my GBR traded ladies!

[shayfish]

I have 2 female gold rams and one male blue. It has been quite the saga, me and these fish. Here are a few of my threads on them...

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=92842&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0
and
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?p=780436&highlight=#780436
and finally...
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?p=793848&highlight=#793848

The condensed version of the story is that I don't really know what I'm doing, and everything takes a lot longer than I expect and now it seems like the male and the "OTHER FEMALE" are paired up. Tonight, the other female is showing aggression to the original spawner on the opposite side of the tank to where 3 clutches of eggs have been previously laid and protected. The girls aren't that easy to tell apart, but I think I have them pegged and I'm pretty sure my male is a player!

Is this normal? I remember reading that once they are a pair, that's pretty much it.

 

[bs6749]

I believe that it happened with my GBR's as well. I had 4 pairs and 2 of the males switched. I wouldn't say that it is common, but I don't think it is unheard of. Some people claim that GBR's can be harem spawners. Maybe the male will share his time between the two females. There really isn't anything wrong with that seeing as you may end up with two spawning females.

 

[shayfish]

I just hate watching them be aggressive towards each other. That and now I don't know what to do about moving them into the breeding tank I set up for them! It all happened so quickly too.

 

[bs6749]

What size tank are they all in now and what all is in the tank? Maybe try moving the eggs if/when they spawn that way the parents will do most of the work for you such as picking out the bad eggs.

 

[shayfish]

The tank is 55 gallons and has danios, cories, neons, cardinals, upsidedown cats, assorted shrimp, mystery snail, SAE and BN Plec. There was a big mail sailfin mollie, but he is now bravely keeping the cycle intact on the 10 gal breeder. Those eggs don't stand a chance in there. The original pair spawned 3 times with eggs in the exact same place each time. Now the male is hanging on the opposite side of the tank with the other female and this evening has been showing aggression to his previous mate. Previously, all the activity was around the first female chasing the second one out of her side of the tank and now it has reversed and the male is in on it too.

 

[bs6749]

I have 8 GBR's, 1 BN pleco (had 2 with Rams spawning), 4 danios (previously 5), 8 glo-lite tetras, and 2 ottos (had 5) in my 55 gallon tank. When laid, the eggs would survive in my tank for about 2 days and then I am assuming that the parents ate them once they started to wiggle. I have seen eggs last for 2 days many times in my tank, which is more than enough time to allow you to pull them yourself into a separate tank. Don't underestimate cichlid parents and their ability to defend their eggs. I have seen my GBR's go after a BN pleco that was 4 inches when they were only 1 inch and 1.5 inches for the female and male pair. They would go for the pleco's eyes and he didn't like that so he left them alone. He was all over the area too. They are spunky little fish.

 

[shayfish]

Well, I would say they probably lasted around 2 days also. I don't know what happened, but you're right... I definitely saw the female chasing off many of the other fish. I can tell that they are very protective. I'm not totally sure what I should do though, because I don't want to keep these 2 warring females together in my so-called peaceful community. I would like to get a pair out and into the 10-gallon (if I can ever catch them ) and see if any little baby fishies will come to be. That and I set up this friggin' 10-gal just for them!