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Ich or something else on GBR - please advise

arquero0125

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19
We have a German Blue Ram in a quarantine tank after we noticed that he had some white spots on his tail and dorsal. We thought maybe ich, but now are wondering if it could be lymphocystis. He's eating, and his energy seems to be normal. He did lose his mate recently to hole-in-the-head, so we're hoping it could just be stress. He does not show any symptoms of HITH, unless these are signs we haven't seen before. No other fish in the initial tank are presenting his symptoms. We're currently treating him with Melafix, Pimafix, and a low dose of Aquarium Salt.
 

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Mike Wise

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If spots appear hard with defined edges: ich; treat. If spots appear soft with less sharp outline: lymphocystis, a viral infection; not treatable with antibiotics. Then clean water and fish's natural immune system will cure it.
 

arquero0125

New Member
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19
...Apparently, I spoke too soon. o_O:( he passed last night. no fighting just kinda gave up after taking care of both broods,. just got quiet looked lethargic, move to QT, in the morning we wished him well. he did raise 2 broods before he passed, so fish Knowledge passed along
 

Flyfan

New Member
Messages
11
I am sorry to hear of your fish dying. I had a similar experience I'd like to share. A male blue ram had a white spot about 2mm x 1mm near the center of his caudal fin (tail). I thought it looked like some sort of creature that had formed a white cyst. A couple of weeks went by and the 'cyst' dropped off with the trailing portion of the 'infected' fin rays. This fish and his mate both acting normal the whole time. All of a sudden about 2-3 days later he is dead. The female continues to be healthy. Any thought? No meds were given.
 

arquero0125

New Member
Messages
19
Hey Flyfan,
Sorry to hear about a similar experience. I have no thoughts, outside of checking your water parameters. I can tell you that the Male that passed with similar issues to yours was from a Major Pet store change and are apparently "pumped with hormones and tend not to last long". I have had little to no luck with Major Chains. However, I would suggest a medicated QT for the next acquisition. A GenCure/Melafix/Primafix QT for 2 weeks, has been working well for me. However, you may just want to go the Aquarium Salt route before you invest in meds if you don't already have them. here is a good link for the Salt route.


My breeding Tank Parameters ( 75 gals):
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 10
PH ~ 6 - 6.8
Temp ~ 84-86

*** make sure your water is soft ***


As for what Initially brought GBR back... I think Mike was correct. Clean water, little Stress, and the fish's immune system.
 

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Flyfan

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Thanks. I do quarantine wild caught fish for about a month and I am a firm believer in not buying fish from the large retailers. One more coincidental thing was that particular ram had bred twice before, no issues with the fry, and died the day after fertilizing the 3rd batch. At least his genetics live on in a bunch of cute little guys! My h2o parameters were similar except:
temp.- 82f
tds ~73
ph- 6.4

Jeff at Aquatic Clarity has some wild caught blue rams in stock last time I looked. Notice I didn't call them German Rams. It should be Venezuelan Ram if anything. ;)
 

arquero0125

New Member
Messages
19
I think german blue rams are a particular breed of Microgeophagus Ramirezi, bred for more blue in them. or so the rumor goes. but yes, they are new world cichlids. I would love to add some wild-caught M. Ramirezi
 

MacZ

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2,958
Location
Germany
I think german blue rams are a particular breed of Microgeophagus Ramirezi, bred for more blue in them. or so the rumor goes. but yes, they are new world cichlids. I would love to add some wild-caught M. Ramirezi

German Blue Ram is just the standard common name of the species M. ramirezi. There are dozens of common names in English, that are all somewhat legit and not at the same time. All of those are trade names and those are not regulated, meaning the nomenclature is open to anyone to use as they please. The only name that is fixed is the scientific name.
In German they are just "butterfly dwarf cichlids" (1:1 translation of "Schmetterlingszwergbuntbarsch", often even leaving out the dwarf/zwerg).
 

Mike Wise

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11,202
Location
Denver, Colorado, U.S.A.
MacZ, there are actually 2 (most likely 4) species that have been sold under the name "butterfly dwarf cichlid": Mikrogeophagus ramirezi and species of Anomalochromis from West Africa. Of course, most people now think of Rams from the Orinoco first when "butterfly dwarf cichlids" are mentioned.
 

MacZ

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Messages
2,958
Location
Germany
MacZ, there are actually 2 (most likely 4) species that have been sold under the name "butterfly dwarf cichlid": Mikrogeophagus ramirezi and species of Anomalochromis from West Africa. Of course, most people now think of Rams from the Orinoco first when "butterfly dwarf cichlids" are mentioned.

I just translated the only german common name as a contrast to the high number of english common names for only one species.
Anomalochromis gets the epitet "african" in our common name and the bolivian ram gets a qualifiying "bolivian". M. ramirezi is the only one that doesn't have any adjectives added.
But now I'm very interested: 4 species? What is number 4?
 

arquero0125

New Member
Messages
19
Just picked up a pair of wild caught, from Colombia. To young to sex. It’s interesting to see the differences.
 

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