Bloated or eggs

[Mcgolg76]

Looks like my female ram's belly is a bit more round. So wondering of bloat or full of eggs. Lost a favorite fish a few months ago to bloat and don't wanna go thru it again. And just to be sure, is it a female on the left and a male on the right ? Never great at sexing fish

 

[parky]

The way to sex the GBR i the female has a pink mark on her sides. So looking at your picture I would say that the one on the left is female.

Hope this helps you out, this is only advice and from what I have read on other forums.

Jay

 

[pip walters]

I would say that is eggs due to the.position of the bulge. Id say that harlequin is female too

 

[parky]

Once the female lays the eggs both parents will go into a cycle of 1 guarding the other fanning the eggs. The one fanning may start to eat some of the eggs don't worry this is normal as they eat the unfertilized eggs. If its also the first time they have breed its not uncommon for them to fail the first couple of times. Don't make the common mistake of removing the parents after hatching.

I hope this is sound advice and if you need any more please fire any questions over this feed.

Parky

 

[Mcgolg76]

Awesome. These two gbrs just have the best personality. He started chasing her a bit, but I have yet to see them claim a territory. They hang out all over the tank. Anything I can do to give them a place to lay eggs?

 

[parky]

You need to place some flat rocks in your tank if you haven't already and make the area secluded with either plants or other rocks. They have even been known to lay their eggs on large foliage (leafs) do you know the ph of you tank and the temp? You need to be looking for a ph of around 6.4 and a temp of about 29c.

I'm just waiting on my electric blue's to lay their eggs. One thing you could do is try and count the eggs should be any where from low of 15 high of 500 but commonly around the 200 mark. There is very little records to how many eggs they actually have.

Once the eggs are laid they should hatch round 40 hours later! Like i said before the parents will keep them schooled together. After about 5 days they will be free swimming but still won't be allowed to even forage on their own!

Sorry for the massive read!

Parky

 

[Mcgolg76]

Massive reads are good. My ph is higher then optimal at about 6.8. Temp at 80. The only rock I have is under a cave that is shared by my african brown knife and my bristle nose. Gonna try to find more rocks. Only plant I have with big leaves are Anubiases attached to driftwood. Haven't seen them show any interest there. When they to lay eggs is it pretty obvious?

 

[parky]

Yeah you will see a cluster of small white eggs each egg measures from 0.9-1mm and the fish will be clearly displaying the one fanning one guarding rule. Not to point you at other sites but there are some videos you can view on youtube.

Once they have chosen an area the male may start to become aggressive towards tankmates be ready to make a clear divide between them, if you mentioned driftwood is large enough use this in the middle of the tank or if the size is an issue you can place it to the rear corners with you flat rock at the base. They might even chose to dig a hole in you substrate and lay the eggs there. As rams are a small cichlid.

Its all just a waiting game now. Don't worry about that ph either as its a good sign their have chosen to breed as a lot of thought is that the ph is a big decider as to whether they even pair up. Which yours clearly have and for that well done.

My male GBR had three females to chose from and all he keeps trying to do is break up the happy home of my mating pair of golds or pick on my plec, i'm thinking he might even fight his on reflection.

 

[Mcgolg76]

They have been inseparable since I got them a few months ago. No aggression yet. Not like I am actively trying to breed them just happpened. Fortunately they also happen to be my fav fish

 

[parky]

The flat rock if you have an old flower pot not in use you can either use that or smash it and use a piece dependent on tank space. Your also gonna need to cover your filter intake with a sponge or something to stop the fry been sucked in!

 

[parky]

Once they start breeding they will do so regular about once every 30 days or so if you want this to stop the best way like with any fish is to just turn the water temp down.

 

[DragonFish71]

If you look at your top picture, on the female, which is the one with the pink belly, you can see her ovipositor, just before the anal fin, little white tube, extending. That means she's getting close. It's hard to see if the male's is extended yet since he's over the white sand so there's nothing to give contrast.

 

[Mcgolg76]

Awesome. Def be fun to see what happens. Thanks for all advice. Any special food in case of fry? Should I give extra bloodworms to my rams?

 

[DragonFish71]

Awesome. Def be fun to see what happens. Thanks for all advice. Any special food in case of fry? Should I give extra bloodworms to my rams?

I raise mine on Hikari First bites then frozen baby brine shrimp, frozen daphnia, and micro worms (I culture my own). Once they're able to eat larger food, I have a special growth formula I feed them.

 

[Mcgolg76]

Should i feed the adults anything special. Currently have besides flake food, frozen blood worms and live brine shrimp. Both love to eat. They attack the turkey baster I use to feed my brown knifefish

 

[Mcgolg76]

No eggs yet, but female acting wierd. She is hanging out in one spot and seems to be opening and closing her mouth a lot. Kind of distressed look. She did not eat at feeding time for first time ever. Male wAsnt hanging around her but maybe now that he is fed he will go back to her. Neither are acting aggressive. Is this normal?

 

[venymae]

following

 

[DragonFish71]

No eggs yet, but female acting wierd. She is hanging out in one spot and seems to be opening and closing her mouth a lot. Kind of distressed look. She did not eat at feeding time for first time ever. Male wAsnt hanging around her but maybe now that he is fed he will go back to her. Neither are acting aggressive. Is this normal?

Do a small water change, use cooler water when you refill the tank. That helps trigger the spawning process by making them think it's the rainy season. After the water change, feed them some brine shrimp. The next day, feed brine shrimp in the morning, blood worms at night. The next day, another small water change with cooler water, etc etc. Don't over feed but you want to get them nice and prime.