Blue Rams

[Bferreira]

I am trying to breed my pair of blue rams and I think I'm doing everything right. I raised their water to 84°F, been feeding them 3 times a day mostly frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp, and gave them rocks to lay eggs on. My male is a big boy and the female I got last week is pretty little. The male is so interested in her but she doesn't feel the same about him. He follows her around the tank and flutters himself on the gravel a little bit. I don't know why they won't breed. Am I doing anything wrong?

Any advice would help!

 

[jpchin]

Breeding Ram Cichlids Mikrogeophagus ramirezi

here's a good article on the ram. google breeding blue rams and you'll get a ton of info. good luck!

 

[Bferreira]

I have googled that about 1,000 times. They all say the same thing. I don't know whether to add a couple new females and see if they pair up?

 

[Hobgob]

I you say your female is really tiny maybe she isn't mature yet... How long have they been together and how often do you do water changes? What else are you feeding them?

 

[Bferreira]

I you say your female is really tiny maybe she isn't mature yet... How long have they been together and how often do you do water changes? What else are you feeding them?

I'm pretty sure she's at least 6 months. They have been together for almost 2 weeks. I do 25% water changes every week and I feed them flakes, cichlid pellets, frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp, and live brine.

 

[Borderlesscott]

Sounds like the female hasn't matured yet, keep an eye on them as if they don't bond he might turn nasty. Try adding almond leaves to the tank, always worked wonders for my Rams.

 

[Bferreira]

Sounds like the female hasn't matured yet, keep an eye on them as if they don't bond he might turn nasty. Try adding almond leaves to the tank, always worked wonders for my Rams.

I thought they matured at or around 6 months. What do almond leaves do and where would I find them?

 

[Rivercats]

Indian Almond leaves add tannins to the water, help soften the water, and help lower ph. They also have anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties they release into the water and often times can stimulate breeding. If you lay them on the substrate many times rams will spawn on them as in nature they spawn in leaf litter. Look on ebay if your in the US.

 

[Bferreira]

Indian Almond leaves add tannins to the water, help soften the water, and help lower ph. They also have anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties they release into the water and often times can stimulate breeding. If you lay them on the substrate many times rams will spawn on them as in nature they spawn in leaf litter. Look on ebay if your in the US.

That's awesome, thank you!

 

[Bferreira]

My male has a lot of interest in the female. He follows her around and is cleaning spots and fluttering along the gravel. But she doesn't seem to notice, is that normal?

 

[phishfriend]

You said she has only been in the tank a week. She is barely acclimated to the tank and your parameters. Let alone the new male. They have to pair first. Give it time.

 

[Bferreira]

You said she has only been in the tank a week. She is barely acclimated to the tank and your parameters. Let alone the new male. They have to pair first. Give it time.

She's been in for almost 2 weeks. What do you mean let alone the male? I just didn't know if it takes them a while to pair or if its instantaneous. Should I be adding a couple other females or wait for them to pair?

 

[Iceman29]

Sounds like he's being a typical man chasing with his tongue hanging out and she's being a typical female playing hard to get lol. Give her time to acclimate to the tank and her new tank mate before you try adding more females. JMO

 

[phishfriend]

She's been in for almost 2 weeks. What do you mean let alone the male? I just didn't know if it takes them a while to pair or if its instantaneous. Should I be adding a couple other females or wait for them to pair?

I just mean that she is adjusting to a total new environment. It may take a few more weeks. Also she being a lil small and most likely from a breeder stock. This maybe the first time she has ever been confronted by a breed ready male and is a bit intimidated. So enjoy them and see what happens.

 

[Botanica]

Is her belly pink? If her belly isn't pink she isn't ready to spawn. It's really unmistakeable.

Two weeks isn't long enough...mine spawn every three to five weeks. At least he has accepted her and isn't trying to kill her.

 

[Hobgob]

You need to be patient. It would be awesome if we could go and buy two fish and have them spawn as soon as we get them home. This is not the case normally. The female has just went through a great ordeal getting to your house. An needs some time to adjust. It take closer to a month for a fish to be totally adjusted to your tank. It's not just the water either. It's needs to adjust to the surroundings. Find some spots it likes and etc.

Is she pink? And are you sure your have a male and a female? I'm not trying to say you don't have a pair but with rams sometimes they are harder to sex. They aren't to dimorphic so you need to look closely and you can't say the small one is a female just because it's smaller. It could be another male but gets bullied a lot.
The pink in the belly shows how gravid she is.. They lay eggs do they get gravid not pregnant. It sounds like you are feeding good though when I was spawning them I would do flakes in the mornings and frozen at night. Every other day I would throw in something I had lying around.
What's your water parameters. Your nitrate needs to be super low in order to raise the eggs and fry. Otherwise they might not develop... And about the almonds leaves. Another thing you can do is put some untreated peat or dried oak leaves. When wet they released hummic acids that lower the ph of the water to a more natural level. Just Make sure to remove the leaves that are starting to rot away because they will just pollute your water. Also if going this route you will need to make sure that when you do a water change your levels are still stable otherwise more water changes with less water is the way to go...

Anyways I hope this helps a lot. Sometimes giving them live brine Shrimp wi make them spawn. Just having the chase the food seems to excite them.. Seems to work for me though...

 

[Hobgob]

Ph around 6 and dh of like 5

 

[Bferreira]

Is her belly pink? If her belly isn't pink she isn't ready to spawn. It's really unmistakeable.

Two weeks isn't long enough...mine spawn every three to five weeks. At least he has accepted her and isn't trying to kill her.

Yes! I just got home and her belly looks very pink right now and a little on the big side. The pink is very intense though.

 

[Botanica]

Yes! I just got home and her belly looks very pink right now and a little on the big side. The pink is very intense though.

Sometimes a water change will help her along...although mine is pink for several days before she actually spawns. Patience...lol.

 

[Bferreira]

Sometimes a water change will help her along...although mine is pink for several days before she actually spawns. Patience...lol.

I just did a water change yesterday