Nervous about getting a GBR?

[twoodrough]

I have had a few GBRs and none made it. They are my favorite but I am going to let the tank mature and get more experience before I try again. I had a bolivian as well. I really liked him but a couple big (dumb) mistakes on my part were too much for him. So, I am sticking with tougher fishes for a bit. Can't stand to lose them especially if I feel ike I had something to do with it.

 

[meegosh]

I haven't read through this whole thread but I think a lot of the problems stem from the stock, not the difficulty of actually keeping them. I few friends have breeding pairs in regular tap water and don't do anything fancy and they are gorgeous!

A lot of the chain stores get poor quality stock to begin with. If you can find a local breeder the quality will be much better, and you will have less die offs.

 

[rich311k]

I haven't read through this whole thread but I think a lot of the problems stem from the stock, not the difficulty of actually keeping them. I few friends have breeding pairs in regular tap water and don't do anything fancy and they are gorgeous!

A lot of the chain stores get poor quality stock to begin with. If you can find a local breeder the quality will be much better, and you will have less die offs.

I 100% agree, good GBRs are actually hardy little fish.

 

[jpchin]

that has been my experience also (that the gbr's are healthy) the most important thing is stability. in ph, in water purity and in weekly water changes and vacuuming to keep the tank clean. all fish benefit from this. they are a fun fish to have. mine actually come to the glass when they see me. one thing i also do is feed black worms a few times per week. again you must keep the worms clean with daily rinsing and feed only small amounts to your fish, but they love them! as do all the fish in the tank. if you devote the time needed to the tank, the fish will do fine!

 

[Tropical]

I'm so happy, I just got one. The stock at the LFS looked great, none were sick or dead. I floated him for 20 minutes and now he's drip acclimating. I think he's a male because he was very colorful and he seemed to have a teritory staked out along the front of the tank. I'm not positive though.

I looked at the new life spectrum food, but ended up going with hikari gold cichlid pellets because the NLS was very expensive, and I only have one cichlid anyway.

 

[siva]

I'm so happy, I just got one. The stock at the LFS looked great, none were sick or dead. I floated him for 20 minutes and now he's drip acclimating. I think he's a male because he was very colorful and he seemed to have a teritory staked out along the front of the tank. I'm not positive though.

I looked at the new life spectrum food, but ended up going with hikari gold cichlid pellets because the NLS was very expensive, and I only have one cichlid anyway.

This may help:

 

[Tropical]

Thanks, he looks like a male to me. He is now in the tank, chilling in the corner. I hope he picks up a little and doesn't go belly up on me. I already named him Marty.

 

[ejaramillo01]

Thanks, he looks like a male to me. He is now in the tank, chilling in the corner. I hope he picks up a little and doesn't go belly up on me. I already named him Marty.

Post a picture please!!

 

[eco23]

Thanks, he looks like a male to me. He is now in the tank, chilling in the corner. I hope he picks up a little and doesn't go belly up on me. I already named him Marty.

It's a good idea to keep your lights off for a day or two when adding fish. Let's them settle in and be a bit less stressed out. That may help.

 

[Cobaltskyy]

I couldn't resist....my lfs had them on sale and I brought home 3 GBR's: 1 boy 2 girls YAY!!!!

I was going to wait til I went fully planted but....im well established and have waited almost 2 years for them I am so happy....I used the drip method first time without a hitch!

Pics are coming!

 

[Tropical]

Congrats to Cobalt! I also used the drip method. The ram seems to be settling in well, he is exploring the tank now and keeping near the front. I'm going to keep the light off for a while but I'll post pictures tomorrow.

 

[Cobaltskyy]

Here's Shirley and Carmine more pics under my thread in "New Acquisitions"

 

[Tropical]

Just an update, Marty is doing good.

 

[Cobaltskyy]

Yay! Mine are too!

 

[Tropical]

Great! Your GBR's are beautiful. I fed mine bloodworms for the first time today, he seemed to like them

Sorry for the bad pictures, they were taken from my cell.

 

[Cobaltskyy]

Oh mine LOVE blood worms and brine shrimp....they are little piglets! They even nibble on algae wafers LOL

 

[Tropical]

Haha. I feed him Hikari gold cichlid pellets, but my neons and platy always try to get them first. I usually have to soak it and break them in half so he can get to them.

 

[Cobaltskyy]

That's good....I find with the frozen food when I thaw it in the tank water in a plastic cup it breaks down into nice bits and everyone gets plenty u can also control the amount u put in...I have 4 tanks so I go around to each one and dump a little bit in at a time, a few times around and im done! freshwater frenzy is their favorite and label does just what it says! Hahaha

 

[Shetland James]

That's good....I find with the frozen food when I thaw it in the tank water in a plastic cup it breaks down into nice bits and everyone gets plenty u can also control the amount u put in...I have 4 tanks so I go around to each one and dump a little bit in at a time, a few times around and im done! freshwater frenzy is their favorite and label does just what it says! Hahaha

I put frozen bloodworm into a jug and pour hot water on it, let it sit for a minute. I've got silver dollars and any large chunk of stuck-together bloodworm is just a snack for them.

 

[Chelseachuy]

my gold ram cichlid is probably the most aggressive in the tank. i also have a female that he doesn't bother but towards the other fish he thinks he is the biggest in the tank but he is not. he is harmless but is deff the dominant one in the tank!