My new 20 gallon Blue Ram tank!

[Nicnet]

Dang, I had a whole post made and then the app froze on me while uploading the final picture!

Anyway, yesterday I broke down my multis tank and switched it over to all fresh again. I got an awesome pair of blue rams (and a big thanks to everyone for helping reassure me they were a male and female) and got some ghost shrimp in for more action!

When I first put them in, I was a bit concerned because I had never seen fish so still after going in the tank! But by the end of the night they had moved a bit more, and by this morning they were more active. By this evening they had seemed more like normal fish, and I was super stoked to just have them gobble up a meal of frozen blood worms, since I heard a big issue with them was them not eating after being out into a new tank.

So yay! I'm super happy with them, and since they seemed to be paired up at the store, and even courting a little, I'm really hoping they have some babies soon! Hopeful thinking! lol

So here's a couple pictures for me to show off!

 

[Sillyfishies]

Dang, I had a whole post made and then the app froze in me while uploading the final picture!

Anyway, yesterday I broke down my multis tank and switched it over to all fresh again. I got an awesome pair of blue rams (and a big thanks to everyone for helping reassure me they were a male and female) and got some ghost shrimp in for more action!

When I first put them in, I was a bit concerned because I had never seen fish so still after going in the tank! But by the end of the night they had moved a bit more, and by this morning they were more active. By this evening they had seemed more like normal fish, and I was super stoked to just have them gobble up a meal of frozen blood worms, since I heard a big issue with them was them not eating after being out into a new tank. So yay!

I'm super happy with them, and since they seemed to be paired up at the store, and even courting a little, I'm really hoping they have some babies soon! Hopeful thinking! lol

So here's a couple pictures for me to show off!

Very very typical male/female pair.

If they lay eggs, are you going to let the parent raise them or are you going to artificially hatch?

 

[Nicnet]

Very very typical male/female pair. If they lay eggs, are you going to let the parent raise them or are you going to artificially hatch?

I was planning on just having the parents raise them. I've heard it can take a few tries for them to get it "right" (aka eating the eggs and etc) but I'm hoping they eventually get it right!

I think it'll be more fun to watch then raise them, and honestly I don't have the time to be an artificial mommy right now! Ha ha ha (or the tank space!)

 

[Sillyfishies]

I was planning on just having the parents raise them. I've heard it can take a few tries for them to get it "right" (aka eating the eggs and etc) but I'm hoping they eventually get it right!

I think it'll be more fun to watch then raise them, and honestly I don't have the time to be an artificial mommy right now! Ha ha ha (or the tank space!)

Ya my GBR pair ate their 3rd batch a few days ago. It doesn't help that it took them a year to pair up. And it was 1 month between the first 2 spawns and 2 and 1/2 months between the 2nd and 3rd. They're just slow, huh.

 

[Nicnet]

Ya my GBR pair ate their 3rd batch a few days ago. It doesn't help that it took them a year to pair up. And it was 1 month between the first 2 spawns and 2 and 1/2 months between the 2nd and 3rd. They're just slow, huh.

I think it's supposed to get faster and easier with time. Hopefully the next spawn is more successful for you!

 

[Rivercats]

Be sure to keep their heat up to around 80 at least as they show much better color and are more active in warmer water. That's why they do so well in discus tanks.

 

[Nicnet]

Be sure to keep their heat up to around 80 at least as they show much better color and are more active in warmer water. That's why they do so well in discus tanks.

Thanks for the suggestion! I checked after reading someone else having heater issues, and realized that my tank was indeed a few degrees to cold. I'm slowing increasing it to the 80-82 range. (It was about 76!)

 

[Nicnet]

So uh, they laid eggs!! Ha ha ha, this is my like fourth day with them and they have laid eggs!! I am beyond stoked!!

 

[freckles]

Congratulations! They are very beautiful and I'm sure their babies will be also.

I must say, I LOVE the sand in your tank! It especially complements the driftwood nicely. The whole thing is very zen-like. It must be very peaceful to watch.

 

[Nicnet]

Congratulations! They are very beautiful and I'm sure their babies will be also. I must say, I LOVE the sand in your tank! It especially complements the driftwood nicely. The whole thing is very zen-like. It must be very peaceful to watch.

So I'm sure their babies would have been beautiful, but they ate them. =( I was quite devastated this morning but am getting over it now! Ha ha.

So the sand being like that was kinda an accident, but thank you! I love how it turned out as well. The tank used to be a planted tank, and had soil on the bottom and black sand on the top. Something happened where we wanted to make the sand deeper, I think to avoid the soil being brought up, so we put sand on top. But we only had normal sand, so we just used it anyway. Since the soil and black sand just kinda blended in, you couldn't even tell what was going on. Just looked like the regular sand on top.

After all that, we decided to convert the tank to a cichlid tank, and this led to getting rid of all the plants and soil. I wanted to keep all the sand still, so we did the long process of sifting through and removing all the soil by getting it to float and sifting through it. Tedious! In the process all the black and regular sand mixed, as expected, and the result was even better than we were anticipating! So yay! That's my sand story.


So yeah, thank you!! I do love my tank. =D

 

[Rivercats]

One other thing about GBR's is you need to keep nitrates low. Below 20ppm is needed. I try to keep mine right around 10ppm.

 

[Dreamroper]

Your tank is beautiful! Good luck with your breeding effort.