# Help! My Bolivian Ram Is Staying In One Spot Rocking From Side To side



## orador223 (May 1, 2013)

I have a 65gallon planted tank, one of my bolivian rams has been sitting at the top of the driftwood rocking from side to side. As soon as i noticed it, I immediately setup a quarantine tank with the tank water and i added some aquarium salt and seachem prime. Any idea what it could be? Please help I don't want to lose this one 

I'll be checking this post often and if you want to reach me directly, I am currently on aquariumforum.com chat and tropicalfishkeeping.com chat. Thank you


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## NewFishFiend (Feb 21, 2013)

orador223 said:


> I have a 65gallon planted tank, one of my bolivian rams has been sitting at the top of the driftwood rocking from side to side. As soon as i noticed it, I immediately setup a quarantine tank with the tank water and i added some aquarium salt and seachem prime. Any idea what it could be? Please help I don't want to lose this one
> 
> I'll be checking this post often and if you want to reach me directly, I am currently on aquariumforum.com chat and tropicalfishkeeping.com chat. Thank you


okay, can you give us some more information about your tank? What tank mates, what filtration, what are you water parameters? Is the fish breathing rapidly? Do you notice any spots, sores, nipped fins, swollen gils?


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## orador223 (May 1, 2013)

NewFishFiend said:


> okay, can you give us some more information about your tank? What tank mates, what filtration, what are you water parameters? Is the fish breathing rapidly? Do you notice any spots, sores, nipped fins, swollen gils?


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0v1GsR8BWc here's a video
pH=7.4, ammonia=.25-.5, nitrite=0, nitrate=10
right now no tank mates since it's in a quarantine tank, but in the main 65gal there are german blue rams, more bolivian rams, red fire dwarf gouramis, blue platies, neon swordtails, a pleco, assassin snails, and crystal red shrimp


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## NewFishFiend (Feb 21, 2013)

orador223 said:


> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0v1GsR8BWc here's a video
> pH=7.4, ammonia=.25-.5, nitrite=0, nitrate=10
> right now no tank mates since it's in a quarantine tank, but in the main 65gal there are german blue rams, more bolivian rams, red fire dwarf gouramis, blue platies, neon swordtails, a pleco, assassin snails, and crystal red shrimp


 
What about other symptoms? .25-.5 of ammonia is not good. This could be ammonia poisoning. You need to do a water change and treat with Prime or Amquel. Matter of fact I feel sure that you need to do a large water change and treat with Prime. And do them often.


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## NewFishFiend (Feb 21, 2013)

i just got a chance to watch the video. Something definitely ain't right and he is breathing mighty heavily. Any other fish have symptoms? I'm gonna do some research. Is he eating?


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## orador223 (May 1, 2013)

NewFishFiend said:


> i just got a chance to watch the video. Something definitely ain't right and he is breathing mighty heavily. Any other fish have symptoms? I'm gonna do some research. Is he eating?


nope no other fish have these symptoms
He's not eating either
I'm thinking it's an internal parasite, i'm going to buy some seachem paraguard tomorrow


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## NewFishFiend (Feb 21, 2013)

orador223 said:


> nope no other fish have these symptoms
> He's not eating either
> I'm thinking it's an internal parasite, i'm going to buy some seachem paraguard tomorrow


If it is internal parasites his poop will be clearish white. Seriously the ammonia level in your tank is too high. .25 is bad, .5 is deadly.


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## NewFishFiend (Feb 21, 2013)

Nothing about this fish looks like internal parasites.


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## orador223 (May 1, 2013)

NewFishFiend said:


> Nothing about this fish looks like internal parasites.


Other people have told me internal parasites. My ammonia has been around .25 for months now and I haven't lost a single fish yet, so the ammonia probably isn't the problem


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## NewFishFiend (Feb 21, 2013)

I strongly disagree with ammonia not being a problem. It needs to be zero; however, this is your tank to do as you please.


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## orador223 (May 1, 2013)

NewFishFiend said:


> I strongly disagree with ammonia not being a problem. It needs to be zero; however, this is your tank to do as you please.


It has been zero on most tests, but this is probably caused by internal parasites as the fish isn't eating and is very emaciated


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## orador223 (May 1, 2013)

But I will keep doing water changes as that should bring the ammonia levels down. Along with seachem paraguard and aquarium salt


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## NewFishFiend (Feb 21, 2013)

Another suggestion may be swim bladder problems? Poor guy  i love bolivian rams. I want to help you. Ima keep researching :/ im looking at fishfarmacy.com. I did find out that the rocking back and forth is called "shimmying" so that may help in our research.


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## orador223 (May 1, 2013)

NewFishFiend said:


> Another suggestion may be swim bladder problems? Poor guy  i love bolivian rams. I want to help you. Ima keep researching :/ im looking at fishfarmacy.com. I did find out that the rocking back and forth is called "shimmying" so that may help in our research.


Yep, shimmying is the first thing i thought of in all of my research today, that's why i loaded the quarantine with aquarium salt, which i don't use in my main tank, so the fish could get some electrolytes


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## orador223 (May 1, 2013)

If it's swim bladder, then paraguard will help. Paraguard is an excellent med


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## NewFishFiend (Feb 21, 2013)

orador223 said:


> If it's swim bladder, then paraguard will help. Paraguard is an excellent med


At this point, I don't think it will hurt :/ I hope he makes it. keep us updated.


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## orador223 (May 1, 2013)

NewFishFiend said:


> At this point, I don't think it will hurt :/ I hope he makes it. keep us updated.


Will do, hopefully he can hold out another 7-8 hours for some intense help to arrive. 

Freshwater Fish Disease and Treatment Chart - Live Fish | Pet Care Corner by PetSolutions - PetSolutions Blog

this chart says to use rid ich+ for the shimmies, not sure how that would help, but i actually do have a bottle of that at home, should i put some in? Or hold out for the paraguard?


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## NewFishFiend (Feb 21, 2013)

Man, I wish I knew.... It would help if you could see his poop. Internal parasites nearly always cause poop to be white and stringy. 

Have you tried bribing him with something tasty to eat?


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## Austin (Feb 1, 2010)

Your ammonia should be 0... Either your tests are off, you're not performing them correctly, or something is seriously wrong with your fish tank.

It's not okay to be that high. Whether or not that is the issue with your fish idk. It seems strange that that's the only fish that has it. 

I don't have enough experience with disease to feel comfortable giving you advice but the ammonia is a problem, be it a separate problem or the cause of this problem.


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## Boscobear (Jan 7, 2012)

Do a water change first, at least 25% of the aquarium. Make sure your new water is the correct temp. and you use a good dechlorinator. Next, Rams love to duck, and hide, give the fish somewhere to go, and get out of your face. Don't forget to clean your filter when you change the water.
If the fish continues this 24 hours after the water change , you can look for other problems, and medicate. Lets not just start to dump in meds before we add clean fresh water. There is more to water than what we test. 

Is this fish eating?


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## Boscobear (Jan 7, 2012)

Just read back on your post, when exactly did the species M.Ramirezi become a salt water fish? I must have missed that one. 

M.Ramirezi loves fresh soft acidic water. The salt is burning the heck out of the gill filaments. Ouch 

The big secret is clean fresh water, and a lot of it. They will even live in a higher Ph if it is kept clean, and fresh.


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## BarbH (May 23, 2011)

How is the fish doing? A few questions, how long have you had this fish for? How long has it not been eating for? Can't get a good view of the side of the fish to tell if it is looking bloated or emaciated. When you moved the ram to the qt tank did you move any filter media over? If not and if the tank has not been cycled you will need to keep an eye on the parameters. What types of food have you been feeding before symtoms appeared? Also any changes to the tank before sysmptoms appeared?


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## orador223 (May 1, 2013)

Boscobear said:


> Just read back on your post, when exactly did the species M.Ramirezi become a salt water fish? I must have missed that one.
> 
> M.Ramirezi loves fresh soft acidic water. The salt is burning the heck out of the gill filaments. Ouch
> 
> The big secret is clean fresh water, and a lot of it. They will even live in a higher Ph if it is kept clean, and fresh.


This isn't marine salt buddy. You've never heard of API Aquarium salt? It's for freshwater tanks and provides the fish with many essential electrolytes. 

I do a 25%-50% water change weekly. And i'm doing a 20-25% daily in this tank since I don't have another filter for the tank, all i have is a heater and air stone+air pump for this tank.


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## orador223 (May 1, 2013)

BarbH said:


> How is the fish doing? A few questions, how long have you had this fish for? How long has it not been eating for? Can't get a good view of the side of the fish to tell if it is looking bloated or emaciated. When you moved the ram to the qt tank did you move any filter media over? If not and if the tank has not been cycled you will need to keep an eye on the parameters. What types of food have you been feeding before symtoms appeared? Also any changes to the tank before sysmptoms appeared?


Still alive, slightly more active than yesterday. Had the fish for about a month and a half. It's looking emaciated, but breathing heavily and rocking back and forth. I used water from my main tank in the QT, so the parameters are good. Ammonia is about .10ish with the 25% wc i did in the QT. It's not eating peas or the regular fish food today and i've also tried feeding it peas with no luck. Only other thing i've moved to the QT is a lava rock. I used the regular dosage of Seachem Paraguard in the tank today.


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## Boscobear (Jan 7, 2012)

yes, I have heard of API Salt. LOL Been doing this before your birth.

Just tried to help


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## ChuckinMA (Nov 28, 2012)

Sorry to hear it. I know from having Bolivian Rams that it's easy to become attached to them. Do his eyes still look clear? Any cloudiness?


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## orador223 (May 1, 2013)

ChuckinMA said:


> Sorry to hear it. I know from having Bolivian Rams that it's easy to become attached to them. Do his eyes still look clear? Any cloudiness?


He passed a few days ago..


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## Boscobear (Jan 7, 2012)

*Practical Method for Salt Bath*

Salt dip:

2 tablespoons per gallon water. ANY salt so long as there are no anti-clog additives. , cooking salt is cheaper.

Mix salt in a clean bucket with dechlorinated water of the same temp as the fish's tank. Net the fish and place it into bucket. After 30 mins remove the fish and move fish back to its tank with new clean water, BUT if the fish rolls over before the 30 minutes is up, then remove it straight away to the clean unsalted water.

Normally while doing the water change give the Aquarium a good through cleaning, or put the fish into a newly setup cycled tank, but not everyone has the added tankage.

The salt dip can be repeated daily (even twice daily) if needed for as long as necessary (well easily 2 weeks).

It is typical to see the fish will drop slime, normally do another mini w/c an hour or so after to remove any slime if its visible.


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