Mikrogeophagus Ramirez

[oohjohn]

I have one female Mikrogeophagus Ramirez
My water temp is around 76 - 78 with a PH of about 6.5
No ammonia and all that crap

But she does not seem so active. Is there something wrong with her? She doesnt look diseased but she doesnt seem so active. She stays in the back half of the tank and doesnt really swim around whenever i turn the light on. Most of the time when i turn the light (the light is barely on maybe 2-3 hours a day, dont wanna burn my java ferns) i see her either behind the cave and at the top back corner of the tank. She does swim around a little but barely from when i observe her and not to the front of the tank. Lastly she doesn't seem to eat or go up to eat but i do see her picking at the bottom a very little.

Can you tell me whats wrong with her if any?/ any way to fix it?
Is she just unhappy? or uncomfortable?
Why doesn't she eat/go near the surface? what kind of food should i feed her she doesnt seem to like flakes
Why does she stay in the back? and not as active as those i see?

Does she not go to the surface because of the filter? ( i use a 30 gallon filter for a 20 gallon tank)

How long can i keep my light on with java fern plants? since they burn easily or is that because of heat?
Lastly what kinds of fish can i put with the Ram, that would make the Ram the star?

 

[briztoon]

G'day oohjohn,

Blue rams are a sand sifter. They sift the sand substrate looking for food. They are not normally a surface feeder. If you do not have a fine substrate, this is one thing that could be making her uncomfortable.

Are there any other fish in the tank? It could be scared of one of the tank mates. Alternatively, it can also be nervous if there are no tank mates. Many dwarf cichlids take cues from the tetras and other fish in the tank. If there are no other fish in the tank, it may be too scared to come out.

Blue rams also like lots of cover. Plants and driftwood, where they can swim in and out of.

Finally temperature. Blue rams are said to prefer higher temperatures, between 80 - 82. If the temperature is a little cooler, they can become a little lathergic.

Hope that covers a few of your queries and concerns.

 

[oohjohn]

Hey briztoon,

Thank you for the insight on these fish. I do have fine sand (3M color quartz s grade). The temperature has been kept at 76-78* and may be one of the reasons she is not as active.

Sould i feed her sinking foods? or just let the food eventually sink to the bottom of the tank?

She is alone but does have a good amount of hiding spots. I can't decide what type of tankmate i want for her. I'm looking for some that would make her pop more. What type of tankmates would you suggest?

Thank you

 

[briztoon]

Tank mates depend entirely on the size of the tank. So how large is the tank, and how is it aquascaped?

My next question is, why haven't you bought a male? Blue rams are a pairing dwarf cichlid, and I would imagine not having any other rams may again be contributing to the female not feeling comfortable.

As for foods. I like having a variety of foods to feed my fish. NLS, Hikari, Tetra and Sera all make good dried foods. Look for the small pellet or wafer varieties. I also like some of Hikari's frozen foods, and I also feed dried blackworms.

 

[oohjohn]

Well she did have a tank mate another female but she died for some and i dont know why.

My tank is 20g with some caves and driftwood not really scaped it.
As for not buying a male, I was waiting on my LFS to restock. I bought this one at a different LFS. I guess I'll go buy some today.

As for tankmates I'm looking for fish about the same size as them.

 

[oohjohn]

[Edit 10:24]
So today i went to my LFS and got another ram and some Silver Tip tetras.
The silver tips are dithers and are working well getting the lone Ram to swim out more. Both of them. But....
My new problem is that I cannot sex the Rams and so I have no idea whether one is male or not. I have read all about sexing them and the biggest clue to there sex is the pink belly and both my rams do have pink bellies. One of them the newest one does have a darker spot on its body but their iridescent glow doesn't show on the spot....
From pictures I have seen they seem to be about 2 1/2 months old and is hard to sex right now. My LFS also confirmed that they cannot tell at this age either.

So my question is must I really get a male? is it a must? or would it just be a bigger plus?