Graybeard
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
jrp1588 said:
Did ya ever think that if you bought the fish from WallyWorld, you might just be doing the fish a favor???
Just a different perspective
German Blue Ram Discussion
- Thread starter Jchillin
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Did ya ever think that if you bought the fish from WallyWorld, you might just be doing the fish a favor???
Just a different perspective
Meredith
Aquarium Advice Addict
LindaC, I have had my pair, male and female, for almost a year.
There is hope
There is hope
maxwell1295
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Well, I lost both of my Walmart females...
The good news is that my 2 Petco famales and Petco males are doing great! They are swimming all over the tank and look very comfortable in their new home. Even the neons, which have been there for a while, seem happier now. I celebrate by treating them all to some frozen brine shrimp. Everybody is fat and happy now and the rams are really showing off their color. I'll be sure to mix some shrimp in a couple of times a week. I don't want them to get spoiled...
The good news is that my 2 Petco famales and Petco males are doing great! They are swimming all over the tank and look very comfortable in their new home. Even the neons, which have been there for a while, seem happier now. I celebrate by treating them all to some frozen brine shrimp. Everybody is fat and happy now and the rams are really showing off their color. I'll be sure to mix some shrimp in a couple of times a week. I don't want them to get spoiled...
jrp1588
Aquarium Advice Addict
Graybeard said:jrp1588 said:
Did ya ever think that if you bought the fish from WallyWorld, you might just be doing the fish a favor???
Just a different perspective
haha, very true, but someone else can spend their cash on that favor. lol
Skyrmir
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Well I thought I was doing good. Of my four GBR's I picked up from big Al's I still have all four...But that might not last much longer. One of the females is swimming vertical near the surface, and doing a bit of gasping. Her stomach seems a bit distended, but not hugely so. No scales standing up, but she does have a slight tear in one of her anal fins and her third spine on the dorsal fin appears to be nipped.
I didn't think much about the nipped dorsal because it was there when I got her, and it's just a tiny bit of the tip.
Well so much for that, just went to test the water before doing the water change and she's gone. Tests all look fine, ph7, nitrates 5, 3kh, 8gh and no nitrites or ammonia. The only fluctuations I've had were the temperature dropped down to 78 during our cold spike here in south Florida. It's back to 80 now, and usualy sits around 81-82, wich is why haven't bothered with heaters.
I didn't think much about the nipped dorsal because it was there when I got her, and it's just a tiny bit of the tip.
Well so much for that, just went to test the water before doing the water change and she's gone. Tests all look fine, ph7, nitrates 5, 3kh, 8gh and no nitrites or ammonia. The only fluctuations I've had were the temperature dropped down to 78 during our cold spike here in south Florida. It's back to 80 now, and usualy sits around 81-82, wich is why haven't bothered with heaters.
Skyrmir
Aquarium Advice FINatic
New update! Just found a happy pair of parents in the tank not more than an hour after removing the dead one. Snapped a few pics of them so far. They seem to be doing the good parent thing and protecting the eggs together and taking turns fanning them. Now it's a waiting game to see how good a job they do.
Trying to attach a pic, you should be able to just make out the eggs under the male towards the top.
Trying to attach a pic, you should be able to just make out the eggs under the male towards the top.
Attachments
Japola44
Aquarium Advice Freak
so of all the fish I have seen, the GBR seems to be one of the most atractive. I am planning on upgrading my 20gal to a 40gal.
So from my 20gal i will be moving
3 zebra danios
1 blue dwarf gourami
1 african butterfly fish
1 Senegal bichir (who will shortly be moved to my 55gal once he is big enough)
My taps pH is some where around 8.2 or 4, and it has settled in both my tanks at about 7.6. I know rams require a much lower pH so besides peat moss and drift wood are there any other ways to lower it?
Also along with my current fish i want to add a female African Butterfly fish, some cory cats, a small pleco, and some more schooling fish. Do you think this is a good stocking plan for some GBR. Would it be enough for 2 pairs? I just want to make sure everything will be alright before i go out and purchase some. I don't plan to add many new fish until my bichir is moved to the 55gal. Mostly important, do you think its even possible to get my pH to around 6.5 - 7.0?
So from my 20gal i will be moving
3 zebra danios
1 blue dwarf gourami
1 african butterfly fish
1 Senegal bichir (who will shortly be moved to my 55gal once he is big enough)
My taps pH is some where around 8.2 or 4, and it has settled in both my tanks at about 7.6. I know rams require a much lower pH so besides peat moss and drift wood are there any other ways to lower it?
Also along with my current fish i want to add a female African Butterfly fish, some cory cats, a small pleco, and some more schooling fish. Do you think this is a good stocking plan for some GBR. Would it be enough for 2 pairs? I just want to make sure everything will be alright before i go out and purchase some. I don't plan to add many new fish until my bichir is moved to the 55gal. Mostly important, do you think its even possible to get my pH to around 6.5 - 7.0?
OP
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Jchillin
Aquarium Advice Addict
Wow, congrats skyrmir. Reading your first post and then the follow up was nice. Would you mind posting what temp and ph your tank is?
Japola: Not sure about the ABF coexisting with the GBR's, they certainly do well with the other fish you mentioned. Lowering your ph with peat and driftwood is the safest method. You really don't need much more than that. Chances are you will get to @ 7.0, which is fine. If you plant the new tank (you didn't mention it but I'll assume you will), that will be even better. The peat may turn your water a little yellowish as well.
Japola: Not sure about the ABF coexisting with the GBR's, they certainly do well with the other fish you mentioned. Lowering your ph with peat and driftwood is the safest method. You really don't need much more than that. Chances are you will get to @ 7.0, which is fine. If you plant the new tank (you didn't mention it but I'll assume you will), that will be even better. The peat may turn your water a little yellowish as well.
Lonewolfblue
Aquarium Advice Addict
I just use driftwood in my 26G and my ph is 7.0-7.2. My new 75G was 7.8 before adding the driftwood, will see how that one is affected. I don't use peat either, don't want the hassle. But yes, peat and driftwood are the more natural and safe way of lowering your ph.
Japola44
Aquarium Advice Freak
Ok thanks everyone.
Just curious Jchillin why do you think my ABF may not be a good match?
Just curious Jchillin why do you think my ABF may not be a good match?
OP
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Jchillin
Aquarium Advice Addict
Just thinking about possible territorial issues amongst the cichlids. If the butterfly is as peaceful as often mentioned, this will not be an issue. I have bolivians mixed with my GBR's, hoping their wouldn't be any and so far, so good.
Japola44
Aquarium Advice Freak
Your thinking of the African Butterfly Cichlid. I'm talking about Pantodon buchholzi different fish .
.SeymourFRESH
Aquarium Advice Freak
*BUMP* welp, there's so many blue ram questions going on i may as well bump this up!
i have 2 male rams about 2.5" right now, and i want to add more (because one keeps chasing the other one...no harm done at all, but i'm worried it could end up getting stressed in the long run). the problem i have though, is that all the other blue rams for sale are only about half the size of my current ones...do you think they'd get along alright? the dominant male is kind of aggressive (it's been chasing the other male and my cory cats a little bit) so i wouldn't know if adding smaller rams would be bad or not.
what do you guys think?
i have 2 male rams about 2.5" right now, and i want to add more (because one keeps chasing the other one...no harm done at all, but i'm worried it could end up getting stressed in the long run). the problem i have though, is that all the other blue rams for sale are only about half the size of my current ones...do you think they'd get along alright? the dominant male is kind of aggressive (it's been chasing the other male and my cory cats a little bit) so i wouldn't know if adding smaller rams would be bad or not.
what do you guys think?
Japola44
Aquarium Advice Freak
I'm no expert but depending on your tank size you could get two females. That should keep the males happy, and maybe distracted from fighting eachother
SeymourFRESH
Aquarium Advice Freak
well it's a 92 gallon so i figured they'd have plenty of hiding places/room if i added more
yes, i was thinking 2 females as well
yes, i was thinking 2 females as well
OP
OP
Jchillin
Aquarium Advice Addict
I agree, two females would do nicely. A large tank like that affords all manner of room for privacy and breeding.
I bought 3 GBR on 12-26-05 at my LFS. After two weeks thy were doing great. Went back to my LFS and he still had a bunch left so I bought 3 more. He hadn't had GBR in for so long that people didn't know what they were. After two mos. I still have all 6, 3 male and 3 females. Seems like a tough batch of fish. I didn't any thing really special to achilmate them either. One pair has already sorted themselves off.
Skyrmir
Aquarium Advice FINatic
ph is steady at 7, tap water is about 7.6. The temp is sitting at 79-80 right now, usually it's about a degree or two warmer, but it's been cooler outside recently and there's no heater in the tank. I've actually been wondering about cooling another tank for my Panda's to be more comfy in, but I dunno if they'd really care.
Also an update on the eggs. None of them seem to have hatched, the majority of them turned white by the next day. So I'm assuming they either weren't fertilized correctly or the water was a touch to base for them. I'm debating on driftwood or peat moss to drop the ph a touch more. I dunno if I want to do peat moss as my GH is about 8-9 and kh is 3, and I dunno if that's enough buffer to keep things stable.
OP
OP
Jchillin
Aquarium Advice Addict
Skyrmir said:
Actually, your kh is right at the threshold of sufficient buffering capacity to add either the peat or the driftwood. Try the driftwood first...a nice large piece will probably drop you to a comfy 6.8 which is just about right for the eggs.
workfortheman
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Skyrmir, congrats on the eggs, and I'm not suprised that the mating pair may have stressed the extra female too much. I know my odd-man-out barely survived the spawn!
I have a question regarding the adjustment of ph/kh/gh using peat and/or driftwood. I understand that rams enjoy a pH closer to neutral than something like 8.0, but I also understand that they enjoy SOFT water, with a low GH/KH. Now I know for a fact that peat will indeed lower pH but it will increase GH and possibly KH as well! That said, don't you think we would probably be better off keeping the lower GH and higher pH, for the sake of stability?
Does pH or hardness have more of an impact on the survival rate of the eggs/fry, and on the overall health of the fish?
I have a question regarding the adjustment of ph/kh/gh using peat and/or driftwood. I understand that rams enjoy a pH closer to neutral than something like 8.0, but I also understand that they enjoy SOFT water, with a low GH/KH. Now I know for a fact that peat will indeed lower pH but it will increase GH and possibly KH as well! That said, don't you think we would probably be better off keeping the lower GH and higher pH, for the sake of stability?
Does pH or hardness have more of an impact on the survival rate of the eggs/fry, and on the overall health of the fish?
