breeding pair of Rams WOO HOO - Aquarium Advice

04-03-2004, 12:10 PM

After researching German Blue Rams for a while I decided to get a couple a month ago. I figured I'd observe the two I had for a while. If they do well, I'd add two more.

Well the two I have are a breeding pair. What are the odds of that? These are only juvies about 3/4" long. Thier color has intesified so much. They have a nest in a small dish of a rock with micro sword for cover.

Its amazing to watch the two of them defend thier nest. One seats on the nest at all times, while the other one swims throughout the tank feeding on plants. If anything comes near the nest, the one watching the nest extends its dorsal fine and defends it. Even if the mate is feeding on the other side of the tank, it some how nows and is there in no time to help defend the nest. Rams are some awesome parents. It's really interesting to watch them.

Sadly its a community tank and I highly doubted I would get a breeding pair, so I doubt I get any fry. Looks like I'll have to set the [acronym:76a0a56e08="quarantine or quart depending on context"]QT[/acronym:76a0a56e08] tank up for a Ram breeding tank

Rams are my new favorite fish. I'm going to the [acronym:76a0a56e08="Local Fish Store"]LFS[/acronym:76a0a56e08] today to get two more

Allivymar · 04-03-2004, 12:18 PM

Oh yay! Heh, I went thru the same thing with my Bolivians. Swore they were too young to breed; they didn't get the memo and laid eggs a week after I got them [acronym:d2cccc170c="Laughing out loud"]LOL[/acronym:d2cccc170c]

So I'm unclear; do they have eggs? Or wigglers? How far along are things? What tankmates?

04-03-2004, 02:27 PM

Its difficult to tell at this point if theres any wigglers. I noticed them nest a couple of days ago, so they still might be in the egg stage.

For tank mates, there are 6 glowlight tetra, 3 or 4 ghost shrimp, a chinese algae eater and the pair of german rams in a 37g.

The [acronym:0a9e5b6206="Chinese Algae Eater"]CAE[/acronym:0a9e5b6206] is the problem, he got into the nest. You should have seen these juvie rams attack this 3" long [acronym:0a9e5b6206="Chinese Algae Eater"]CAE[/acronym:0a9e5b6206]. I was very impressed at how much the rams stood there ground, or water should I say (ERR). I think I might have a chance at getting some fry if it were'nt for the [acronym:0a9e5b6206="Chinese Algae Eater"]CAE[/acronym:0a9e5b6206].

Today is my weekly water change. While I'm at it, I am going to relocate the [acronym:0a9e5b6206="Chinese Algae Eater"]CAE[/acronym:0a9e5b6206] to another tank. I figure it's worth a shot.

Any suggestions on an algae eater? I was considering an apple snail. They should be pretty good in a community tank??

Allivymar · 04-03-2004, 04:04 PM

If the eggs were laid a couple of days ago, you likely have wigglers already. Take a good look at the "eggs" and see if they are...well..wiggling [acronym:9d0d321abb="Laughing out loud"]LOL[/acronym:9d0d321abb] the eggs generally hatch in 48 hours, although in my tanks its more like 36. Its usually 7 days from laying to free swimming (6 in my case). Make sure you have food ready!

I'm not sure if I'd suggest an algae eater. I've discovered a tank with a healthy growth of algae is a great place for cichlid fry. They usually eat microorganisms initially (as well as baby brine shrimp), and I know my angelfish fry would chow on the algae on the sides of my tank like a chinese buffet [acronym:9d0d321abb="Laughing out loud"]LOL[/acronym:9d0d321abb]

You might want to look into some amano shrimp tho, if you really want an algae eater badly. They won't bother the fry or eggs.

04-03-2004, 08:23 PM

It's to difficult to tell. The rams have nested on a bowled out part of lace rock, with micro sword around it. The micro sword is providing to much cover to really tell if there are eggs or wigglers. One or both rams continue to seat on the nest, so I have my fingers crossed.

Today was my scheduled weekly water change. Water para's were nice, so I only did a 10-15% [acronym:5ff173b2fe="Wild Caught"]WC[/acronym:5ff173b2fe] instead of the normal 25%. Dossing with ferts for the plants. I did'nt even bother to do my weekly plant trimming. Trying not to stress the nest to much.

When I put an order in for plants. I had a couple of cherry shrimp and a couple of tiger shrimp tossed in as well. Seeing how I was already paying for shipping.

Sadly those are now gone. I suspect an airline flight as well as being introduced to a freshly started planted aquarium did them in. The cherry shrimp are incredible algae eaters. unfortantly, I can't find them locally.

There's a really expensive aquarium store here locally that I buy all my fish from. They have beautiful [acronym:5ff173b2fe="Saltwater"]SW[/acronym:5ff173b2fe] and [acronym:5ff173b2fe="Freshwater"]FW[/acronym:5ff173b2fe] tanks. I do'nt mind paying .50-2.00$ more for healthy fish. Equipment on the other hand would give a knowledgable fish keeper a heart attack, literally. I'll see if they can special order me some [acronym:5ff173b2fe="Freshwater"]FW[/acronym:5ff173b2fe] shrimp.

Thanks for the help. Anyone else out there have any opinions?

04-03-2004, 12:10 PM	#1
Guest Posts: n/a	breeding pair of Rams WOO HOO After researching German Blue Rams for a while I decided to get a couple a month ago. I figured I'd observe the two I had for a while. If they do well, I'd add two more. Well the two I have are a breeding pair. What are the odds of that? These are only juvies about 3/4" long. Thier color has intesified so much. They have a nest in a small dish of a rock with micro sword for cover. Its amazing to watch the two of them defend thier nest. One seats on the nest at all times, while the other one swims throughout the tank feeding on plants. If anything comes near the nest, the one watching the nest extends its dorsal fine and defends it. Even if the mate is feeding on the other side of the tank, it some how nows and is there in no time to help defend the nest. Rams are some awesome parents. It's really interesting to watch them. Sadly its a community tank and I highly doubted I would get a breeding pair, so I doubt I get any fry. Looks like I'll have to set the [acronym:76a0a56e08="quarantine or quart depending on context"]QT[/acronym:76a0a56e08] tank up for a Ram breeding tank Rams are my new favorite fish. I'm going to the [acronym:76a0a56e08="Local Fish Store"]LFS[/acronym:76a0a56e08] today to get two more

04-03-2004, 12:18 PM	#2
Allivymar Aquarium Advice Addict Moderator Emeritus Join Date: May 2003 Location: NY Posts: 4,355 Images: 15	Oh yay! Heh, I went thru the same thing with my Bolivians. Swore they were too young to breed; they didn't get the memo and laid eggs a week after I got them [acronym:d2cccc170c="Laughing out loud"]LOL[/acronym:d2cccc170c] So I'm unclear; do they have eggs? Or wigglers? How far along are things? What tankmates? __________________ aka Cycling Guru and the Ich Slayer glares at Terry and QTOFFER Card carrying member of FTAS & GCAS.

04-03-2004, 04:04 PM	#4
Allivymar Aquarium Advice Addict Moderator Emeritus Join Date: May 2003 Location: NY Posts: 4,355 Images: 15	If the eggs were laid a couple of days ago, you likely have wigglers already. Take a good look at the "eggs" and see if they are...well..wiggling [acronym:9d0d321abb="Laughing out loud"]LOL[/acronym:9d0d321abb] the eggs generally hatch in 48 hours, although in my tanks its more like 36. Its usually 7 days from laying to free swimming (6 in my case). Make sure you have food ready! I'm not sure if I'd suggest an algae eater. I've discovered a tank with a healthy growth of algae is a great place for cichlid fry. They usually eat microorganisms initially (as well as baby brine shrimp), and I know my angelfish fry would chow on the algae on the sides of my tank like a chinese buffet [acronym:9d0d321abb="Laughing out loud"]LOL[/acronym:9d0d321abb] You might want to look into some amano shrimp tho, if you really want an algae eater badly. They won't bother the fry or eggs. __________________ aka Cycling Guru and the Ich Slayer glares at Terry and QTOFFER Card carrying member of FTAS & GCAS.

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04-03-2004, 02:27 PM	#3
Guest Posts: n/a	Its difficult to tell at this point if theres any wigglers. I noticed them nest a couple of days ago, so they still might be in the egg stage. For tank mates, there are 6 glowlight tetra, 3 or 4 ghost shrimp, a chinese algae eater and the pair of german rams in a 37g. The [acronym:0a9e5b6206="Chinese Algae Eater"]CAE[/acronym:0a9e5b6206] is the problem, he got into the nest. You should have seen these juvie rams attack this 3" long [acronym:0a9e5b6206="Chinese Algae Eater"]CAE[/acronym:0a9e5b6206]. I was very impressed at how much the rams stood there ground, or water should I say (ERR). I think I might have a chance at getting some fry if it were'nt for the [acronym:0a9e5b6206="Chinese Algae Eater"]CAE[/acronym:0a9e5b6206]. Today is my weekly water change. While I'm at it, I am going to relocate the [acronym:0a9e5b6206="Chinese Algae Eater"]CAE[/acronym:0a9e5b6206] to another tank. I figure it's worth a shot. Any suggestions on an algae eater? I was considering an apple snail. They should be pretty good in a community tank??

04-03-2004, 08:23 PM	#5
Guest Posts: n/a	It's to difficult to tell. The rams have nested on a bowled out part of lace rock, with micro sword around it. The micro sword is providing to much cover to really tell if there are eggs or wigglers. One or both rams continue to seat on the nest, so I have my fingers crossed. Today was my scheduled weekly water change. Water para's were nice, so I only did a 10-15% [acronym:5ff173b2fe="Wild Caught"]WC[/acronym:5ff173b2fe] instead of the normal 25%. Dossing with ferts for the plants. I did'nt even bother to do my weekly plant trimming. Trying not to stress the nest to much. When I put an order in for plants. I had a couple of cherry shrimp and a couple of tiger shrimp tossed in as well. Seeing how I was already paying for shipping. Sadly those are now gone. I suspect an airline flight as well as being introduced to a freshly started planted aquarium did them in. The cherry shrimp are incredible algae eaters. unfortantly, I can't find them locally. There's a really expensive aquarium store here locally that I buy all my fish from. They have beautiful [acronym:5ff173b2fe="Saltwater"]SW[/acronym:5ff173b2fe] and [acronym:5ff173b2fe="Freshwater"]FW[/acronym:5ff173b2fe] tanks. I do'nt mind paying .50-2.00$ more for healthy fish. Equipment on the other hand would give a knowledgable fish keeper a heart attack, literally. I'll see if they can special order me some [acronym:5ff173b2fe="Freshwater"]FW[/acronym:5ff173b2fe] shrimp. Thanks for the help. Anyone else out there have any opinions?