Hello all! I'm excited to finally be able to post in the CICHLID section! I wish it wasn't due to a possible problem, but proud new owner nevertheless! I'm in LOVE with these guys! *points to new avatar*
After loads of research, I brought 4 little Bolivian Rams home 2 weeks ago. They settled right in, and all have grown a bit and plumped up since coming to live with me - all except one, and he's the one that I'm worried about!
He's so skinny! Poor little thing. . .
All of them are about 1.5 inches long - from tip to tip - but this one has been my 'runt' since day 1. He's slightly smaller than the others, and at the bottom of the newly-establishing hierarchy. Aside from his scrawny tummy and small size, the only other thing that sets him apart from the others is that his stripes are very obviously darker. (I've read that this can be a sign of stress, his way of letting the bigger fish know that he's submissive, or coloring up for mating - that's a lot of options!). . . Otherwise, he swims with the others, scraps with them at mealtimes, and eats well. There is no hiding, flashing, heavy respiration - he behaves in every way like the other three, and isn't being targeted or picked on any more than the others as they establish their territories. I feed my whole tank a combination of flake food (which they all eat with no problems), and many different types of wet-frozen foods, including: bloodworm, mysis, krill, brine, Daphna. . . I also regularly toss in blanched veggies - so he's getting a great variety of foods, and doesn't seem to be picky at all. I've been watching for feces, but haven't been able to catch him in the act, so to speak, so I have no idea about that. As for his vent. . . I can't even see it (assuming this one is a male?) so I'm guessing it isn't swollen, and there definitely aren't any visible worms there.
For reference, here are images of the other three, not so skinny BRs. . . (sorry, its 3 shots of each - I was comparing )
The coloration on these photos has been intensified by the flash, which I used to get very clear shots of all four of them. You can see that their tummies are rounded. Their vents are also really obvious - so I'm assuming these three are females? (feel free to let me know gender, if you can - I'm really curious about this, too!)
Here is an image of the tank where they live , that will show you more truthfully their actual coloration - my scrawny stripey guy is on the far left:
This is a fully cycled 29 gallon TALL tank. Ammonia, nitrite, phosphates all at 0, and nitrate hangs around 2.5ppm. PH sits at 7.6, Gh is 6, and Kh is super low at 2dgh, temperature is usually between 77-78 (maybe a bit cool for the rams?).
I have a 10g hospital tank that I can move him into if he needs to be kept on his own. . .
Thanks in advance for reading, and for any help and advice you can give me to keep this little guy (and his buddies) healthy and thriving.
After loads of research, I brought 4 little Bolivian Rams home 2 weeks ago. They settled right in, and all have grown a bit and plumped up since coming to live with me - all except one, and he's the one that I'm worried about!
He's so skinny! Poor little thing. . .
All of them are about 1.5 inches long - from tip to tip - but this one has been my 'runt' since day 1. He's slightly smaller than the others, and at the bottom of the newly-establishing hierarchy. Aside from his scrawny tummy and small size, the only other thing that sets him apart from the others is that his stripes are very obviously darker. (I've read that this can be a sign of stress, his way of letting the bigger fish know that he's submissive, or coloring up for mating - that's a lot of options!). . . Otherwise, he swims with the others, scraps with them at mealtimes, and eats well. There is no hiding, flashing, heavy respiration - he behaves in every way like the other three, and isn't being targeted or picked on any more than the others as they establish their territories. I feed my whole tank a combination of flake food (which they all eat with no problems), and many different types of wet-frozen foods, including: bloodworm, mysis, krill, brine, Daphna. . . I also regularly toss in blanched veggies - so he's getting a great variety of foods, and doesn't seem to be picky at all. I've been watching for feces, but haven't been able to catch him in the act, so to speak, so I have no idea about that. As for his vent. . . I can't even see it (assuming this one is a male?) so I'm guessing it isn't swollen, and there definitely aren't any visible worms there.
For reference, here are images of the other three, not so skinny BRs. . . (sorry, its 3 shots of each - I was comparing )
The coloration on these photos has been intensified by the flash, which I used to get very clear shots of all four of them. You can see that their tummies are rounded. Their vents are also really obvious - so I'm assuming these three are females? (feel free to let me know gender, if you can - I'm really curious about this, too!)
Here is an image of the tank where they live , that will show you more truthfully their actual coloration - my scrawny stripey guy is on the far left:
This is a fully cycled 29 gallon TALL tank. Ammonia, nitrite, phosphates all at 0, and nitrate hangs around 2.5ppm. PH sits at 7.6, Gh is 6, and Kh is super low at 2dgh, temperature is usually between 77-78 (maybe a bit cool for the rams?).
I have a 10g hospital tank that I can move him into if he needs to be kept on his own. . .
Thanks in advance for reading, and for any help and advice you can give me to keep this little guy (and his buddies) healthy and thriving.