Should I replace one of a pair of fish?

[The Miniaturist]

Sadly my German Ram male died yesterday. 😞 Only a couple of days ago he was sailing round trying his best to woo his female.
Then I noticed he had become pale & lethargic so I took him out & put him in a hospital tank but he continued to deteriorate & died.
He may not have been the best quality fish but he gave me 4½ years of pleasure watching his antics & I'm quite upset that he's gone. 😢
The problem I now have is the female became very anxious & stressed as soon as I took him out to the point where she spent the whole day glass surfing at the front of the tank.
The tank is 57l, well planted originally holding the pair of rams and a 7+ yrs old male cherry barb.
So, do I leave the female on her own with the cherry barb & hope she calms down.
Obtain another male who would be younger than her & I'd end up with a solitary fish again, assuming they got on together.
Or buy a few small fish to make her feel safer. Though they're likely just to disappear into the plants when they are settled.
Any suggestions are welcome!

RIP little buddy.

 

[Tim Harrison]

If it were me, I'd get her a mate.

 

[Gill]

Could you get a face on shot at all, just wondering if she is just showing signs of age or something else. Which may explain the males sudden death.
Have a look at HITH

 

[The Miniaturist]

I did consider hole in the head @Gill but I have only seen photos of massive lesions on fish like oscars & other large cichlids. Those dots you highlighted on his head had been there a long time at that size. The female has a blunt round nose (an age thing I suppose) but she won't stay still long enough for a photo!
That's partly why I'm not sure what to do as rams don't seem to be very robust nowadays.

 

[MichaelJ]

It's certainly possible to introduce a new male. There might be a little bit of wrangling before they eventually pair up - which may happen quickly or take a while.... It looks like your tank is pretty densely planted so as long as there are hiding places for the one initially being chased it should be fine. I would get a male that is about the same size as the one that died.

Cheers,
Michael