Re: more dead Rams :(

[Wright Huntley <huntley@ix.netcom.com>]

winston wrote:
> 
> My condolences first of all, I had just lost two of three of my recently
> acquired Rams.  The third seems to be fine and quite active.  He has 11
> Flame Tetras for company in a 33 gal tank and I was wondering, should I
> get some tank mates of his own kind?  It distresses me so because his
> 'girlfriend', the healthiest eater of the bunch, has sadly departed as
> well.  My pH had dropped to 5.5, the embarrassment, might this have
> caused their unfortunate demise?

That pH is unhealthy for some fish, but probably not lethal to Rams if
it got there slowly.

Is it possible that Rams are unusually sensitive to gill flukes or
related parasites? Some of these descriptions are suggestive, so a quick
microscopic exam on a terminal, but alive, fish would seem to be called
for. Snipping a bit of gill tissue from a live fish is not for the
squeemish, but it's the only method I know for positive diagnosis.

Wright

- -- 
Wright Huntley, Fremont CA, USA, 510 494-8679 huntley@ix.netcom.com
"Quantum electrodynamics (QED): the dreams stuff is made of."