German Blue Ram Discussion

[Blazeherd2306]

Sorry for the loss. How long did it live? I've had my bolivian for about two months now.

 

[cinciboy]

Sorry for the loss. How long did it live? I've had my bolivian for about two months now.

Two Months.. I got another one which is very healthy..

 

[Blazeherd2306]

After my German Blue died, I decided to get a bolivian and its doing good so far.

 

[talloulou]

Nice closeup!

 

[Jchillin]

I am sorry to hear about the Ram Cinciboy. This is the reason this thread was started. Why do they meet their demise so quickly and suddenly. Keep tuned...I'm researching everything I can my hands on.

Blazeherd...nice looking bolivian. He has no tankmate?

Talloulou - I saw the pics of your firemouth in the gallery. Very nice.

 

[Blazeherd2306]

Just 3 zebra danios, 2 otos. I'm trying to find a larger tankin the newspaper, so I can add more rams, which leads me to a question. I've never kept more than 1 so, would it be better to have 1 male and 2 females or does it matter?

 

[cinciboy]

Blazeherd2306, watch out ur Ram.. it looks lot blacker.. thats not a good sign.. Mine lot blacker by every day before dying.. my other Bolivian Ram is silver and shiny.. IHTH

 

[Blazeherd2306]

cinciboy-going to do a PWC today, but I'll watch carefully.

 

[Jchillin]

I've never kept more than 1 so, would it be better to have 1 male and 2 females or does it matter?

At this point, it depends on how long he's been alone. Adding additional ones may create territorial issues. If you do, always have 2f:1m ratios. Acclimate and then turn off lights...a small change in the aquascape may also help.

BTW...I couldn't tell if your Ram is dark as cinciboy mentions...possibly due to the lighting of the pic.

 

[cinciboy]

My healthy one[/img]

 

[Meredith]

I'm really sorry to hear about your ram cinciboy.

 

[cinciboy]

I've never kept more than 1 so, would it be better to have 1 male and 2 females or does it matter?

At this point, it depends on how long he's been alone. Adding additional ones may create territorial issues. If you do, always have 2f:1m ratios. Acclimate and then turn off lights...a small change in the aquascape may also help.

BTW...I couldn't tell if your Ram is dark as cinciboy mentions...possibly due to the lighting of the pic.

I agree.. it may be due to the light. But if u feel it is getting blacker then u are in trouble.. watch out.

 

[Meredith]

Ok every one, I need your input. When I got my rams I really did not want to breed them at all. Now though, I am thinking more and more about trying. Even if they do decide to do it on their own, Im not sure the eggs would survive in my water as its pretty hard.
My params:
ph:7.6
kh:180ppm
gh:150ppm

IF I try to soften my water I would want to do it very gradually and as naturally as possible. Is is worth it for me to give this a try or should I just forget the whole thing and be happy with what I have?

 

[Jchillin]

Usually, softening the water is done in the species only tank, to avoid creating problems with the community tank. You can get a successful spawn with your current ph, since the 6.5 - 6.8 is only noted as an "ideal" ph for the eggs.

You can try artificially raising the eggs and fry in their own tank as Billsgate (Thomas) has done with his keyhole cichlids.

HTH.

 

[mumrah]

Well, since i've started injecting co2, the ph hasnt changed at all (which is good) and i'm noticing a little bit of plant color improvement.

My rams however, are still refusing to spawn! I've been trying to think of what it is that i did to induce spawning the first time, and what is different from then.

The only thing i can think of is, since they spawned the first time i've significantly upgraded my lights. I was running 2 15W incandescents, and now run 2 20W mini 50/50 CF. Could the light possibly contribute to their refusal to spawn? There are plenty of broad leaved plants in there to provide shade, not to mention 2 caves.

Mabye i'm just trying too hard. Or maybe i'm expecting results too soon.

oh well

 

[Jchillin]

The light wouldn't have an affect on their breeding. Either they are too young, not interested in each other or at the very least, unable to.

What is their approximate age?

 

[mumrah]

one is much younger than the other. the male i've had for ~6 months and he was mature when i recieved him. the female i got ~1 month ago, and she is still a juvinile (about 50% smaller than the male). I thought she was too young to spawn until it happened the first time. i guess that was just a fluke.

 

[Jchillin]

I agree. The first spawning may have been premature (the female just releasing the eggs). The male may not even have attempted to fertilize them. In the whole, they may still be into the "getting to know you" phase. I'm sure the male is probably ready. Just waiting on her to "give the signal".

Which brings up another interesting thought. Is it possible that they have decided (either together or separately) not to spawn due to the timing of the first one and their age difference?

I'm off to ask this one of a breeder.

 

[mumrah]

The male may not even have attempted to fertilize them

Whereas this is entirely possible, the male did take part in guarding the eggs once laid. Both the male and female would take turns guarding and fanning the eggs for the 2 days they were present.

Unless that first spawning was a fluke, i'm led to believe i have an uninterested pair.

Btw, is there a good resource for blue rams on the net other than this thread and thekrib threads?

 

[Jchillin]

From all the googling I've done, most if not all the information I've seen is repeated from one webpage to the other. I've also noticed that much of it is rather dated and nothing more has been added.

I'm now looking for any new publications (books/mags/text) that has something useful.