Going bigger

[plankton]

I'll believe you!

[Si4geckos]

I'll believe you!

I'm glad somebody does. I'm questioning it myself!

[Si4geckos]

Weird things happening in the big tank. Rams are all of a sudden not doing well. 2 days I noticed one had a little lump above its eye. Didn't look fungissy, wondered if an injury. Yesterday I found the other German blue ram dead. Today the one with the nic above its eye is sat gasping on the floor under a Bush and one of the electric blue rams has the gills flared up. Wondering if they're all maturing and a killer is on the loose? Or if its something else?

Water has 10-20 ppm nitrates and none of the bad stuff. PH has lowered down to about 6.4 after I added a bit more bog wood for the new L397s. Everyone else in the tank seems fine. Just numerous rams have all gona downhill in the last 48hrs. I expect to pull another body out at least tomorrow. Who knows. Weird.

[plankton]

Sorry for your losses.
Is one of the rams particularly perky?
Have you got any other cichlids, I can't remember?

[Si4geckos]

Sorry for your losses.
Is one of the rams particularly perky?
Have you got any other cichlids, I can't remember?

I did have 7 rams, now down to 6. Not seen any be particularly aggressive. The odd tiny spat/ spar off, but nothing too major (although not spent huge amounts of time in front of the tank this week) and they generally stick to their own third of the tank. No other cichlids.
Cories, swortails, congo tetras, cardinal, rummy noses, rams, panaqolus, brochis, think that's about it.

[Si4geckos]

Still with us today, but sat on the floor gasping a bit. This is the one with a mark above/behind the eye. Seen a pair of golds looking like they're ready to spawn, 2 blues are still there and the other gold female that the 2 GBRs fought over may or may not be in there. Hides a lot and hard to tell apart from the other golds.

[plankton]

I'm going to guess fisticuffs. They always go for the gills and eyes if they're serious.
(Especially if they're spawning)

[BigBen]

Is that not hole in the head disease? I've been doing some reading on it recently as I was worried about one of my discus and it kind of looks a bit like it?

HITH itself isn't contagious, but if that was a greater issue it would show in more than one fish. I seems something the other day that rams, Oscars and discus were particularly susceptible to it.

[plankton]

It could be Ben, but that's usually because the diet is rubbish (something missing), and I don't think that's the case, unless it's being starved by the other rams?
I agree that cichlids are more prone (also loaches) than other fish though. If it is Hex, then it's very early. May be worth getting the treatment in.

[BigBen]

I think @black ghost is the cichlid man, he may know more. I'm not sure a treatment is good unless we know for certain?