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I just bought a German ram two days ago, and I'm not quite sure if I acclimated him well or not. I've heard too much about German rams dying of shock/stress upon being introduced to a tank, so I'm trying to make sure that doesn't happen.
My fish seems to be very happy, he swims all around the lower levels of the tank. He is not afraid of anything, and isn't bothered at all by my tetras or bristlenose. The little guy has eaten a few times, though he won't swim to the top of the tank for food just yet. He does search the bottom for food though, and tastes everything that looks even remotely like grub. His colors are very bright, and the fish seems pretty healthy all around. However, I'm concerned about his breathing. He has been breathing rather rapidly since I added him, so I'm concerned that he is still in shock from the move. Is this normal ram behavior, or is he still somewhat stressed? Is there anything I can do to help him?

Here is a picture of the fish. I finally got him to stay still. Please disregard the bright background, it's the fish that counts!

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

He looks great! I think the 'heavy breathing' is a fairly normal pattern for Rams; if all else is well, I wouldn't be concerned. Test for nitrates from time to time; that seems to be a sensitivity for them. BTW, it's very common to see them in the lower levels. They don't like to venture north very often. You may occasionally want to supplement their diet with some sinking tablets, as well as a little live food (such as brine shrimp) here and there.

My Rams all look like they're breathing fast, all the time, and they never come to the surface for food*. Your Ram indeed looks to be happy and healthy.

Now, if he weren't happy - and I would say that that Ram is a male - you'd see heavily faded colors. On all of my Rams, this fading goes to the eyes first, so that a nervous Ram's red eyes have an additional ring of gold color (in addition to the red). I have to admit that the only stressing my Rams have ever expressed is from territorial squabbles, though.

*The Rams I've had wouldn't even take a bite off the surface if they were driven to the surface by territorial squabbles. They'll eat food near the surface, but some of it has to be immersed in water.

The vertical eye stripe, I believe, is the signature stress measuring device on Germans.

Last edited by Cup_of_Lifenoodles at 17-Nov-2004 10:18

Thanks for the input, I really hope he is doing well. I eventually want to add a female, and then I'll try (for the first time) to spawn some fish! I don't know if it will work in such a high pH though... (8.1)

I've got the little fellow hooked up with frozen brine shrimp and freeze dried tubifex worms. My greedy lemon tetras steal almost all of the food that enters the water, so I've got the ram hooked up with a special system. I snipped off a little bit of tubing, and I slip the worms down to the ram that way. The tetras don't stand a chance!]

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."