adm's 1st tank

[Martinspuddle]

It's always upsetting finding fish like this and I remember how distressing it was finding my Longnose hawkfish (Oxycirrhites typus) had managed to get out onto the condensation trays on my then marine aquarium.

[adm]

Well, damn....I thought I had posted this earlier this week. But apparently not. So here we go again.

In fish news, I found one dead Ram floating belly up on Monday. No idea what killed him/her, but maybe it was a delayed reaction to the Ich breakout. It looked perfectly healthy, just dead as a Dodo and I had not noticed any strange behaviour the day before.

So this led me to examine all the other inmates in more detail. One of the other Rams was growing a bump on his head, and over the next day or so, developed a white nodule next to it. Googling, I think this is "Hole in the Head" (HITH) disease maybe caused by Hexamita? Pic is below and any thoughts gratefully received. He/She seems absolutely fine right now apart from this.

I read that this could be caused by stress from poor water quality or the Hexamita parasite - but the water is great and has been stable for weeks/months. So any thoughts on how to treat this?



Other than that, I had a really good trim of plants. Pulled out loads of Java moss that had been growing like crazy, cut back Crypts, Sword and Rotala. Turns out, the plants had been really creeping up on me and I removed an awful lot of vegetation. There is now much more free space for swimming around and all the inmates appear to like it, especially the Tetras who have found some new areas to hang out in.

[Sarah]

The tank looks great.

[black ghost]

Head looks very swollen, maybe popeye aswell? Probably a concoction of diseases which is very common in these poorly farm bred Rams. As for treatment, your guess is as good as mine. I don’t have much hope for it at this advanced stage.

[Staffylover]

Sorry about your Ram, they do have a reputation for being sickly/ difficult to keep, your tank looks great though, you must be really proud of it

[adm]

Head looks very swollen, maybe popeye aswell? Probably a concoction of diseases which is very common in these poorly farm bred Rams. As for treatment, your guess is as good as mine. I don’t have much hope for it at this advanced stage.

Sadly...me neither. Should I euthanise it do you think? It seems happy enough, but I don't want it infecting others....

[adm]

Sorry about your Ram, they do have a reputation for being sickly/ difficult to keep, your tank looks great though, you must be really proud of it

Thank you very much. To be honest, although I am pleased with it, I keep thinking about what I would/should do better next time. It's definitely been a learning experience!

[plankton]

Waterlife Octozin for HITH and (besides all the things on the web) a good varied diet is essential to build the fish up, and of course garlic for the immune system.

[Martinspuddle]

Ramirezi has always been tricky to keep, think mainly due to our hard water parameters and I do agree with Mr. Ghost the way they've been bred hasn't helped.

[adm]

I have ordered some Waterlife Octozin which should be here on Monday, and we will see what happens.

But given that he/she is probably going to die at some point, I guess I should think about a couple of new fish in the near future.

Any thoughts on something red or yellow that would look nice and do well with the Tetras and Gouramis? Similar size to the Rams or Gouramis would be good.