Will an electric blue ram mate with a normal German Blue Ram

[Crazyfoxeye]

I am new to breeding and curious about ram cichlid breeding. I had ordered 2 electric blue rams, I can tell one is female and one is male by the black pelvic fins. And then I bought the normal colored ram cichlids and I think both of those are female. So I am just curious just do know, would the male electric blue ever breed with one of the normal females.. and what would their offspring look like?

[Andy Sager]

Originally Posted by Crazyfoxeye

I am new to breeding and curious about ram cichlid breeding. I had ordered 2 electric blue rams, I can tell one is female and one is male by the black pelvic fins. And then I bought the normal colored ram cichlids and I think both of those are female. So I am just curious just do know, would the male electric blue ever breed with one of the normal females.. and what would their offspring look like?

I believe the Electric Blue Rams are nothing more than a color morph of the regular blue ram so if you were to breed the 2, most likely the common color would be dominant. If you are trying to keep the electric blue genepool, I would not breed these with the common rams.

Hope this helps...

[Crazyfoxeye]

yes it does help. Just curious.. I would think they would pair up with similar species. But at least I got a pair of electric blues because those can go for 20-40 on the internet sites I was on. If I were to breed them, how many fry do you think I would get? And do I need a separate breeding tank? I heard that the parents will protect their fry. The biggest fish in my tank are those 4 cichlids that will reach 2.5 inches when fully grown. I might have to get like a giant 90 gallon tank to raise all of them lol.

[Andy Sager]

Originally Posted by Crazyfoxeye

yes it does help. Just curious.. I would think they would pair up with similar species. But at least I got a pair of electric blues because those can go for 20-40 on the internet sites I was on. If I were to breed them, how many fry do you think I would get? And do I need a separate breeding tank? I heard that the parents will protect their fry. The biggest fish in my tank are those 4 cichlids that will reach 2.5 inches when fully grown. I might have to get like a giant 90 gallon tank to raise all of them lol.

LOL. Technically, any two of your fish that breed would be breeding with their similar specie. A German Blue ram IS an Electric Blue Ram which IS a Gold Ram etc. They are all the same specie, just different color morphs of them. Just as all the different colors of Swordtails or Mollies or Guppies or Angelfish, etc are all the same specie, just different colors of the same specie. They all have what attracts their mate of the same specie. Think of it this way, if you were a blond, would you reject a redhead just because they were a redhead even tho they had all the rest of another blond's parts?

As for number of fry, there is no way of telling. I can tell you that a younger pair will produce less eggs than an older pair. That's all I can commit to As for breeding them, there is some debate whether they should be alone or can be with other fish. Personally, I have always bred mine in a separate tank by themselves. I also pulled every spawn and hatched them artificially. I've read articles where multiple pairs of rams where kept together in a larger tank with separate breeding areas. The choice is yours. It boils down to 1 realistic situation: If you are going to breed fish, you are going to need more or bigger tanks . I started with a single male Guppy in a tupperware container and ended up with over 20 tanks in my bedroom before I went off to get married.
You have been warned! LOL
Best of luck

[Samzter]

Yeah I also want to warn you of NMTS . It stands for 'need more tanks syndrome' I think some people get luck by just finding eggs in a community but no eggs survive really.