Rams breeding?

[Burger Wife]

Hi, I have a 20g high with 10 pygmy cories and a leopard Cory and a pair of rams. Well today I found a hole in the sand and read that sometimes when rams breed they will dig holes in the substrate. But the rams do not stay near the hole, they just swim around like normal. Are they about to spawn??

 

[Andy Sager]

Not necessarily. They make those craters to feel secure and just hang out in them. Rams tend to use a rock or some surface to spawn on and not just the sand pit.
My tank of 6 wild rams is full of those pot holes from the fish just making themselves comfortable.

 

[Burger Wife]

Ohh ok
Then I found some eggs I think on a rock, but they seem sort of whitish and the parents don't seem to be near them often or protect it in any way. Does white mean unfertilized? Why do the rams not protect the eggs? A few times I saw my leopard Cory go very near the eggs, even onto the patch of eggs, and the parents were just like "oh ok" and didn't chase him away or anything. Why?

 

[Andy Sager]

Yes, white means the eggs are dead but it could be for a few different reasons not just unfertilized. Domesticated Rams do not have the best track record of parenting which may be what you are witnessing. Pro breeders will keep the rams in a tank by themselves to help avoid any issues by other fish in the tank or use "dither" fish, such as Tetras, so that it helps encourage the parents to protect their eggs while not being in the same area as the eggs. Bottom fish are a more present danger for eggs and can bully the parents away from their spawn.
If this is your pair's first spawn, I wouldn't be concerned that it was a loss. It may happen a few more times before the fish get the act of spawning down pat.