Black rams !

[Delapool]

Wow - busy times! So impressive.

 

[coralbandit]

Did I mention these fish are sneaky ?
Fry swimming in the 5g with the pair of blacks when I got home today !
I never even saw the eggs and I have a reputation about them..
Do you think these fish are on to me ?

 

[Delapool]

Possibly, probably [emoji106]

 

[mbkemp]

I hope they are not on to you! We need this fish to really relax and just do it

 

[smallfry53]

That's awesome. Interesting that it seems like these black rams are way better parents than gbr. I think it would be awesome if black rams are better parents if they could be incorporated into the gbr line to get gbr to "remember" how to raise their fry.

 

[flitabout]

hiding babies now? Yeah they are definitely on to your tricks!

 

[coralbandit]

They are on to me ,but I am not called bandit for my overwhelming patience ...
The Female GBR and male Black still have 2 sets of fry with them but they should have had 3 now ! I need to remove the parents ....
The blacks next door have none ! They are not better parents right off the rip but it is a learned skill so ? They tried twice so far ...
Got eggs from blacks in their own 20 Sunday night that have hatched.
Got eggs this am from laid last night from the darkest in the 33L ...Not sure if they were even fertilized but I left them in over night and now they are mine...
The male GBR I installed is active and the "order" in the tank has changed some with one of the lighter ones now hanging on the black side with him sometimes ?
I don't think he helped out last night besides to add to all the distractions in a tank with 7 rams for the female laying. We'll see in a day or two if they got fertilized..

 

[mbkemp]

I have been trying to figure out what I want to do on the bottom of my Leo tank. Black Rams might be the one for me

 

[coralbandit]

So the eggs from the 33 went bad in one day .Confirming that all but my male GBR are female IMO.
Found one of the lighter colored ones dead today with no other issue showing in tank or issue with fish itself.
Another example of all females IMO....
The eggs I took from the pair in the 20 are all good !
The oldest group of fry look great and eat dry food with gusto finally[my schedule helps with getting them to eat what is offered]. I still spoil them with BBS as I do some of my adult fish but I am focusing on pumping them with my best variety of dry foods and they get only two feedings a day now .
There are still fry with the GBR/Black pair .Hopefully I will move the parents this weekend to their own tank again. Out of all these fish I have 2 solid pairs that are breeding and both are fry eaters/possibly egg eaters if I not on top of them. Ironically the GBR from same supplier are even worse and faster egg eaters !
Makes me wonder why the cross pair is doing so well ?

 

[coralbandit]

So eggs again in the 33 this am..I watched and only saw one of the larger light ones guarding the eggs and figure that it was female and eggs unfertile ...
Well hours later the nice [tight] little fish in the 33 were all after each other and the my territory game was on...
Suddenly after chasing almost[ yes almost ] every other off one little dark one was allowed to approach the eggs and then even left to tend momentarily !
And then there was 4 left in the 33.One male GBR [mine] ,2 dark little ones [females 99.9%] and 1 large light one possibly also a male ? The pair was removed to their own 5g tank and the eggs have been taken.
In tracking the fry I have noted that the oldest black fry from 2/20 are larger then EBA 2 tanks away that are 2 weeks older !
I have to admit that the lighter ones in the 33 are pretty good size assuming they are young..I may be getting natural assistance in building beast ?
Eitherway I cleaned 5 @5g tanks today and have moved 3 pair of black ,the black GBR cross to the top shelf for easier observation....That and the black pair #1 and black / GBR cross both had fry in their previous tanks .
Now with parents gone I hope to see these two 5 g fill up with black and crosses right in front of my eyes...

 

[coralbandit]

Eggs from new pair yesterday still look good and the pair is happy together in their new tank .
The pair from the 20 that got moved last night also has laid eggs this am. I will take them today but in no hurry ,although I believe the task is complete.
All pairs moved yesterday look good and happy.
The four remaining in the 33 have changed places with larger light color now on right side of tank and 1 dark on left..Thinking there could be one more pair and eggs to be delivered soon...
The oldest fry from 2/20 are larger in majority then my EBA fry that are 2 weeks older then them in a 2.5 next door ! I like that !

 

[flitabout]

We need pictures of the babies!!!!!!

 

[coralbandit]

I owe pictures or a video ...
Pair # 3 eggs from just yesterday have hatched !

 

[Delapool]

We need pictures of the babies!!!!!!

I agree lol (hint, hint!)

 

[coralbandit]

I know I owe pics but the fish keep going whether I do or not !
2 sets of eggs and fry yesterday !
It appears the 4 left in 33 are pairs also so I have 6 breeding pairs as of now !
The oldest fry are 2 1/2 months old and looking good.
I am resisting selling any so young as I would like to choose the best for continued breeding but also want to share these rare special fish.....

 

[tunamanphd]

Already sending folks your way

 

[coralbandit]

Already sending folks your way

getting lotts of interest besides your buds [ thanks man].
Some even offering up $$$ before I could set prices !
So I am taking pics today as I can not sell something without people knowing what they are getting..
I believe with such limited exposure many just assume all are solid black..One customer said he saw pictures where they are as black as mollies ??
I really don't want to disappoint people so am a little reluctant to release any while so young ? I pride myself on selling better fish,but I am trying to be understanding of the demand for this fish...
I have to say out of whatever I started with only 2 remain light colored ?
While other adult fish are pretty dark the lighter ones seem to be getting darker in general..They may all turn black in the long run ??? They are difficult to sex when not paired up also..
My photo card is loaded so pics will be posted through today while I cull pics on card !
Here we go with the oldest juvis 2 1/2 months old aprox. still in 2.5g tank.
Their neighbors are the next youngest blacks and there are now 3@5g with many juvis ranging from 1 to 1 1/2 months old ..

 

[Kitekat87]

My black ram defo got darker over time. He's nearly completely black with orange fins now. I'll see if I can get a good pic of him to upload

 

[coralbandit]

My black ram defo got darker over time. He's nearly completely black with orange fins now. I'll see if I can get a good pic of him to upload

Very cool to hear !
The picture Tuna [Keith] took of mine [best picture of all] is gone now so I would love to see your and how dark it has got .
I am lousy at quality pictures...I keep trying but seems harder then breeding !

 

[Kitekat87]

Here he is