# poorly bolivian?



## lioness501 (Jan 9, 2007)

ive noticed that my bolivian looks ill. he/she has become very dark in colour, just hangin out at the bottom of the tank. breathing is fine. also noticed, since we got him/her, it doesnt eat! wen i feed the fish bloodworms it kinda hovers over the food, goes for it, sees another fish and backs off. i have a feeling that wherever it was before i got it, it had tofight for its food, so its scared???? please help i dont want it to die, im placing it in my large bredder to try and feed it n c how it does, its not stressed or showing any outward signs of illness. wat ya reckon? water params r nitrite 0, ammonia o, nitrate 40 its so very weak


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

Try lowering the nitrates with water changes. Nitrates could be the culprit regardless of whether or not the fish is known to be hardy.


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## lioness501 (Jan 9, 2007)

but bolivians r hardier than gbr's right? my gbr is absolutely fine and none of my other fish r suffering?


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## lioness501 (Jan 9, 2007)

i cannot get the nitrates down quick enuff, im really fearing for the life of this fish, as i have stated in another post, my mitrates from tap water r 40-50


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

lioness501 said:


> but bolivians r hardier than gbr's right? my gbr is absolutely fine and none of my other fish r suffering?


Bolivians indeed prove to be hardier than the GBR but even then, it will happen that even the hardy species will show weaknesses earlier than most of their well-known _delicate_ counterparts. Lioness, your bolivian ram may appear to be stressed.


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

lioness501 said:


> i cannot get the nitrates down quick enuff, im really fearing for the life of this fish, as i have stated in another post, my mitrates from tap water r 40-50


Get some _Elodea densa_ or hornworts to help you reduce the nitrates aside from water changes.


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## lioness501 (Jan 9, 2007)

i think it could b dropsy 
its now seperated but i don think it will pull through, gonna c how it is in the mornin, if no better then we will euthanize, im gettin so stressed out with my babies gettin ill, im slowly losing faith


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## lioness501 (Jan 9, 2007)

this mornin, no change, but its no worse. it actually came off the bottom and was kinda upright at the surface. back at the bottom now though. tried to hand feed it bloodworm, was tryin to take the food from me but didnt seem to have the energy to actually eat it? wat do u think i should do, this fish has never benn particularly active since i got it, maybe its always been ill.


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## Daz (Sep 20, 2006)

Rams of any kind are not hardy fish, the main problems is there almost zero tolerance to stress. Before you get to excited about your params what else is in the tank ?


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## lioness501 (Jan 9, 2007)

4 mollies,4 guppies, 1 shark,1 frog,1 goldfish,3 danios,2 tetras,2 denisoni barbs,2 swords,1 gbr,3 plecs none of the others bother the each other they all get on well


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## Daz (Sep 20, 2006)

There really easily spooked, are the fins clamped ?


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## lioness501 (Jan 9, 2007)

no fins r not clamped, still holdin dorsal fin well


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## lioness501 (Jan 9, 2007)

seems like its scales r stickin out a little but not much and its not bloated at all, so maybe not dropsy, its not gaspin for air or anythin, just so lifeless and not eating, im worried that its starving to death


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## Daz (Sep 20, 2006)

When was the last time it ate ? are the scales sticking out in one area ? like a lump ?


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

Hi Lioness.:wave:

Metronidazole will improve the appetite of your bolivian ram but before you try it, we'll need to dig deeper into what exactly is happening to the bolivian ram.

Oh, and pls add the list of food you give them.

Hope it recovers soon.


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## Daz (Sep 20, 2006)

You cant get Met in the UK without a vets consent. But if you want to get some search ebay. PM me if you want to go down that route.


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

dlil said:


> You cant get Met in the UK without a vets consent. But if you want to get some search ebay. PM me if you want to go down that route.


Oh, I never thought of that.  :mrgreen:

Good luck to both of you.:wave: Hope all goes well.


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## lioness501 (Jan 9, 2007)

no not sickin out in a certain area, all of it, but no stickin out major, i offer it flakes and bloodworms, thats all i have, i havent seen it eat for about a week, like i said it seems to think it has to fight for its food so it doesnt bother, hasnt eaten much at all since i got it, thing is im currently treatin for fungus so i cant treat it as well, i do have some internal parasite meds, u think i should try that?


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## Daz (Sep 20, 2006)

Untill you establish what is the prob there is no point chucking whatever you have at it. You'll just do more harm than good. Go down the lowering nitrates line, but I think it's stressed.


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## lioness501 (Jan 9, 2007)

so if i sort the nitrates out, which i cant do til tomorrow, u think it may b ok, if its stress then maybe i should rehome it? i would love to c it eat


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## Daz (Sep 20, 2006)

Rehoming will cause more stress, now rehoming the others, there's a different idea. Is it planted?


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## lioness501 (Jan 9, 2007)

rehoming the others? why would i wanna do that ive had some of em for over 2 years! its not planted, but have been advised to get a wisteria to help with nitrates?


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## Daz (Sep 20, 2006)

I was going to say leave the lights of cause as little disruption as you can, and try breaking the food into smaller particles.


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

lioness501 said:


> its not planted, but have been advised to get a wisteria to help with nitrates?


It will help. More plants is better than less. Plants serve as biological filtration and also gives the fish a sign of security thus reducing stress. Did you post somewhere that your tapwater has nitrates? I might have missed that. Sorry..I tend to forget.:lol:


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## lioness501 (Jan 9, 2007)

how long can i leave the lights off?
obviously the lights have been off all night already i dont wanna cause stress to the others


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## lioness501 (Jan 9, 2007)

yes i did blue, my tap water has nitrates of 50


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## Lupin (Aug 2, 2006)

lioness501 said:


> yes i did blue, my tap water has nitrates of 50


Oh ok. Get some plants to help you lower the nitrates and reduce the fish's stress. Turn on the lights for 6-8 hours. If you have the plants, they will provide refuge for the bolivian ram thus relieving it of its stress.


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## lioness501 (Jan 9, 2007)

just got in from work and it gave up its fight for life, r.i.p bish


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