# German Blue Ram Sick



## AquaDuck (Oct 28, 2013)

I had two German Blue Rams I purchased about a year ago. One has since died and the other ones not looking so hot. About two weeks ago I noticed that one of them was turning black.....really black.... followed the next day by the other one. The tank was a little dirty but not terrible. The nitrates were hovering around 10ppm and the ammonia around .25. I quickly did a large water change and did a deep clean on the sand bed and plants, which were housing some really dark green - almost black algae which I had to scrub off the leaves with a toothbrush. Anyway I replaced some filter floss and carbon and set it back up and the next day the parameters were back to normal and the tank was crystal clear. I gave it a few more days and and the rams just got worse. None of the other fish in the tank are having any problems and are acting completely normal. 
I began looking closely at the Ram who initially turned black and noticed that even his eye which was normally reddish had turned a dark shade and even black in some areas. I also noticed a small white dot on his side. This dot was almost smaller that the tip of a needle, very hard to see. It was also "3d", meaning it was "raised" off of his body. like a pimple. the tissue was not inflamed around it and it almost looked like something was stuck on him. So I began to think it must be Ich. 
I inspected the other Ram who was also turning black but was considerably better off than the other one and did not have any white spots to be seen. Neither did any of my other fish. I began a natural Ich treatment because I have African Dwarf Frogs and shrimp in my tank and did not trust the Ich treatments to not kill my other inhabitants including my plants (I have a lot of plants). Before I began the treatment the Ram who never had any white spots and was only slightly turning black died, the other ones still hanging on though. I turned up the temp in my tank to 84 degrees and put in some natural salt. the next day the white dot was not present on the Ram anymore. I figured the parasite had entered its next phase so I continued treatment. 
A few days later I noticed a much larger white spot on the top of the Rams head. right between his eyes on the top of his head right before his dorsal fin. This white spot was different. It was larger, much larger. It was about the diameter of a pencil eraser and was not completely solid. It was more "splotchy" like a white scab or something. It was more flush that "3d". Hard to describe. I'm going to get a picture up later today or tomorrow. I do not have a picture of the original white spot. So basically it does not appear to be getting any better. Which makes me question if this is even Ich. None of the other fish are showing any signs of parasites or health issue of any kind. no strange behaviors, growths, damage or nothing. 
The Rams behavior is also odd. He hangs out at the bottom,hiding and breathing fast and swaying heavily. Sometimes he lays all the way over on his side and then corrects himself after a few seconds. he will not eat and the white scab like spot is getting larger. No other spots have appeared. I have also been treating with a fungal treatment from API: Pimarx. As well as a bacterial treatment from API: Metarx. I have been dosing them at different times of day for the past 6 days with no change.

Not sure what else to do, its not effecting the rest of the population at all. I guess I'm going to have to euthanize the little guy, which I really do not want to do. I just really want to know what this thing is.....its frustrating. If anyone has any idea what this is please let me know.

*will attach picture soon


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## Blue12am (Oct 29, 2013)

Sorry to hear your GBR's are not doing well. IME they get real dark when they are super excited/ and or stressed. If their heads get real dark I would lean toward excitement, but if their body also starts showing stress bars too, then definitely stress. I've been lucky because all my GBRs have been super healthy, but I make sure to over filter and add all the goodies.


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## Broodwich (Jul 16, 2013)

IMO pull him and seclude him in his own small tank/bucket if you can, treat with general cure if you think it's a parasite. or treat for ick if you think it's that.. I'm not good at ID'ing sickness yet. I have a sick ram myself right now who hasn't really eat'n in months and has lost all color. I treated with API General Cure but didn't notice much change. I've started treating with small doses (1/4 teaspoon vs 1tbs per 2 gallon water change) of Aquarium Salt since the same ram started showing signs of clamp tail and he rebounded very nicely so far. (i've been told to be careful with the salt )

Keep up with your water changes, on my main tank i follow the 7 day rule almost to a T. My sick ram is in a small 5.5 with just a heater, filter, and bubble wall. the filter is way way way overkill but the more the better w/ filtration. I have no substrate and no light on the tank other than the light from the tank next to it and the room light.

hit us with an update if you can, hope it's gotten better!


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