Start over with apistos or blue rams?

[Mercury]

I killed my third ram (second to die). Symptoms before I decided to lay it to rest were severe emaciation, laying sideways against ground or in plants, not reactive to other tank mates or the tank net and its scales were sticking out from its body. It was smaller than the other Ram, so I suppose the big one kept harassing it and prevented it from eating. Same as the first dead one.
The first Ram was kind of weak to begin with, and the other was smaller, so what would happen if I got a healthy adult? Unfortunately, the only fish store around here that sells B. Rams only sell juveniles. I can't decide if I ought to start over with apistos or blue rams, or stick with bolivians.

 

[SinisterKisses]

That would depend on your water params...at this point there's no way to know if it was an unhealthy fish or water params that killed them. Scales sticking out from the body is not a sign of a fish who has starved to death.

 

[Mercury]

nitrate 5ppm, nitrite 0, hardness almost 0, alkalinity 80, pH 6.5. The pH is lower than I want it (6.8) but the other fish are totally fine. I was not aware of the pH drop until I tested it just now. A week ago I got some driftwood that must be lowering the pH.

 

[Orion]

Just to be blunt, any attempt at serious breeding from fish obtained from LFS most of the time is a waste. If you really want to breed healthy fish, it's worth the time and money to find a good breeder and get stock from them. Unfortunately this often means paying for shipping unless your lucky enough to have one close to you, or can get them at a show.

Blue Rams found in most stores are notorious for being weak from generations of being inbreed. If you want healthy rams you don't have to get wild ones, but get some F1 or F2's from a breeder. Most of the time they are cheaper than F0's (wilds) anyway.

If they fish was eating but still had a sunk in belly sounds like it might have had a type of IP. There are other causes, but that seems to be a common cause.

If it were me personally, I would go for some apisto's. Compared to the few apisto species I've kept to the Rams I've kept in the past, the apisto's had a TON more personality and were a lot more entertaining to watch IMHO.

To much food or built up piles of detrius can also lower the PH, so just make sure you don't have a built up of crud in the gravel or hiding in the tank before you blame the pH drop on the driftwood. Not saying it can't be the cause, just make sure it is. Else you'll set yourself up for a major tank crash shortly down the road.