Breeding German Blue Rams? Tips please.

[00youknowit00]

So after finding an actual lfs(not a chain) I've finally been able to get my hands on some German Blue Rams For a while I've been interested in trying to breed them, but never been able to get any. With my newfound lfs I'm ready to try now!! When I was there I was only able to get a male (I believe that's what it is) because they were out of females. Nevertheless I will get a female eventually. So have any of y'all successfully done this before? Attempted to? Or have any knowledge of the subject that can help me? I really really want to try this and be successful!

Any advise is greatly appreciated!
Thanks!

[maxwellag]

If you get a female, they will probably not breed unless they pair up. It would be best if you bought a pair at the LFS. By pair, I mean a bonded male and female, sort of like a couple. They're eachothers' mates.

[00youknowit00]

Originally Posted by maxwellag

If you get a female, they will probably not breed unless they pair up. It would be best if you bought a pair at the LFS. By pair, I mean a bonded male and female, sort of like a couple. They're eachothers' mates.

Yeah, only problem is no one sells pairs. My best bet is to give two random ones a chance.

[jetajockey]

I've never had a problem pairing up rams, just get a known male and known female and keep them happy, if all goes well they will breed when ready. They don't bond like other animals do, they will form a pair, but when one mate is taken away, they will choose another quite quickly.

[00youknowit00]

Originally Posted by jetajockey

I've never had a problem pairing up rams, just get a known male and known female and keep them happy, if all goes well they will breed when ready. They don't bond like other animals do, they will form a pair, but when one mate is taken away, they will choose another quite quickly.

Great! Anything that you can think of, like any tips out tricks that'll help me?

[jetajockey]

Just do lots of water changes and feed them frequently.

I've never had luck letting rams raise their fry, they always eat them, but you may have better luck with it. If they are in a small breeding tank, I would just move the parents after the eggs hatch, but if they are in a big tank I just moved the plate or whatever they laid the eggs on to a separate hatching tank.

[00youknowit00]

Originally Posted by jetajockey

Just do lots of water changes and feed them frequently.

I've never had luck letting rams raise their fry, they always eat them, but you may have better luck with it. If they are in a small breeding tank, I would just move the parents after the eggs hatch, but if they are in a big tank I just moved the plate or whatever they laid the eggs on to a separate hatching tank.

Oh really? I read that they were actually pretty good parents. Hmm, well I guess the first step is getting them to actually breed. What do yours normally lay on?

[jetajockey]

Terra cotta pots or dishes. Where did you read they were good parents? Everything I've read and seen personally is to the contrary.

Even if they were gotten from an LFS they were likely still coming from a farm (each of my local LFS all use the same couple of farm sources, the chain stores seem to have their own supplier since they are larger scale, but same basic concept), unless you know that they got them from a breeder.

Here's a vid of some of my EBR's spawning (and defending)

[00youknowit00]

Originally Posted by jetajockey

Terra cotta pots or dishes. Where did you read they were good parents? Everything I've read and seen personally is to the contrary.

Even if they were gotten from an LFS they were likely still coming from a farm (each of my local LFS all use the same couple of farm sources, the chain stores seem to have their own supplier since they are larger scale, but same basic concept), unless you know that they got them from a breeder.

Here's a vid of some of my EBR's spawning (and defending)
http://youtu.be/7Weauz3yGpA

This isn't the article I was referring to, I couldn't find that one. But it says it somewhat. Under breeding

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/cich...manblueram.php

[jetajockey]

I wouldn't put much into that article unless it's cited by a breeder or someone known with a lot of experience in it. As you may already know, anyone can write articles and post them. There are a few dwarf cichlid enthusiast places online (as well as here) that are a good source to see/read actual experiences with this species, so it'll give you a good idea of what you are getting into.

I did a lot of research on them before I started to breed them and I still had issues with the fry, if you dig around enough you may actually find some of the interchanges I had with others on the subject in the past.

[00youknowit00]

Well that's the exact reason I asked. personal experience is miles above anything written on the internet IMO

[bumzc]

I started breeding GBR's a month ago. I have 3 pairs that breed like clockwork. I tried raising the eggs to fry myself but after a few days of free swimming all the fry would start dying.

This current batch I let the parents raise the fry and so far so good. I had to take the mom out because dad was beating up on her. This has been the longest that I had fry after free swimming.

The best thing to do is experiment with what works best for you.

[00youknowit00]

Little update, had my girl for a week or so, then went and got what I believe is a guy, like 5min after I put the guy in, they started like dancing, it was weird but really cool to watch. Next morning I saw a small pit dug, well today the pit is pretty large and I watch them working on it, they like dig down in under middle then bulldoze the sand up the sides. They're inseparable now.


Girl:



Prospected guy:



Both together:



Pit:


What do y'all think?

[bumzc]

Can't tell from the first pic if it's a male or female as I can't see the red/pink belly.

If they are doing the dance and digging holes in the sand then most likely you got yourself a pair.

[00youknowit00]

Well the first one has the blue sheen in the black circle, so that means girl, correct? And they're working in their third pit now haha

[bumzc]

Originally Posted by 00youknowit00

Well the first one has the blue sheen in the black circle, so that means girl, correct?

Nope, that is not always correct, as I have males with blue spots in the circle. The only way I've been able to tell is a red/pink belly on the females.

[00youknowit00]

Originally Posted by bumzc

Nope, that is not always correct, as I have males with blue spots in the circle. The only way I've been able to tell is a red/pink belly on the females.

Hmmm, well isn't them being glued together and digging ”pits” a pretty good indicator?

[Cobaltskyy]

ooooh good luck! I think mine are ready to spawn too! Check out my thread I found some tips online!

[maxwellag]

Originally Posted by 00youknowit00

Hmmm, well isn't them being glued together and digging ”pits” a pretty good indicator?

My rams just laid eggs and are now guarding the spawning area without digging a pit at all... Just saying

[00youknowit00]

Originally Posted by maxwellag

My rams just laid eggs and are now guarding the spawning area without digging a pit at all... Just saying

What did they lay on?