Anyone here breed Bolivian Rams?

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Mrs.h2012

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I recently got a Bolivian ram over the weekend and I have absolutely fell in love with it. I am by far more amazed by it than any other fish. I currently have him in a 30g with 5 cories, 6 serpae tetras, a balloon Molly and an albino pleco. Tonight I just had the idea I wanted to breed them, the more and more I think about it the more I want to do it. I have a local pet store that I haven't spoken with yet, but I'm pretty sure that they would take or buy the rams, they've told me before they have an individual you breeds angels for them. I have another 30g that I was given that is just sitting, I also have a 55g that I'm working on finding a hood for to set up as my main community tank. Would love to hear advice/suggestions/opinions on this, as far as info on breeding them and what you have found helps you while breeding. Ok go!
 
i have bred rams before, i bought about a dozen of them and i watched till i was fortunateto see a pair start to push others away
 
biss444 said:
i have bred rams before, i bought about a dozen of them and i watched till i was fortunateto see a pair start to push others away

So from your experience, would a 30g suffice as a breeding tank? Ideally I would like to give this a trial run to see how it goes in my spare 30g (I'm hoping to find a hood for my 55g soon so I can get it going, I have everything else for it already). I'm thinking to get a few rams (maybe up to 4 rams... What would you recommend?) and put them in my spare 30g and if any pair up I would put the ones that's don't pair back in the community tank and leave the pair alone in the 30. Would it be ok to have little to no plants and substrate since its serving as a breeding tank or would I need substrate and plants?
 
I'm about to attempt breeding German blue's and golden rams. From what I'v learned one of the most important things is where you get you stock from. Make sure that the fish your buying aren't from an Asian breeder. They use a hormone that makes the fish color up at a younger age. This causes fertility problems. So a U.S. breeder is the way to go. I'v been looking at Www.oddballfish.com they have a breeding program in place and from what I hear. Are excellent suppliers. I think rivercats told me about them. We will have to compare notes. If you try something that works. I would love to know about it. I'll do the same. Good luck!!
 
phishfriend said:
I'm about to attempt breeding German blue's and golden rams. From what I'v learned one of the most important things is where you get you stock from. Make sure that the fish your buying aren't from an Asian breeder. They use a hormone that makes the fish color up at a younger age. This causes fertility problems. So a U.S. breeder is the way to go. I'v been looking at Www.oddballfish.com they have a breeding program in place and from what I hear. Are excellent suppliers. I think rivercats told me about them. We will have to compare notes. If you try something that works. I would love to know about it. I'll do the same. Good luck!!

My goal is to get my 55g up and going as my community tank and have both my 30g's going specifically for the rams, one 30g for breeding and one 30g for the fry tank. I will check out the breeding program from oddballfish.com, thanks!
 
actually no substrate is best, i would put slate, rocks and clay dish and or pot in the tank, if you use clay make sure you use one that has never been used for plants, because any fertilizer in that clay would seep into water.i used sponge filters they work great and are fry safe,30 gallon is plenty big, the more you buy the better chance, buy for or five if nothing happens buy a couple more . if your starting a new tank make sure you get it cycled before you try to breed. in breeding tanks its not about the look, but you can throw some plants in there to add something.
 
biss444 said:
actually no substrate is best, i would put slate, rocks and clay dish and or pot in the tank, if you use clay make sure you use one that has never been used for plants, because any fertilizer in that clay would seep into water.i used sponge filters they work great and are fry safe,30 gallon is plenty big, the more you buy the better chance, buy for or five if nothing happens buy a couple more . if your starting a new tank make sure you get it cycled before you try to breed. in breeding tanks its not about the look, but you can throw some plants in there to add something.

Cycling won't be a problem, I have a cycled 30g and a 10g I can pull media from :) so would it be ok to just go to walmart and buy a new clay pot? All the free ones I would have access to have all had plants in them at some point.
 
yeah thats good, i use to take my sponge filters that have been in cycled tanks and put them in a new tank to get the proccess going quicker
 
nothing like seeing it in action, its amazing to watch how they tend to eggs then young
 
yup they do that for to reasons, to retieve them and to actually clean them, i had parents suck in for or five and kind of move around in mouth but then spit them out
 
That is so cool! I've briefly read about their behavior during breeding and once the eggs hatch, and I'm very very intrigued!
 
yup its great, sometimes though you get a pair that it takes a while to get it right, had a pair of keyhole cichlids, took them about 7 or 8 times before they got fertile eggs,
 
Hey I haven't bred Bolivians but I have bred german blue rams.here's an article I wrote: BREEDING GERMAN BLUE RAMS

German blue rams are suprisingly easy once you have an established pair. GBR grow to about six to seven centimetres. They like to eat bloodworms and flakes, river shrimp and lots more! The cons of these stunning looking fish is that they need pristine water quality. They're colouring is unique with their shimmering blue scales. They can breed as early on as four months but usually from six months +.
SEXING:
The female fish is smaller than the male and have more of a pink underbelly in her ventral region. If you look at the anterior region of the dorsal fin, you can see that her fin rays are less developed. It is also common for females to have a plumper body shape and more rounded edging of the tailfin. The back of the dorsal and anal fins have a more pointy edge in the male ram, and the tail fin is also more sharply edged. The male ram can be recognized on his V-shaped tail fin and the elongated second ray that is present in the dorsal fin.
BREEDING
When its time for breeding, the red patch on the belly of the female will grow bigger and become much brighter than normally. A flat stone will be cleaned or a pit will be dug out by either of the pair. The couple will also start nudging each other and/or twirling, and the male fish can dart away at a high pace or slide against the body of the female fish
During spawning, the female will place small adhesive eggs on the flat stones or in the small pits. The eggs are 0.9-1.5 mm in length (0.035-0.059 inches). A typical batch will consist of 150-300 eggs, but some batches contain no more than 20 eggs while others contain over 500 eggs.

Both the male and the female fish should be allowed to stay with the offspring because this species practise biparental brood care and the parents work together to care for the eggs and guard the territory. A parent will fan fresh water over the eggs to prevent attacks from fungi and bacteria. The parents will also eat unfertile eggs to prevent them from turning into breeding grounds for pathogens.

The eggs will normally hatch within 40 hours if the water is kept in the upper part of the recommended temperature range. It will then take roughly 5 days before the offspring becomes free swimming. The free swimming fry will be kept in a dense school and be cared for by the parents. They will be escorted by their mother or father during foraging.

Don’t lose heart if the first few spawnings are unsuccessful. A lot of things can go wrong and it is common for German blue rams to spawn a few times before they get everything right. They might for instance eat a few batches before they become good parents. Once they have started breeding, you can however expect a new batch once a month or so. Young pairs are known to fight quite a lot and the aquarium must contain plenty of hiding spots to avoid stress and injury.

If your couple continues to eat their offspring even after several spawnings it can be a sight of distress in the aquarium. Try to figure out what stresses your fish and do your best to make the aquarium more relaxing for them.
 
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