German Blue Ram Discussion

[smittyjr18]

Well i have had 2 BGR for about 2 months now. I had bought 2 males and so i got a female for them. (I wanted 2 females but the LFS only had 1 that looked good) The minute i put her in one of my guys started pairing up with her. About a week later i have eggs. First time they ate the eggs about day 2. Then about 2 weeks later eggs again! But then same thing on day 2 they ate all the eggs. The eggs did not have fungus or anything like that.... I think that they might be inmature? So i'm ready to take care of the eggs but i dont know how. I have a 10 Gal tank ready and i am going to get a sponge filter and a heater. What else would i need to care for the eggs?

 

[Meredith]

I am thinking of getting one more female. I am sure this will make my male very happy, but will my girl be stressed out at all by having to share her space with another lady?

 

[Jchillin]

I've never seen or heard of problems with females being aggressive toward each until the male has chosen one and that one will take on that possessive/aggressive trait during spawning.

 

[mumrah]

over the past several days, my female's stomach has been showing much brighter pink. Also, the bottom of her tummy (in the anal fin area) it seems darker than usual.

hopefully these are signs of her developing eggs.

 

[Jchillin]

Got my fingers crossed mumrah.

 

[mumrah]

Yup, they're spawning as i type. The female's tummy has gotten very bright pink, and darkened at the bottom, as well as getting wider.

The male has been cleaning out their spawning cave over the past 3 days (that i've noticed), and as of tonight the female has been chilling on the bottom of the cave in the back, while the male stands guard at the front. I haven't seen any eggs yet, so who knows if she's dropped yet.

The plants have grown in front of the cave since i've started injecting co2, so i cant see them very clearly.

Hopefully i'll have some pics up soon

 

[Hrafnkel]

Good luck. Hoping to have a breeding pair of my own, sometime within the next few months.

 

[mumrah]

some time during the day today they spawned . A larger batch than last time. Hopefully i'll get some fry

 

[rubysoho]

ooooo!!!! that is soooooo cool. pictures of the new parents????

 

[mumrah]

i will steal my parents digicam next time i see them.

Most of the time the male sits in the cave and guards the eggs. Is there anyway to tell if he's fertilized them? Both he and the female fan the eggs occasionally, which is very very cool to see. I hope he's not in there snacking on the eggs when i'm not looking.

 

[Jchillin]

Congrats mumrah... That's awesome. I agree, it would be really cool to see it.

 

[mumrah]

Ok, so this morning, i peeked in and noticed about a dozen of the eggs are now much lighter colored, and appear slightly larger. Are these fertilized eggs, or fungified eggs?

 

[tailbarlionfish]

hey there i have the variations of rams. I have 1gold ram, 1bolivian ram and 1 ram. I've lately suffered the loss of a ram and a gold ram due to some bacterial problem, but im treating my tank and everything is ok atm!!!

 

[severum mama]

Bolivian rams are not a variant of the blue ram. They are a different species, mikrogeophagus altispinosa. They are larger and generally more hardy than the blue ram. The gold ram is a variant of the blue ram, mikrogeophagus (or papillochromis) ramirezi.

Way to go mumrah! Show us those babies!

 

[tailbarlionfish]

i never said they were...

 

[Meredith]

Babies yea! That is really cool.

 

[Jchillin]

Ok, so this morning, i peeked in and noticed about a dozen of the eggs are now much lighter colored, and appear slightly larger. Are these fertilized eggs, or fungified eggs?

More than likely they were not fertilized. The parents (or just the female) will either eat them or ignore them. Not to worry though, it usually takes a couple of attempts for them to get it right.

Bolivians are direct cousins of the German and Gold Rams. They is no history of cross-breeding that I know of.

 

[Jchillin]

I've lately suffered the loss of a ram and a gold ram due to some bacterial problem, but im treating my tank and everything is ok atm!!!

What type of bacterial problem? What did you use to treat it if you did?

 

[greenmaji]

Ok, so this morning, i peeked in and noticed about a dozen of the eggs are now much lighter colored, and appear slightly larger. Are these fertilized eggs, or fungified eggs?

If they are white or cloudy looking that would indacate fungifedness<<--not a real word.. HTH

 

[rubysoho]

actually, the fertilized eggs I got from my pair of rams turned a light tan and they hatched later the next day. It is when they turn white/cloudy (like greenmaji mentioned) which indicates they were not fertilized and are being covered with fungus.