from our stock. She agreed it made sense, and I've seen it happen myself. They come in brilliantly blue, and with all my years of experience, when I bring them home on my cycled tank where I ordinarily don't have problems with my fish, they drop like flies and all this time I'm thinking its me. How do your feel about regular Rams? Is this predominantly an issue specifically with the electric blue? Thank you for your information, by the way. :)
I bought my 2 GBR at a Petsmart with an angel. They are just getting into courtship behavior. Its been about 6 months, and they have gone through temperature fluctuations of up to 10 degrees (accidental) and a PH swing of about 0.8, and they while it stressed them out the got better fast and their color returned. I am happy to have gotten lucky because i know that it is quite common for these fish to not last long.
You had helped me out awhile ago. My GBR were dropping like flies. I checked and tweaked my setup per your suggestion. Turns out the culprit was that they were full of intestinal parasites! Once I figured it out I started the tank on internal parasite medicated food and followed (after 2 weeks and multiple water changes) with a water column treatment of a different med to make sure I hit all major groups of internal parasites and got anything hiding in the substrate. The one ram that wasn't yet strongly affected by the parasite when I caught on is my lone survivor and 4 months later is thriving. It's grown and the color is really starting to pop. Think my axanthic girl is really a guy because that 3rd ray is starting to grow out and it's more territorial. Anyway just wanted to let you know thanks for the help and bring you the good news.
Great tip - thank you !I never thought about their immune system being so vulnerable - even in a clean tank, always thought it was nitrate. Going to add course of Protozin with every new Ram.
Very good info. This is one of the reasons i don't keep GBRs anymore. I have 2 gold rams and they are pretty ok, but my GBRs always get one pop eye and die soon after. Great info you got a sub.
I have been using a UV sterilizer, for pathogens as well as algae and have far fewer issues with delicate fish. You still have to play with the water PH and do a dance for them but they are worth it. Very hard to find local breeders of rams.
We tried these guys twice, one a EB and one a regular. They both died after a few weeks. It broke my heart. I take great care of my fish and they are just as important to me as my cats or my horse. My Bolivian ram however has done very well and is now going on 2 years old and is my pride and joy. He was not brightly colored and most likely had no hormones thank god
I have 2 Bolivian rams and have just put 2 smaller Blue's in my 240 litre. So far so good but your video has me worried ! 2 water changes per week I am thinking now!!
Good news Scuba Steve!!! I bought some more German Blue Rams and they are very hardy, healthy guys... Been alive for about 2 months now!! 1 Question. Do German Blue Rams like a little salt once in a while? I haven't put salt in the tank for a few months now... P.s. I figured out why one pair died on me for sure. I used 2 water conditioners to make the water ultra clean, etc. But apparently when you do this it suffocates them. But the other 2, I have no idea.. but the ones I have now are really Beautiful and healthy!
+Mike Kollin I wouldn't use salt in the tank. You can certainly try it but I haven't ever done that for therapeutic use. Clean and fresh water is the best tonic.
This video prevented me from getting one from Petco. I’ll look into some local stores for them. That’s very good info and I’m sure they’re not the only fish that’s bred and medicated unnaturally like that.
They are not the only fish that are fed medicated food and kept in sterile conditions. You are correct! 💯 Its much better to buy from a reputable breeder.
OMG!!! I had the EXACT thing happen to FOUR of my blue rams that I bought at PetCo this past April! You are right, it was a few days shy of a month when all four of them died within 3 days of each other. At first, they started hanging out in the corners of the tank (tall 40 gallon that also has neon tetras, two mollies and a cory cat), when they would normally swim around the plants and water features; interacting and being just a joy to have. Then, the bloat started; all four of them began getting distended bellies and their colors faded. Then they died in three days. The two others that I bought at a smaller store (I still have them and they're healthy), farther away from where I live, are still as healthy as ever. I loved having six of them in my large tank! I meticulously take care of the tank with partial water changes and not over feeding; I've been completely sick about losing them, I thought I did something wrong but the cory cat that I have is three years old and as healthy as can be. Thank you for posting this, I feel better!!
I really appreciate that; I was completely heartsick about losing them but I really love having blue rams. I checked out the link you posted in another comment, to an on line seller, but he's currently out. I'll keep my eyes open and will not buy from PetCo again! Awesome video, keep em coming!!!
Noticed you're a fellow Raider... INSTANTLY SUBSCRIBED!!!! Haha Raiders baby!!! Btw, I have a tank full of a school of Exodon Paradoxus (Bucktooth Tetra). Nice video man!!!
I have a nearly 2 month old tank. Had success with some fish and others died. At first I thought it was my higher than optimal pH (8.0) which may have been causing some fish some issues. The ones that died quickly became lethargic, not eating and hiding a lot, and then they would die after a couple weeks. All other water parameters are good. I always had a hunch that maybe there was a parasite infection or something. I have had two GBR's for a couple weeks now. They started off good but recently have not been eating and are always hiding. I noticed today the white stringy poop from one. I bought prazipro and metro+ and gave first dose today. Will be doing daily water changes the next few days then topping up on the meds. Hoping the GBR's bounce back. I might add some garlic too to encourage them to eat. Thank you for the vid.
I never buy fish from big box stores, except maybe a betta. I bought my two rams from the lfs that I used to work at. they are now about three years old and I've never had problems! I feel like most fish from box stores are not bred well, especially more uncommon fish like the gbr.
Dont worry to much. People are more likely to complain online of there fish dieing then thriving. Hence all of the bad reports you see. Just make sure your water is soft and fully cycled. Temp @ 82C. Most importantly, make sure your perameters are stable and avoid PH fluctuations (which can be a problem if you dose CO2)
@@Moe1993x thankyou ^^ They're both doing fine as of now, so I'm a little bit less stressed since they haven't died ... yet. But thanks again for the reassurance; will keep things perfect for 'em.
@@metalhead9656 well, turns out the two I brought were both boys. About a month ago, the two fought it out: one bullied the other - so the fish became skinnier and more reserved; eventually it died. I tried separating the tank but I think that fish already got stressed; it didn't even eat food anymore T^T So there's one ram left proud and healthy.
Thankyou for a very informative video!. I have alot of Gbrs,blueblacks,gold's, Bolivians, electric blues,and dark Knights and I'm having problems alot with them. Mine are in soft water with plenty of tannings. Keep up the amazing work 🙂
Hi steve sorry I've not been around I'm still in Baku struggling to find Internet. You 100% correct I've found the Rams I breed myself are still alive and well the shop bought fish max life span tends to be around 6 months. My rams still have great color and are very healthy I don't know why they need to dose. Great vid man
I had two beautiful rams. After about one month, one got a parasite and I took it out the aquarium into a hospital tank and medicated the tank. He died the same day. The other one who was perfectly fine the day before, I woke up and looking for my fish frantically and saw him dead. It was a horrible experience and made me lose joy in keeping fish.
Thanks for the wonderful insights Steve, I to ran into that same problem and I was baffled why these rams kept checking out on me. Again you really need to stay away from big box stores unless you have quarantine tanks and if youre like me want to save the fish even though you might loose them. You rock bro...
100% agree. i started fish keeping again since last year and only deaths i've had were the GBR's couple weeks after getting them each time. The rest of my fish have been thriving. I'm going to try a bolivian next, I've heard they're more hardy
Don't think you are still on here or not. I just found you. I know you are a 100% right!! Was wondering what the name of the plants you have in your tank. Your tank is beautiful! 😍❤
I got a pair of electric blues from a local breeder. They were doing fine in their community tank but then they got ich. Just the Rams. Long course of treatment with paraguard. The female is back to her old self. The male has ragged fins, rapid breathing is lethargic and not eating and also pooping white. I've tried MetroPlex and KanaPlex. Is this fish toast? I'm at a loss for how else to help the little guy.
I wish I could be of better help but unfortunately I can't say since I'm not there and don't know all of the ins and outs of your tank. Do you have a video posted?
+Scuba Steve No I don't have video. It's a 26 gallon planted tank. Two Rams, 10 rasboras, a betta, 3 otos, a few corys and some shrimp. My city has hard water unfortunately but these guys were locally bread so I thought maybe they would tolerate the hard water. Water temp is 84. PH 8, 0.25/0/10 (doing a water change today to lower nitrates below 10). I can try to post a video if that would be helpful.
+Cari Sware I will definitely give it a view in a few. Thanks! I've really got to get another video posted on GBR's. Lots of questions that I do have responses for to help out. Please sub to my channel and I have a lot of vids up now that I think will be of value to you.
+Scuba Steve I got a notification that you commented on my video but I can't see it for some reason. When I clicked on the notification it did send me to that video on the flagellates though. I'll keep dosing with Metro and hope for the best.
Another thing you didn't touch on that might be giving people problems is getting WILD CAUGHT rams...I heard a lot of importers say that you need to keep them in very warm waters around 90 degrees because in the wild they are found in the shallower waters where most bigger fish can't eat them
i heard you mention that but that fact that they are wild just amplifies the difficulty a notch....cb fish can get away with a lot more than fresh wild caught fish
Ever since I got a simple gold fish from petsmart 6 years ago and it went belly up 7 hours after he went home. They told me it was my fault and that I released him to late... He was in his baggi for all of the 20 minute drive home. And slowly for 10 minutes placed into the new tank, and he went belly up, Never bought from any big box store since. a family owned pet shop is just ten miles away. And they get them from breeders you can search online :D. Ever since I've had fish for 18 months now and no one died. Best advice for ANYBODY. petco, petsmart NO XD
I have to agree with Steve, I bought a pair from my local fish store. When I first purchased them they seemed to stress because of harder water conditions. I gradually got away from that and lowered my PH with a co2 system and now they are happy and doing well.
I bought a couple of black neon tetras at Petco very recently, and they all died. The water parameters on my tank were/are PERFECT. I thought of this videos, and I decided to do more research on other species, and I came to the same conclusion... DON'T BUY FISHES AT MAJOR SUPPLIERS
+Carlos Peralta They really do suck. I know that most people love to get their fish from there and a lot of people are very happy with them but thw quality isn't there at all.
Good info Steve! I've bought 4 GBRs from PS and only one survived. Guess she had just enough to get through this stressful process. Thanks for sharing.
Nice vid fam! I've thought about making a video saying the exact same thing after multiple bad experiences with both Petco and Petsmart, but punked out. The message needs to be spread though. Thanks! Also I see your Raiders gear. Are you in the Bay and using tap water? I'm asking because I'm in the Bay and using tap. How do you get and maintain your water as soft?
I know it's an old video but I love your plants. Never seen them like that. Seen them in the pots they come in but not like that. Beautiful. Have to ask you have discus with Rainbows what temp are you keeping that tank. Thanks for the infor
couple of additional things with GBR. never put in tank less than 6 months old and another good thing is to make sure when you feed them they are getting enough food because they are much slower than others to the food, they kind of spot it look at it for sec then grab it and it half that time a tetra could have munched it. my favourite fish
I was referred to you. I just got some GBR and I did do a lot of research before purchasing while I was deciding what I wanted for my new tank so I could map out my decor and water parameters accordingly. Apparently there's some info I missed as I found lots of care info noting that slightly alkaline water is okay. Now my tank did under go a proper start up cycle before stocking. I use Seachem Sustainability at each water change, have lots of Nitrofying bacteria colonizing space, have live plants (w/no CO2 additives), and have an over sized filter. Sounds like my only setup problem from your other video is I do have alkaline water. At what rate can I add Seachem neutral powder buffer (dissolved in a bucket first of course) to my 55gal to gradually lower Ph in a gentle manner that won't stress the fish by sudden changes? I should mention that my bucket is 3 gallons I believe. Looks like 1 teaspoon changes pH by 0.1 per 40gals, so perhaps a teaspoon dissolved in my bucket then added to my tank 28oz per day over a month or until proper level is reached? I may just be able to dissolve the full dosage I'd need for my 55al for target level in my bucket then set up a slow drip system to add it to my tank through the filter over a months time.
Gradually lowering your ph is good. It sounds like you have a good plan. Alkaline water will gradually make your GBR'S sick. It's more important that your water is soft. If you have soft water, your ph should go down naturally. Use driftwood too. this will help. How hard is your water? Osmoregulation is very important and hard water stresses the kidneys until they just shut down.
***** I don't know the hard water value exactly of my water but I know it's hard. Leaves white spots on my glass and I know in PA there's lots of limestone mines. Our water is high in calcium I think it is. I do have a piece of Mopani driftwood on hand and I did hear it's good at softening the water as it filters deposits out through it's grain. My piece will fit right in my filter. I also heard peat is good as a natural water softener and ph lower. Any thoughts on using that? Found that trick for use in discus canister filters. Heard you can tie it up in a nylon stocking then put it under your sponge filter so any fine pieces that escape the rinse bag get caught in the foam instead of ending up floating in your tank. Not positive where to find it but I kept the bag of the brand of 100% peat I use for my millipedes and found safe. My specialty pet shop may have some high grade peat with their canister filter media; never asked. I'd prefer a natural additive to my filter to soften my water and lower pH over a chemical one or osmosis filter. Either the above I mentioned sound good and which would you recommend the most?
+M. Jay (dogatemymanuscript) I would invest in an RODI unit. Instant soft water. It's a good investment if you love rams. They really do need soft water. It's nearly impossible to lower ph in hard water and I don't recommend using ph buffers in tap water. Only on ro water. Soft water is critical.
***** Based on Ph value a lone my tank is only slightly alkaline. It's a community tank not a biotope tank so I can't have too soft a water either. Figuring now that was a big mistake right there. The bulk of my research was how people have kept them successfully in mixed community setups. Naturally your water has to be close to neutral to do it. Wonder if hard water is why my Crinum calastratum plant isn't doing to hot since it's native to cichlid waters.
+Scuba Steve Found a water quality report for my area and according to it we actually have soft water at 51ppm hardness but it also said the pH tested at 9 (may be in an odd unit of measurement as it didn't give the unit), which confuses me because generally doesn't soft water have a low (acidic) pH value. However, I know ammonia and oxygen levels can cause pH to climb or drop independently of water hardness. Also according to the report I guess the white spots I see left on my glass is manganese not calcium or lime like I thought, though these may not have been tested for as there's no value for either on the report. Now mentioned report is from 2013 but it's the most recent I can find. If I proceed based on that then all I should have to do is lower my pH 0.4-6ppm and I should be in a good spot. I'm going to see if one of my pet shops sells hardness test kits or can test for it for me if I take in a sample. Think I'll use peat (if I can find a good source for it) to lower pH as I'm sure it'll keep it more stable than a buffering powder additive. Plus extra space for bacteria cultivation and debris trapping in a filter is a good thing.
Enjoyed the video! I just got a Ram from my local Petco 2 days ago and still have yet to see if she has that strain. I treated the water with aquarium salt to see if the electrolytes in it help a little bit. I also wonder if the thing that makes the strain tick is not just bacteria but from stress because a plane ride from Asia then delivered by car is pretty stressful.
Great info. I was looking at a female GBR for my 15g at Petco and decided against it for the reasons you spoke of. I've had some good luck and bad luck from Petco, but with a dead GBR already in their filter, and 1 of the 2 in the tank with fins that didn't inspire confidence, I just walked out empty handed. I also get concerned with PH and water hardness for a GBR in my 15. The water is on the harder side, and has a high PH around 7.5 - 8.. so I didn't think it would be a smart move. I have a platy, 4 cherry barbs and a nerite snail and they've been great for over a year now. It's moderately/highly planted and with only 5 smaller fish I do a 40% water change about every 3 weeks with no issues. What size tank is in this video? What are you using for lighting? Great tank and beautiful fish.
Thanks for the info, Steve. I've kept freshwater aquarium fishes for alotta years and have had much happiness but also big heartache with Rams. I think it helps to join a local cjchlid club, if you can, and get fish from fellow members, that way you can avoid the temptation to buy from big box stores.
Im holding a sweet girl blue german ram in a tank with hard water, and she was bought from a mainstream petstore. Im a beginner and she was actually my first fish. She is healthy, active and very interested in my hands and comes up to the glas when Im there. She is almost a year old now. And one question still bothers me: when will she be fully coloured?? Her colors are still vague even though she has company by some tetras and guppies and an ancistrus. Im on the look-out for a mate for her.
She has enough color to determine that she is a GRB, not a bolivian ram. Its difficult to determine the sex, though. I think its a girl, but not for sure. Im preparing a new and better aquarium for the fish at the moment. So it will be easier to maintain good water conditions.
I live in Denmark, where most tapwater is pretty hard. Im trying to find ways to make it softer, but nothing seems to work. Any suggestions?? I know about the black spot, but it does not have a black spot like that. And still, it is a gbr for sure.. But some of them apparently not all have an obvious spot like that. I look at the fins and bodyshape instead. I want the best for my fish. But i dont have a lot of money for complex aquarium systems. They are pretty expensive in Denmark. But Im open to suggestions :-) Im pretty new in the fish world.
Great info for a newbie like me. Thanks! Is there a way to treat for protozoans? With bacteria just some antibiotics, but protozoan parasites would be harder to control.
Great info Steve! I've bought 5 in 2 different LFS here in Singapore. 3 females died of being 'bullied' by the male (less than a month coz they ate their eggs I think). I got another alpha female last month. They spawned once and the fries are free swimming now. Into 13th day today and shall I separate them? Or I'll just leave it with their parents as its in a breeding tank (10g) TIA!
+Rd Wlst I would remove the parents once the fry are free swimming. Thanks for the props! And that's great you're having that kind of success with breeding. Maybe start a breeding program and go into business? There are some really reputable breeders in the States that have really god reputations and all they do is breed GBR's.
Thanks for the reply Steve. I should have removed them. Apparently they're getting lesser and lesser till yesterday. Around 10 left before I left for work. When I came back home, all gone. Lol! I guess they're (parents) hungry. Alright man, will remove them once free swimming!
Do you think the warmer temperature is a factor too? I'm guessing since you have it with discus that tank is 84-86 degrees Fahrenheit. I know most community tanks are a little cooler than that.
thx for the info Scuba Steve. I lost a pair of german rams within about a month of buying them & couldnt figure out what I did wrong. Makes sense & im gonna start looking for local fish breeders. hopefully ill have better success.
Nice information Steve! I still have one out of the two I bought at petsmart two months ago. He appears to be doing well for now. After seeing this video I won't buy anymore unless it's from a online source like live aquaria.
I have great luck with GBR’s but can’t seem to keep electric blues for more than a few months. PH is a little high so maybe that’s it. Thanks for the tips
Holy cow. I thought they were durable. I got my all metallic blue ram at my local dealer, not the big chain. It was the most dominant in the tank but not that colorful yet. Now my little prince starts showing some real dazzling color like some African cichlids, takes food properly and poops right. So hopefully, knock on the wood, he will be very happy in my nano planted tank. Good video!!!!
Hi Steve, What would be the best tank mates for these beautiful fish when put in a 112 gallon tank . Preferably cichlids but i'm open to anything really. I have a group of 10 that are ready to move on to my bigger tank Thanks
ScubaSteve, is that a rainbow fish in with the GBR and Discus fish? I am wondering what would be good tank mates for GBRs. I have several that I am considering putting in my 29 gallon when I get it completely set up and cycled correctly. Do you think you could advise me on this? Right now my tank is at 0.25 ppm nitrate and nitrite and no readable ammonia. My pH is 7. My kH is 2 and my gH is 6. All this with the water running through a canister filter with only one fine pad foam in it. Will be changing to proper set up some time this week of course, medium, then fine foams in the bottom tray and then BioHome media in the next 2 trays. I have 3 corydoras catfish (bronze corydoras, I think) and a Missouri minnow in right now that I was using to cycle the tank. I was planning on removing the Missouri minnow but leaving the corydoras and maybe getting 3more if they wouldn't be a problem for the GBRs. I will tell you the other fish that I was considering if you are interested in advising me on this.
Without knowing lighting, or what ferts you have in your water, it's hard to tell why it is turning brown, brown algae may be at play, or lacking iron, but those are just guesses.
After more than 2 years in the same tank, same plants, same filter,lights, companion....my ram died suddenly after a night...same water parameters for them. HOWEVER I RECENTLY INTRODUCED INDIAN ALMOND LEAVES, 1 week later ram was dead
@@ScubaSteve4444 i can't say for sure the almond leaves killed him, because I'm using in 3 more tanks with distinct fish so Idk. Also i used PARASITE REMEDY from Imagitarium, 3 days dosing today. This only fish dies from nothing, i came home this afternoon and he was RECENTLY dead at the bottom. I know the neons are not stealing the food because i always make sure everybody is thriving. When dead, its body looked like it fatten from today morning. Could this mean something or just death process inside an aquarium?
So true I have went through the 10 ram heads from Pet Smart! 2 is all that have lived but they've been with me now for almost 3yr love those little guys
Hi, I want to ask about your tank being bare bottom with plants in the pots. In your earlier videos you had eco complete, did you have a problem with that? I currently have a bare bottom discus tank, but trying to decide between eco complete or fluorite substrate or maybe sand to look more appealing, but I'm concerned that I don't be able to keep my water quality as good with substrate... Thoughts? thanks
***** Thanks for your reply. After being a fish keeper for 15 years, I got my first discus a year ago, fell in love and they are giving me run for my money... Spend a lot of money on fish and various medication and buffers and trace elements and hospital tank, etc.... Lost a few in the process, ended up buying some juvies from a breeder a year ago and they are 4+ inches now, but a year of BB tank, I'm tired of it and everybody always tells me, beautiful fish, not pretty setup.... I may try thin layer of pool filter sand, doing my research last few days, I guess a lot of discus nuts go for the sand to help the esthetics. Thanks again
+CMLee81 I prefer an acidic ph, somewhere in the low 6's. GH should also be low, soft water is good for them, KH doesn't really matter and you can keep it low with plants and water changes.
My local pet store here in South Africa sell baby blue rams. They are not brightly coloured yet and I'm thinking of buying. Do they need to be in pairs?
Im curious to know if you know the only farm that has gbr and is on the vendor accepted list. Have you been to their facility. These are very strong accusations that should be researched first. There is an issue with buying rams from big box stores but what your claiming isnt true nor the issue. The issue is that sometimes they send out adult full grown rams. With a short typically less than 2 years lifespan you may be getting one thats already past their “prime”. As for the rest it is not done at any of the approved vendors for any fish with the exception of their glowfish.
Got a pair of rams from Country Max 10 days ago, they were doing great and then the female started sitting on the bottom and acting lethargic, and pooping white. The male is doing great, so not sure why she is dying. My ph is about 7.4 and temp is 80℉. Any issues? No other fish seems to be affected by the bacteria.
I bought a German ran from a fish store male and female, and I acclimated them really slowly and carefully, and they looked fine for about a week, then the male started sinking to the bottom and gasping for air for a few hours, then he died. And it looks like the female, which is an electric blue ram, is going to die the same way. What could have caused this I did a 40 percent water change when I saw the male, and I tested all my water with liquid test kits and everything was fine,
@@ojinga I can't say what happened here without testing your tank water. I wish I could tell you the exact answer. Keep your water clean and you tds low. Rams need warm water or they will die.
GBR's have weak genetic diversity. Most breeders don't track blood lines and what we are left with is a weak strain. From my experience, it's buyer beware. Good luck my friend! Check out the bubble rams from Watley Discus. Gabe has a great selection and knows what he's doing! 💯
I'm sitting here right now watching my beautiful and handsome electric blue Ram, slowly dying. I've had him since Jan. and he tried to kick all the rest of the fish to the corner. I finally put him in the fish tank till I could do better. Got him a tank and another Electric blue. They were a joy!!! I take my trip to the Box store and get 3 German Rams. Compatible was what they said. After quarantine, I introduced them. In less than a month, they died and took my two beauty's with them. I am so frustrated over this. I kept aquariums all my life. I took a break, but came back. Dang what a change!!!!I dont even recognize it anymore. I refuse to kill another beautiful fish. God only knows what I am gonna do with these 7 tanks and all the plants and supplies that go with them. So much for a retirement plan. Im a Grandmother, but right now I want to cry and cuss a blue streak at the people who care only for profit. Sounds like a fish mill like a puppy dog mill! Get a Soul!!!
Nice setup you've got there. Thanks for the advice too. Are you local in the Bay Area? If you are, if you know of good local fish stores to pick up these fish let me know (I only ask becuase of your Raiders gear). I grew up in the east bay myself. Thanks in advance.
I realize this is an old video but I just picked out up from my LFS yesterday. The fish doesn't have white poop but it's kinda hanging from him. Also, last night the fish seemed perfect, calmly swimming around exploring and sifting through the sand but today he's been glass surfing a lot. Maybe it's the light but idk because I turned it off and was still surfing. My water is soft, ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 10-15... any ideas or help would be appreciated. Thanks scuba Steve
The word “protozoa” (singular protozoon, or protozoan) was coined in 1818, by zoologist Georg August Goldfuß, as the Greek equivalent of the German “Urtiere”, meaning “primitive, or original animals” (Wikipedia). Since “protozoa” is the PLURAL of “protozoan”, the verb that follows it must also be in the plural. Similarly, since the word “bacteria” is the PLURAL of “bacterium”, it must also take a plural verb. In this regard, I might as well mention the fact that the word “data” is - once again - the PLURAL form of the word “datum”. The error that consists of using it with a verb in the singular is currently so widespread, especially on television and in the press, that even physicians make it. I have even heard doctors pluralize the already plural “bacteria” by adding a final “s”, thus creating the non-word “bacterias”.
+MusicandLiterature Also, if you look in the description you'll see I corrected myself where I called the flagellate a bacteria. I appreciate the grammatical lesson even though that really has nothing to do with the point of the video.
+MusicandLiterature Also, if you look in the description you'll see I corrected myself where I called the flagellate a bacteria. I appreciate the grammatical lesson even though that really has nothing to do with the point of the video.
+MusicandLiterature Also, if you look in the description you'll see I corrected myself where I called the flagellate a bacteria. I appreciate the grammatical lesson even though that really has nothing to do with the point of the video.
Hello nice video . I currently have a batch of freshly hatched gbr babies they are about 4 days old .p.s these arent lfs gbrs i got these from a private breeder and the quality is amazing .when do i start freding the fry
I just bought a gbr and my one pooped white yesterday, how long does it usually take for them to die afterwards?? Have any of them survived after this in your experience? Also do you think it would be possible to keep them in conditions like the ones they were bred in and slowly introduce them to your aquarium settings?
@@doyletrotter1164 Thanks, I actually got a 30 gallon very cheap instead. So I won't be keeping discus or the redline barbs. Will probably try a pair of GBR with a school or cardinal or rummynose tetra or maybe a mix of both. :)
Very informative! THANX! I just adore Rams, but at the moment have 1 regular blue Ram, and 2 Golden Bolivian Rams. The blue fella hides all the time, even tho it has no one to pick on it. But one of my Golden's is a troublemaker and likes to constantly harass the Galactic Purple Glofish any chance it can get. The other one is very mellow and hides along with the Blue one. No one picks on these three, by the way. I have them all in a 10 gallon (too small I know) tank with other community fish. I hope to one day acquire a much larger aquarium like the 65 gallon column I had over 20 years ago.
Hey steve good info about the rams they look really nice and i wanted to get a pair for my tank......btw what light equipment are you using? your plants are looking great.
thanks I stupidly bought a ram from petsmart and it now has a fungus and it's color is fading rapidly it's only been 3 days it has to be the ram itself because ever other fish in my tank is really healthy thanks for the info
Get them from a local breeder and they will be tough as goldfish. I breed them and they do well in just normal tap water with water condition added. But if I every get tempted to buy new from a shop.. they always die after a few months.. even in perfect water conditions.
hey scuba Steve. I watched your video after buying my blue rams at a petsmart. like you said they were colorful in the tank there but when I got them home they became dull in my tank. now when they feed and chase each other they gain full color for a little while then dull back down. I have had them for a little over a week now. have you ever seen them change color like this?
+libby c yes. They are cichlids and the colors brighten when they are displaying dominance. The Petsmart rams normally are fed hormone injected foods so their colors brighten more. This unfortunately weakens the immune system and that shortens the lifespan. If you really want some good quality GBR'S, go to www.germanbluerams.com. I'm no spokesperson and they don't pay me. They don't even know me but their breeding program is top notch. I hope you rams live for a while and encourage you to stay with them and buy from a good breeder. Best of luck to you and I hope your fish live for a long time.
Great info! I ordered mine online. First 3, then 3 more to get 6, but 2 died before I got them, so I ended up with 4, they are so pretty that I ordered 4 more, at the time they arrived the others all died and one was dead on arrival, out of the 3, 2 dies within a week. The one left is not looking too happy. I got refunds, but it’s frustrating and sad to see fish dying. Any good recommendation on where to buy them online?
Does these problems extend to the Electric Blue Balloon Rams as well? Friends seem to have have the same problems with those Rams. I never buy Fish from Pet Co. or PetSmart. I might get supplies from them, but never livestock. They are part of the problem not a solution. Support your local independent pet-shop instead. A PetSmart in El Centro, California had all there tanks loaded with horrible Ick. I told them that they should quarantine all their tanks, but as always the kids know more than the hobbyist. A local Walmart stop selling fish because they didn’t the skill set to maintain fish alive. People reported them to PETA. They still have supplies, but no livestock now. I think the problem is with the breeders of the German Blue Rams, and not the stores. The dying problems extends well beyond the chain pet shops. They are hard to breed and to maintain, plus the water parameters are way off from the beginning. You bring them home, then boom, they drop like flies. This is my opinion, and I could be wrong; but I doubt it! Just saying you know!
I got a bunch of rams at a independent pet shop on LI, NY and the other day one of my GBR which was fine and eating and swimming one day I came home and he was floating. I had him for about 2 months. I have some Bolivians and an Elec. blu Ram and they are thriving. Bolivians a year old. H2O soft, ph around 7ish. Also some Cory’s and Teras. Ideas what caused sudden death of GBR?
Scuba Steve thanks for the reply. i run ada amazonia and have root tabs too along with a pro z series led light. ill watch the video tomorrow. youve got a new subby 👍
I got mine at my local fish shop, they have there fish on separate filters and are raised for a few months to make sure they are healthy, my question is do you think its ok to by from a local fish shop
Lost one last week... came home from work... fed them they all ate n looked healthy... walked away and 5 mins later I found him dead at the bottom of my tank
Is my water tempreture problem my Rams die. Had now 5 that died in community Planted tank. My tempreture is 78-79. No other Fish die. Tired all kinds of food even frozen blood worms to keep them eating but still did not make it.
i have had a dwarf blue ram for 6 months now is it too late to get him a pair mate for the tank ? if not would it have to be same blue or as long as it would be a dwarf cichlid it would be okay ?
I bought 6 from my LFS and then 3 electric blue rams and then in 14 hrs, they were all sick as hell and 1 died. I took them back to the store- the 6 I could catch- and then had to treat my tank for disease. So ignorant of me not to QT my tank. I’ll never buy these again. I love them but I’ve had horrible luck with them. No idea where my LFS gets their fish from and they don’t QT their tanks. They get them on Fri and they are up for sale right away.
I had a pair that I bought from Petco and they lived over a months and my male died, know my female is not looking good. Good to know this. I do love them and the colors.
im wanting to make my 20 gallon tank a cichlid aquarium basically but i dont know where to go to get them considering there are no other stores besides petco around. what would i have to do to get some?
Thanks for the video, it’s very true. I have been going through more GBRs than I would’ve like to in relatively short time. Last night noticed the male just sulking in a corner and thought here we go again. Remember reading about the antimicrobial waters they’re kept and or bred in, added some medicine and saw him perk right up, instantly! Next day he’s still fine, colours are back up and normal behaviour. I’ll care for these as best I can but will not return to the same store for fish in the future. I won’t want to run my tank on medicated water.
😊p p⁰
Great to know, I work at Petco as an aquatics specialist and bought time after time beautiful blue Rams we got in, and shortly thereafter they died on me. I've had fish since I was a kid and grew terribly frustrated. Definitely will be trying to drop them from our re-orders. No use ordering them to die.
+Vulgarism I've had similar feedback from local Petco folks. They get them and they die soon after.
+Scuba Steve I've already spoken to my manager about your video and we're discussing removing them from our stock. She agreed it made sense, and I've seen it happen myself. They come in brilliantly blue, and with all my years of experience, when I bring them home on my cycled tank where I ordinarily don't have problems with my fish, they drop like flies and all this time I'm thinking its me. How do your feel about regular Rams? Is this predominantly an issue specifically with the electric blue? Thank you for your information, by the way. :)
I'm surprised your manager listened to you and didn't say job security!
I bought my 2 GBR at a Petsmart with an angel. They are just getting into courtship behavior. Its been about 6 months, and they have gone through temperature fluctuations of up to 10 degrees (accidental) and a PH swing of about 0.8, and they while it stressed them out the got better fast and their color returned.
I am happy to have gotten lucky because i know that it is quite common for these fish to not last long.
You had helped me out awhile ago. My GBR were dropping like flies. I checked and tweaked my setup per your suggestion. Turns out the culprit was that they were full of intestinal parasites! Once I figured it out I started the tank on internal parasite medicated food and followed (after 2 weeks and multiple water changes) with a water column treatment of a different med to make sure I hit all major groups of internal parasites and got anything hiding in the substrate. The one ram that wasn't yet strongly affected by the parasite when I caught on is my lone survivor and 4 months later is thriving. It's grown and the color is really starting to pop. Think my axanthic girl is really a guy because that 3rd ray is starting to grow out and it's more territorial. Anyway just wanted to let you know thanks for the help and bring you the good news.
+M. Jay (dogatemymanuscript) Keep me posted
Great tip - thank you !I never thought about their immune system being so vulnerable - even in a clean tank, always thought it was nitrate. Going to add course of Protozin with every new Ram.
Very good info. This is one of the reasons i don't keep GBRs anymore. I have 2 gold rams and they are pretty ok, but my GBRs always get one pop eye and die soon after. Great info you got a sub.
***** thanks man. I hope you get through with your shipment. I think I'll try my hand at them again soon.
I have been using a UV sterilizer, for pathogens as well as algae and have far fewer issues with delicate fish. You still have to play with the water PH and do a dance for them but they are worth it. Very hard to find local breeders of rams.
Great info. I'm about to start a German Blue Ram tank and this will help me avoid selection problems at the very least. Thanks again!
We tried these guys twice, one a EB and one a regular. They both died after a few weeks. It broke my heart. I take great care of my fish and they are just as important to me as my cats or my horse. My Bolivian ram however has done very well and is now going on 2 years old and is my pride and joy. He was not brightly colored and most likely had no hormones thank god
+Anna Elise that's great, the Bolivian rams tend to be much hardier due to lack of overbreeding and greater genetic variation. Thanks for sharing!
I have 2 Bolivian rams and have just put 2 smaller Blue's in my 240 litre. So far so good but your video has me worried ! 2 water changes per week I am thinking now!!
GBR's do well in low ph, clean water with low stress levels from faster moving fish. Good luck and happy fish keeping!
Good news Scuba Steve!!!
I bought some more German Blue Rams and they are very hardy, healthy guys... Been alive for about 2 months now!!
1 Question. Do German Blue Rams like a little salt once in a while? I haven't put salt in the tank for a few months now...
P.s. I figured out why one pair died on me for sure. I used 2 water conditioners to make the water ultra clean, etc. But apparently when you do this it suffocates them. But the other 2, I have no idea.. but the ones I have now are really Beautiful and healthy!
+Mike Kollin I wouldn't use salt in the tank. You can certainly try it but I haven't ever done that for therapeutic use. Clean and fresh water is the best tonic.
This video prevented me from getting one from Petco. I’ll look into some local stores for them. That’s very good info and I’m sure they’re not the only fish that’s bred and medicated unnaturally like that.
They are not the only fish that are fed medicated food and kept in sterile conditions. You are correct! 💯 Its much better to buy from a reputable breeder.
I bought 7 in Canada and they're all still alive 5 years later.
+Tommy Wizard Wow, that is very interesting since Rams don't live for more than 3 years.
@@ScubaSteve4444 who said ?
I breed GBR’s and yes they can live that long given care and not over-breeding for profit.
Great
OMG!!! I had the EXACT thing happen to FOUR of my blue rams that I bought at PetCo this past April! You are right, it was a few days shy of a month when all four of them died within 3 days of each other. At first, they started hanging out in the corners of the tank (tall 40 gallon that also has neon tetras, two mollies and a cory cat), when they would normally swim around the plants and water features; interacting and being just a joy to have. Then, the bloat started; all four of them began getting distended bellies and their colors faded. Then they died in three days. The two others that I bought at a smaller store (I still have them and they're healthy), farther away from where I live, are still as healthy as ever. I loved having six of them in my large tank! I meticulously take care of the tank with partial water changes and not over feeding; I've been completely sick about losing them, I thought I did something wrong but the cory cat that I have is three years old and as healthy as can be. Thank you for posting this, I feel better!!
+etchersplace It's not your fault. Just buy from a good breeder. Thanks for the support!
I really appreciate that; I was completely heartsick about losing them but I really love having blue rams. I checked out the link you posted in another comment, to an on line seller, but he's currently out. I'll keep my eyes open and will not buy from PetCo again! Awesome video, keep em coming!!!
I love the way you set your plants up. Looks clean & futuristic
haha
Noticed you're a fellow Raider... INSTANTLY SUBSCRIBED!!!! Haha Raiders baby!!! Btw, I have a tank full of a school of Exodon Paradoxus (Bucktooth Tetra). Nice video man!!!
I have a nearly 2 month old tank. Had success with some fish and others died. At first I thought it was my higher than optimal pH (8.0) which may have been causing some fish some issues. The ones that died quickly became lethargic, not eating and hiding a lot, and then they would die after a couple weeks. All other water parameters are good. I always had a hunch that maybe there was a parasite infection or something. I have had two GBR's for a couple weeks now. They started off good but recently have not been eating and are always hiding. I noticed today the white stringy poop from one. I bought prazipro and metro+ and gave first dose today. Will be doing daily water changes the next few days then topping up on the meds. Hoping the GBR's bounce back. I might add some garlic too to encourage them to eat. Thank you for the vid.
I never buy fish from big box stores, except maybe a betta. I bought my two rams from the lfs that I used to work at. they are now about three years old and I've never had problems! I feel like most fish from box stores are not bred well, especially more uncommon fish like the gbr.
I'm crying. I brought a pair today so I'm looking up care videos ... I don't want them to die! ;___;
Dont worry to much. People are more likely to complain online of there fish dieing then thriving. Hence all of the bad reports you see. Just make sure your water is soft and fully cycled. Temp @ 82C. Most importantly, make sure your perameters are stable and avoid PH fluctuations (which can be a problem if you dose CO2)
@@Moe1993x thankyou ^^ They're both doing fine as of now, so I'm a little bit less stressed since they haven't died ... yet. But thanks again for the reassurance; will keep things perfect for 'em.
@@humixmusic4lyf still alive ?
@@metalhead9656 well, turns out the two I brought were both boys.
About a month ago, the two fought it out: one bullied the other - so the fish became skinnier and more reserved; eventually it died. I tried separating the tank but I think that fish already got stressed; it didn't even eat food anymore T^T
So there's one ram left proud and healthy.
I have 3 wild rams in my setup right now. They were shipped in from Brazil, they are amazing! 😁
Thankyou for a very informative video!. I have alot of Gbrs,blueblacks,gold's, Bolivians, electric blues,and dark Knights and I'm having problems alot with them. Mine are in soft water with plenty of tannings. Keep up the amazing work 🙂
Hi steve sorry I've not been around I'm still in Baku struggling to find Internet. You 100% correct I've found the Rams I breed myself are still alive and well the shop bought fish max life span tends to be around 6 months. My rams still have great color and are very healthy I don't know why they need to dose. Great vid man
Great video Steve! I'm sure this video will help many people!
I had two beautiful rams. After about one month, one got a parasite and I took it out the aquarium into a hospital tank and medicated the tank. He died the same day. The other one who was perfectly fine the day before, I woke up and looking for my fish frantically and saw him dead. It was a horrible experience and made me lose joy in keeping fish.
Thanks for the wonderful insights Steve, I to ran into that same problem and I was baffled why these rams kept checking out on me. Again you really need to stay away from big box stores unless you have quarantine tanks and if youre like me want to save the fish even though you might loose them. You rock bro...
100% agree. i started fish keeping again since last year and only deaths i've had were the GBR's couple weeks after getting them each time. The rest of my fish have been thriving. I'm going to try a bolivian next, I've heard they're more hardy
Don't think you are still on here or not. I just found you. I know you are a 100% right!! Was wondering what the name of the plants you have in your tank. Your tank is beautiful! 😍❤
Thanks. They are varieties of swords and money wort
I got a pair of electric blues from a local breeder. They were doing fine in their community tank but then they got ich. Just the Rams. Long course of treatment with paraguard. The female is back to her old self. The male has ragged fins, rapid breathing is lethargic and not eating and also pooping white. I've tried MetroPlex and KanaPlex. Is this fish toast? I'm at a loss for how else to help the little guy.
I wish I could be of better help but unfortunately I can't say since I'm not there and don't know all of the ins and outs of your tank. Do you have a video posted?
+Scuba Steve No I don't have video. It's a 26 gallon planted tank. Two Rams, 10 rasboras, a betta, 3 otos, a few corys and some shrimp. My city has hard water unfortunately but these guys were locally bread so I thought maybe they would tolerate the hard water. Water temp is 84. PH 8, 0.25/0/10 (doing a water change today to lower nitrates below 10).
I can try to post a video if that would be helpful.
+Scuba Steve Ok I posted a video.
+Cari Sware I will definitely give it a view in a few. Thanks! I've really got to get another video posted on GBR's. Lots of questions that I do have responses for to help out. Please sub to my channel and I have a lot of vids up now that I think will be of value to you.
+Scuba Steve I got a notification that you commented on my video but I can't see it for some reason. When I clicked on the notification it did send me to that video on the flagellates though. I'll keep dosing with Metro and hope for the best.
Another thing you didn't touch on that might be giving people problems is getting WILD CAUGHT rams...I heard a lot of importers say that you need to keep them in very warm waters around 90 degrees because in the wild they are found in the shallower waters where most bigger fish can't eat them
i heard you mention that but that fact that they are wild just amplifies the difficulty a notch....cb fish can get away with a lot more than fresh wild caught fish
Ever since I got a simple gold fish from petsmart 6 years ago and it went belly up 7 hours after he went home. They told me it was my fault and that I released him to late... He was in his baggi for all of the 20 minute drive home. And slowly for 10 minutes placed into the new tank, and he went belly up, Never bought from any big box store since. a family owned pet shop is just ten miles away. And they get them from breeders you can search online :D. Ever since I've had fish for 18 months now and no one died. Best advice for ANYBODY. petco, petsmart NO XD
I have to agree with Steve, I bought a pair from my local fish store. When I first purchased them they seemed to stress because of harder water conditions. I gradually got away from that and lowered my PH with a co2 system and now they are happy and doing well.
+joseph jacks I would be careful with pressurized Co2; it causes the pH to swing which will for sure kill them.
I bought a couple of black neon tetras at Petco very recently, and they all died. The water parameters on my tank were/are PERFECT. I thought of this videos, and I decided to do more research on other species, and I came to the same conclusion... DON'T BUY FISHES AT MAJOR SUPPLIERS
+Carlos Peralta They really do suck. I know that most people love to get their fish from there and a lot of people are very happy with them but thw quality isn't there at all.
Good info Steve! I've bought 4 GBRs from PS and only one survived. Guess she had just enough to get through this stressful process. Thanks for sharing.
Nice vid fam! I've thought about making a video saying the exact same thing after multiple bad experiences with both Petco and Petsmart, but punked out. The message needs to be spread though. Thanks! Also I see your Raiders gear. Are you in the Bay and using tap water? I'm asking because I'm in the Bay and using tap. How do you get and maintain your water as soft?
I know it's an old video but I love your plants. Never seen them like that. Seen them in the pots they come in but not like that. Beautiful. Have to ask you have discus with Rainbows what temp are you keeping that tank. Thanks for the infor
couple of additional things with GBR. never put in tank less than 6 months old and another good thing is to make sure when you feed them they are getting enough food because they are much slower than others to the food, they kind of spot it look at it for sec then grab it and it half that time a tetra could have munched it. my favourite fish
Yes sir. Those are good tips!
+Scuba Steve cheers Steve keep up the good work. Top videos mate
+Adam symonds Thanks my man!
I was referred to you. I just got some GBR and I did do a lot of research before purchasing while I was deciding what I wanted for my new tank so I could map out my decor and water parameters accordingly. Apparently there's some info I missed as I found lots of care info noting that slightly alkaline water is okay. Now my tank did under go a proper start up cycle before stocking. I use Seachem Sustainability at each water change, have lots of Nitrofying bacteria colonizing space, have live plants (w/no CO2 additives), and have an over sized filter. Sounds like my only setup problem from your other video is I do have alkaline water. At what rate can I add Seachem neutral powder buffer (dissolved in a bucket first of course) to my 55gal to gradually lower Ph in a gentle manner that won't stress the fish by sudden changes? I should mention that my bucket is 3 gallons I believe. Looks like 1 teaspoon changes pH by 0.1 per 40gals, so perhaps a teaspoon dissolved in my bucket then added to my tank 28oz per day over a month or until proper level is reached? I may just be able to dissolve the full dosage I'd need for my 55al for target level in my bucket then set up a slow drip system to add it to my tank through the filter over a months time.
Gradually lowering your ph is good. It sounds like you have a good plan. Alkaline water will gradually make your GBR'S sick. It's more important that your water is soft. If you have soft water, your ph should go down naturally. Use driftwood too. this will help. How hard is your water? Osmoregulation is very important and hard water stresses the kidneys until they just shut down.
*****
I don't know the hard water value exactly of my water but I know it's hard. Leaves white spots on my glass and I know in PA there's lots of limestone mines. Our water is high in calcium I think it is. I do have a piece of Mopani driftwood on hand and I did hear it's good at softening the water as it filters deposits out through it's grain. My piece will fit right in my filter. I also heard peat is good as a natural water softener and ph lower. Any thoughts on using that? Found that trick for use in discus canister filters. Heard you can tie it up in a nylon stocking then put it under your sponge filter so any fine pieces that escape the rinse bag get caught in the foam instead of ending up floating in your tank. Not positive where to find it but I kept the bag of the brand of 100% peat I use for my millipedes and found safe. My specialty pet shop may have some high grade peat with their canister filter media; never asked. I'd prefer a natural additive to my filter to soften my water and lower pH over a chemical one or osmosis filter. Either the above I mentioned sound good and which would you recommend the most?
+M. Jay (dogatemymanuscript) I would invest in an RODI unit. Instant soft water. It's a good investment if you love rams. They really do need soft water. It's nearly impossible to lower ph in hard water and I don't recommend using ph buffers in tap water. Only on ro water. Soft water is critical.
*****
Based on Ph value a lone my tank is only slightly alkaline. It's a community tank not a biotope tank so I can't have too soft a water either. Figuring now that was a big mistake right there. The bulk of my research was how people have kept them successfully in mixed community setups. Naturally your water has to be close to neutral to do it. Wonder if hard water is why my Crinum calastratum plant isn't doing to hot since it's native to cichlid waters.
+Scuba Steve Found a water quality report for my area and according to it we actually have soft water at 51ppm hardness but it also said the pH tested at 9 (may be in an odd unit of measurement as it didn't give the unit), which confuses me because generally doesn't soft water have a low (acidic) pH value. However, I know ammonia and oxygen levels can cause pH to climb or drop independently of water hardness. Also according to the report I guess the white spots I see left on my glass is manganese not calcium or lime like I thought, though these may not have been tested for as there's no value for either on the report. Now mentioned report is from 2013 but it's the most recent I can find. If I proceed based on that then all I should have to do is lower my pH 0.4-6ppm and I should be in a good spot. I'm going to see if one of my pet shops sells hardness test kits or can test for it for me if I take in a sample. Think I'll use peat (if I can find a good source for it) to lower pH as I'm sure it'll keep it more stable than a buffering powder additive. Plus extra space for bacteria cultivation and debris trapping in a filter is a good thing.
Enjoyed the video! I just got a Ram from my local Petco 2 days ago and still have yet to see if she has that strain. I treated the water with aquarium salt to see if the electrolytes in it help a little bit. I also wonder if the thing that makes the strain tick is not just bacteria but from stress because a plane ride from Asia then delivered by car is pretty stressful.
Great info. I was looking at a female GBR for my 15g at Petco and decided against it for the reasons you spoke of. I've had some good luck and bad luck from Petco, but with a dead GBR already in their filter, and 1 of the 2 in the tank with fins that didn't inspire confidence, I just walked out empty handed.
I also get concerned with PH and water hardness for a GBR in my 15. The water is on the harder side, and has a high PH around 7.5 - 8.. so I didn't think it would be a smart move. I have a platy, 4 cherry barbs and a nerite snail and they've been great for over a year now. It's moderately/highly planted and with only 5 smaller fish I do a 40% water change about every 3 weeks with no issues.
What size tank is in this video? What are you using for lighting? Great tank and beautiful fish.
Thanks for the info, Steve. I've kept freshwater aquarium fishes for alotta years and have had much happiness but also big heartache with Rams. I think it helps to join a local cjchlid club, if you can, and get fish from fellow members, that way you can avoid the temptation to buy from big box stores.
Im holding a sweet girl blue german ram in a tank with hard water, and she was bought from a mainstream petstore. Im a beginner and she was actually my first fish. She is healthy, active and very interested in my hands and comes up to the glas when Im there. She is almost a year old now. And one question still bothers me: when will she be fully coloured?? Her colors are still vague even though she has company by some tetras and guppies and an ancistrus. Im on the look-out for a mate for her.
She has enough color to determine that she is a GRB, not a bolivian ram. Its difficult to determine the sex, though. I think its a girl, but not for sure.
Im preparing a new and better aquarium for the fish at the moment. So it will be easier to maintain good water conditions.
I live in Denmark, where most tapwater is pretty hard. Im trying to find ways to make it softer, but nothing seems to work. Any suggestions??
I know about the black spot, but it does not have a black spot like that. And still, it is a gbr for sure.. But some of them apparently not all have an obvious spot like that. I look at the fins and bodyshape instead.
I want the best for my fish. But i dont have a lot of money for complex aquarium systems. They are pretty expensive in Denmark. But Im open to suggestions :-) Im pretty new in the fish world.
If it is a female, it may not get vibrant colors. Males usually do that to show off for the females.
You need to find out if it is male or female because two males will fight unless they have plenty of room.
Good advice. Important to source from a quality breeder.
Great info for a newbie like me. Thanks! Is there a way to treat for protozoans? With bacteria just some antibiotics, but protozoan parasites would be harder to control.
Great info Steve!
I've bought 5 in 2 different LFS here in Singapore. 3 females died of being 'bullied' by the male (less than a month coz they ate their eggs I think). I got another alpha female last month. They spawned once and the fries are free swimming now. Into 13th day today and shall I separate them? Or I'll just leave it with their parents as its in a breeding tank (10g)
TIA!
+Rd Wlst I would remove the parents once the fry are free swimming. Thanks for the props! And that's great you're having that kind of success with breeding. Maybe start a breeding program and go into business? There are some really reputable breeders in the States that have really god reputations and all they do is breed GBR's.
Thanks for the reply Steve. I should have removed them. Apparently they're getting lesser and lesser till yesterday. Around 10 left before I left for work. When I came back home, all gone. Lol! I guess they're (parents) hungry. Alright man, will remove them once free swimming!
Do you think the warmer temperature is a factor too? I'm guessing since you have it with discus that tank is 84-86 degrees Fahrenheit. I know most community tanks are a little cooler than that.
thx for the info Scuba Steve. I lost a pair of german rams within about a month of buying them & couldnt figure out what I did wrong. Makes sense & im gonna start looking for local fish breeders. hopefully ill have better success.
+casmoose Try SD Rams; Yunite Rams. Google them; top notch breeders!
+Scuba Steve cool thanks for the link.
Nice information Steve! I still have one out of the two I bought at petsmart two months ago. He appears to be doing well for now. After seeing this video I won't buy anymore unless it's from a online source like live aquaria.
Wanted to add your plants in that tank look awesome! Lots of growth compared to a few videos ago.
I know what you mean. My tank is ok so far but it's only been three weeks. Not sure if a dirt substrate is going to work long term.
I have great luck with GBR’s but can’t seem to keep electric blues for more than a few months. PH is a little high so maybe that’s it. Thanks for the tips
Holy cow. I thought they were durable. I got my all metallic blue ram at my local dealer, not the big chain. It was the most dominant in the tank but not that colorful yet. Now my little prince starts showing some real dazzling color like some African cichlids, takes food properly and poops right. So hopefully, knock on the wood, he will be very happy in my nano planted tank. Good video!!!!
The genetics in these nowadays is so weak. Good luck and buying from a reputable LFS is always the best!
Hi Steve,
What would be the best tank mates for these beautiful fish when put in a 112 gallon tank .
Preferably cichlids but i'm open to anything really.
I have a group of 10 that are ready to move on to my bigger tank
Thanks
+kevin fisher I would recommend discus.
ScubaSteve, is that a rainbow fish in with the GBR and Discus fish? I am wondering what would be good tank mates for GBRs. I have several that I am considering putting in my 29 gallon when I get it completely set up and cycled correctly. Do you think you could advise me on this? Right now my tank is at 0.25 ppm nitrate and nitrite and no readable ammonia. My pH is 7. My kH is 2 and my gH is 6. All this with the water running through a canister filter with only one fine pad foam in it. Will be changing to proper set up some time this week of course, medium, then fine foams in the bottom tray and then BioHome media in the next 2 trays. I have 3 corydoras catfish (bronze corydoras, I think) and a Missouri minnow in right now that I was using to cycle the tank. I was planning on removing the Missouri minnow but leaving the corydoras and maybe getting 3more if they wouldn't be a problem for the GBRs. I will tell you the other fish that I was considering if you are interested in advising me on this.
Do u put any fertilizers for your potted plants? My Amazon Sword some leaves are turning brown. Help?
Without knowing lighting, or what ferts you have in your water, it's hard to tell why it is turning brown, brown algae may be at play, or lacking iron, but those are just guesses.
After more than 2 years in the same tank, same plants, same filter,lights, companion....my ram died suddenly after a night...same water parameters for them. HOWEVER I RECENTLY INTRODUCED INDIAN ALMOND LEAVES, 1 week later ram was dead
Do you think that's what caused it? GBR's live around 3 years so 2 isn't terrible at all.
@@ScubaSteve4444 i can't say for sure the almond leaves killed him, because I'm using in 3 more tanks with distinct fish so Idk. Also i used PARASITE REMEDY from Imagitarium, 3 days dosing today.
This only fish dies from nothing, i came home this afternoon and he was RECENTLY dead at the bottom.
I know the neons are not stealing the food because i always make sure everybody is thriving.
When dead, its body looked like it fatten from today morning. Could this mean something or just death process inside an aquarium?
I think it's just normal timing for the ram to pass. 3 to 4 years is average. If you had him for 2, seems like you're in the ballpark for lifespan.🤔
@@ScubaSteve4444 good to know my ram had, at least, a peacefully and considerable long life for the species average.
So true I have went through the 10 ram heads from Pet Smart! 2 is all that have lived but they've been with me now for almost 3yr love those little guys
+Tottle 76 At least you got a couple to pull through for you!
Hi, I want to ask about your tank being bare bottom with plants in the pots. In your earlier videos you had eco complete, did you have a problem with that? I currently have a bare bottom discus tank, but trying to decide between eco complete or fluorite substrate or maybe sand to look more appealing, but I'm concerned that I don't be able to keep my water quality as good with substrate... Thoughts? thanks
LVS Sale
*****
Thanks for your reply. After being a fish keeper for 15 years, I got my first discus a year ago, fell in love and they are giving me run for my money... Spend a lot of money on fish and various medication and buffers and trace elements and hospital tank, etc.... Lost a few in the process, ended up buying some juvies from a breeder a year ago and they are 4+ inches now, but a year of BB tank, I'm tired of it and everybody always tells me, beautiful fish, not pretty setup.... I may try thin layer of pool filter sand, doing my research last few days, I guess a lot of discus nuts go for the sand to help the esthetics. Thanks again
Steve, I'm currently planning a ram tank. What do you consider to be ideal water conditions for rams? (Ph, GH, KH, etc.)
+CMLee81 I prefer an acidic ph, somewhere in the low 6's. GH should also be low, soft water is good for them, KH doesn't really matter and you can keep it low with plants and water changes.
My local pet store here in South Africa sell baby blue rams. They are not brightly coloured yet and I'm thinking of buying. Do they need to be in pairs?
They'll be fine alone
Im curious to know if you know the only farm that has gbr and is on the vendor accepted list. Have you been to their facility. These are very strong accusations that should be researched first. There is an issue with buying rams from big box stores but what your claiming isnt true nor the issue. The issue is that sometimes they send out adult full grown rams. With a short typically less than 2 years lifespan you may be getting one thats already past their “prime”. As for the rest it is not done at any of the approved vendors for any fish with the exception of their glowfish.
Got a pair of rams from Country Max 10 days ago, they were doing great and then the female started sitting on the bottom and acting lethargic, and pooping white. The male is doing great, so not sure why she is dying. My ph is about 7.4 and temp is 80℉. Any issues? No other fish seems to be affected by the bacteria.
She's got flagullates. If she's stressed or has a weak immune system, that can cause it in these fish, easily unfortunately.
I bought a German ran from a fish store male and female, and I acclimated them really slowly and carefully, and they looked fine for about a week, then the male started sinking to the bottom and gasping for air for a few hours, then he died. And it looks like the female, which is an electric blue ram, is going to die the same way. What could have caused this I did a 40 percent water change when I saw the male, and I tested all my water with liquid test kits and everything was fine,
What is your water temperature? Should be 84 at least.
Scuba Steve it is 81
But one of my serpae tetras had the same thing happen to him.
@@ojinga They will not live in water that is too cold. Turn your temp up to 86. They like very warm water.
@@ojinga I can't say what happened here without testing your tank water. I wish I could tell you the exact answer. Keep your water clean and you tds low. Rams need warm water or they will die.
ive had trouble with clown loaches , is this fish even worse? Sucks that the most beautifu lfish are so tough to keep.
GBR's have weak genetic diversity. Most breeders don't track blood lines and what we are left with is a weak strain. From my experience, it's buyer beware. Good luck my friend! Check out the bubble rams from Watley Discus. Gabe has a great selection and knows what he's doing! 💯
great info man I have never had any luck with rams awesome video
Steve once again great insight. Your knowledgeable and I can tell you care
+M Swall thank you very much my friend
Love your videos man
Great video and makes complete sense as to why it would happen. Do you know if GBR can be kept with shrimp?
Bit late, lol, but yes at least mine can.
My blue Rams don't really care for me so much, but I've only had them for 2 days. Will they start getting used to me later on??
How are the rams?
I'm sitting here right now watching my beautiful and handsome electric blue Ram, slowly dying. I've had him since Jan. and he tried to kick all the rest of the fish to the corner. I finally put him in the fish tank till I could do better. Got him a tank and another Electric blue. They were a joy!!! I take my trip
to the Box store and get 3 German Rams. Compatible was what they said. After quarantine, I introduced them. In less than a month, they died and took my two beauty's with them. I am so frustrated over this. I kept aquariums all my life. I took a break, but came back. Dang what a change!!!!I dont even recognize it anymore. I refuse to kill another beautiful fish. God only knows what I am gonna do with these 7 tanks and all the plants and supplies that go with them.
So much for a retirement plan. Im a Grandmother, but right now I want to cry and cuss a blue streak at the people who care only for profit. Sounds like a fish mill like a puppy dog mill! Get a Soul!!!
Nice setup you've got there. Thanks for the advice too. Are you local in the Bay Area? If you are, if you know of good local fish stores to pick up these fish let me know (I only ask becuase of your Raiders gear).
I grew up in the east bay myself.
Thanks in advance.
I realize this is an old video but I just picked out up from my LFS yesterday. The fish doesn't have white poop but it's kinda hanging from him. Also, last night the fish seemed perfect, calmly swimming around exploring and sifting through the sand but today he's been glass surfing a lot. Maybe it's the light but idk because I turned it off and was still surfing. My water is soft, ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 10-15... any ideas or help would be appreciated. Thanks scuba Steve
Great video Steve. I have found these to be very sensitive to water conditions.
New sub 😁
Awesome!
The word “protozoa” (singular protozoon, or protozoan) was coined in 1818, by zoologist Georg August Goldfuß, as the Greek equivalent of the German “Urtiere”, meaning “primitive, or original animals” (Wikipedia). Since “protozoa” is the PLURAL of “protozoan”, the verb that follows it must also be in the plural. Similarly, since the word “bacteria” is the PLURAL of “bacterium”, it must also take a plural verb.
In this regard, I might as well mention the fact that the word “data” is - once again - the PLURAL form of the word “datum”. The error that consists of using it with a verb in the singular is currently so widespread, especially on television and in the press, that even physicians make it. I have even heard doctors pluralize the already plural “bacteria” by adding a final “s”, thus creating the non-word “bacterias”.
+MusicandLiterature Thanks for sharing!
+MusicandLiterature Also, if you look in the description you'll see I corrected myself where I called the flagellate a bacteria. I appreciate the grammatical lesson even though that really has nothing to do with the point of the video.
+MusicandLiterature Also, if you look in the description you'll see I corrected myself where I called the flagellate a bacteria. I appreciate the grammatical lesson even though that really has nothing to do with the point of the video.
+MusicandLiterature Also, if you look in the description you'll see I corrected myself where I called the flagellate a bacteria. I appreciate the grammatical lesson even though that really has nothing to do with the point of the video.
Hello nice video . I currently have a batch of freshly hatched gbr babies they are about 4 days old .p.s these arent lfs gbrs i got these from a private breeder and the quality is amazing .when do i start freding the fry
I just bought a gbr and my one pooped white yesterday, how long does it usually take for them to die afterwards?? Have any of them survived after this in your experience?
Also do you think it would be possible to keep them in conditions like the ones they were bred in and slowly introduce them to your aquarium settings?
+aliciacb8284747274 I have a video up on this and yes they have survived.
Are discus/gbr/redlinebarbs good tank mates? I'd love this combination of fish. I'm planning to set up a 75gallon later this year.
Hazzy barbs may be a little too aggressive for your discus. You want to keep them as comfortable as possible and they require soft acidic water
@@doyletrotter1164 Thanks, I actually got a 30 gallon very cheap instead. So I won't be keeping discus or the redline barbs. Will probably try a pair of GBR with a school or cardinal or rummynose tetra or maybe a mix of both. :)
Very informative! THANX! I just adore Rams, but at the moment have 1 regular blue Ram, and 2 Golden Bolivian Rams. The blue fella hides all the time, even tho it has no one to pick on it. But one of my Golden's is a troublemaker and likes to constantly harass the Galactic Purple Glofish any chance it can get. The other one is very mellow and hides along with the Blue one. No one picks on these three, by the way. I have them all in a 10 gallon (too small I know) tank with other community fish. I hope to one day acquire a much larger aquarium like the 65 gallon column I had over 20 years ago.
Hey steve good info about the rams they look really nice and i wanted to get a pair for my tank......btw what light equipment are you using? your plants are looking great.
The red belly mean that it is breeding and it can become very territorial and it can be very nasty to other fish
Yup
thanks I stupidly bought a ram from petsmart and it now has a fungus and it's color is fading rapidly it's only been 3 days it has to be the ram itself because ever other fish in my tank is really healthy thanks for the info
There is a great breeder called Yunite Rams. Google them. They have a comprehensive breeding program and I highly recommend them.
+Scuba Steve I'll look into them thanks!
Get them from a local breeder and they will be tough as goldfish. I breed them and they do well in just normal tap water with water condition added. But if I every get tempted to buy new from a shop.. they always die after a few months.. even in perfect water conditions.
hey scuba Steve. I watched your video after buying my blue rams at a petsmart. like you said they were colorful in the tank there but when I got them home they became dull in my tank. now when they feed and chase each other they gain full color for a little while then dull back down. I have had them for a little over a week now. have you ever seen them change color like this?
+libby c yes. They are cichlids and the colors brighten when they are displaying dominance. The Petsmart rams normally are fed hormone injected foods so their colors brighten more. This unfortunately weakens the immune system and that shortens the lifespan. If you really want some good quality GBR'S, go to www.germanbluerams.com. I'm no spokesperson and they don't pay me. They don't even know me but their breeding program is top notch. I hope you rams live for a while and encourage you to stay with them and buy from a good breeder. Best of luck to you and I hope your fish live for a long time.
+Scuba Steve thanks for the info, I hope they live a long time too. but if they don't, I'll definately give that website you suggested a try. :)
Great info! I ordered mine online. First 3, then 3 more to get 6, but 2 died before I got them, so I ended up with 4, they are so pretty that I ordered 4 more, at the time they arrived the others all died and one was dead on arrival, out of the 3, 2 dies within a week. The one left is not looking too happy. I got refunds, but it’s frustrating and sad to see fish dying. Any good recommendation on where to buy them online?
Try German blue rams .com
Scuba Steve Thank you!
Does these problems extend to the Electric Blue Balloon Rams as well? Friends seem to have have the same problems with those Rams. I never buy Fish from Pet Co. or PetSmart. I might get supplies from them, but never livestock. They are part of the problem not a solution. Support your local independent pet-shop instead. A PetSmart in El Centro, California had all there tanks loaded with horrible Ick. I told them that they should quarantine all their tanks, but as always the kids know more than the hobbyist. A local Walmart stop selling fish because they didn’t the skill set to maintain fish alive. People reported them to PETA. They still have supplies, but no livestock now. I think the problem is with the breeders of the German Blue Rams, and not the stores. The dying problems extends well beyond the chain pet shops. They are hard to breed and to maintain, plus the water parameters are way off from the beginning. You bring them home, then boom, they drop like flies. This is my opinion, and I could be wrong; but I doubt it! Just saying you know!
Yes they do. They are even more fickle
I got a bunch of rams at a independent pet shop on LI, NY and the other day one of my GBR which was fine and eating and swimming one day I came home and he was floating. I had him for about 2 months. I have some Bolivians and an Elec. blu Ram and they are thriving. Bolivians a year old. H2O soft, ph around 7ish. Also some Cory’s and Teras. Ideas what caused sudden death of GBR?
I have one question, do you use tap water or purified water?
RODI water then I add my buffers and minerals back.
How are your plants so green?! They look awesome.
+superman king I did a vid on keeping plants in soft water. Check it out and thanks for watching!
Scuba Steve thanks for the reply. i run ada amazonia and have root tabs too along with a pro z series led light. ill watch the video tomorrow. youve got a new subby 👍
+superman king Thanks for the support!
Great video. Thanks.
How hard would you call water at 2-3 dGh and 4 dKh?
***** thanks.
What types of plants do you have in background?
Swords and money wart
Is this the same with big box store Bolivian Rams?
Beauty of a discus you’ve got there! Gorgeous
I bought 10 an iv hot 9 left for a yr now.however ther colors suck.they look kinda yellow..any input on that??
I got mine at my local fish shop, they have there fish on separate filters and are raised for a few months to make sure they are healthy, my question is do you think its ok to by from a local fish shop
Lost one last week... came home from work... fed them they all ate n looked healthy... walked away and 5 mins later I found him dead at the bottom of my tank
+Francisco Montes Man, sorry to hear that. It sucks.becausr they are so cool.
Scuba Steve what size is that tank dude ? It looks like a 3 ft
+Alan Smith it is a 55g
Is my water tempreture problem my Rams die. Had now 5 that died in community Planted tank. My tempreture is 78-79.
No other Fish die. Tired all kinds of food even frozen blood worms to keep them eating but still did not make it.
What are indications that they're not going to make it? I just purchased a pair last night from Petco... before I saw this video, I wish I did
+Tayah Coleman Give it a couple of months. Theyll start to be less reactive to you.
What kind is the big plant in the middle with thicker leafs ??
Thanks for making a video. Very good
Glad you liked it!
***** very welcome. You taught me how to take care of Rams so thank you :)
Snipercube Best of luck to you and happy fish keeping!
***** you too!
i have had a dwarf blue ram for 6 months now is it too late to get him a pair mate for the tank ? if not would it have to be same blue or as long as it would be a dwarf cichlid it would be okay ?
What is that giant green plant behind you?
+ImmaLelouch Swords
I bought 6 from my LFS and then 3 electric blue rams and then in 14 hrs, they were all sick as hell and 1 died. I took them back to the store- the 6 I could catch- and then had to treat my tank for disease. So ignorant of me not to QT my tank. I’ll never buy these again. I love them but I’ve had horrible luck with them. No idea where my LFS gets their fish from and they don’t QT their tanks. They get them on Fri and they are up for sale right away.
+Marie C Sorry you had to go through that. Really sucks
Excellent info thanks keep the vid's coming
I had a pair that I bought from Petco and they lived over a months and my male died, know my female is not looking good. Good to know this. I do love them and the colors.
im wanting to make my 20 gallon tank a cichlid aquarium basically but i dont know where to go to get them considering there are no other stores besides petco around. what would i have to do to get some?
Go to Yunite Rams. Google that and it should take you to their Web page. They are a top notch breeder and that's all they do.
thanks!!! :D