that piece of shale / slate that I bought. I put some in two locatons and they took the one I thought they would. it is behind the boat inbetween some plants - nice and concealed. a great place to lay eggs and easy to protect. I will try and get a pic, but it is hard since it is kinda hidden back in there...
Question about german blue rams
- Thread starter HeatherW
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that piece of shale / slate that I bought. I put some in two locatons and they took the one I thought they would. it is behind the boat inbetween some plants - nice and concealed. a great place to lay eggs and easy to protect. I will try and get a pic, but it is hard since it is kinda hidden back in there...
Wilkes
Aquarium Advice Freak
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- Feb 19, 2012
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HeatherW said:
Congratulations really pleased for you. Not having much luck myself. Could have to take one back at this rate
bs6749
Aquarium Advice Addict
Heather, glad to hear that the shale worked out for them.
Wilkes, mouthing like that is extremely typical of pairing activity in cichlids. You say that the female is dominant, but has now lost color and the male is chasing her. I said that I thought your fish looked young, and maybe the male is not ready to spawn yet. If the female has/had pink on her belly, she will most certainly be ready to spawn. Sometimes separating the fish for a week and then putting them back together will form a pair once they are put back together. I can't see the fish myself and have only your descriptions to go by, so I can't assess the situation in more detail.
I would suggest the you have ample coverage in the tank for the fish to get away from one another. Make sure that lines of sight are broken up so that one fish doesn't feel stressed if another gets too close. Give it time though. It could be something as simple as the female not wanting to pair with that male. Getting another male and putting it in there might be the best bet as it MAY encourage the pair to form a strong bond, but it may also be hard on the current male as the new male will most likely show aggression to a degree. I don't recommend keeping the unpaired male in the tank once a pair has formed.
Wilkes, mouthing like that is extremely typical of pairing activity in cichlids. You say that the female is dominant, but has now lost color and the male is chasing her. I said that I thought your fish looked young, and maybe the male is not ready to spawn yet. If the female has/had pink on her belly, she will most certainly be ready to spawn. Sometimes separating the fish for a week and then putting them back together will form a pair once they are put back together. I can't see the fish myself and have only your descriptions to go by, so I can't assess the situation in more detail.
I would suggest the you have ample coverage in the tank for the fish to get away from one another. Make sure that lines of sight are broken up so that one fish doesn't feel stressed if another gets too close. Give it time though. It could be something as simple as the female not wanting to pair with that male. Getting another male and putting it in there might be the best bet as it MAY encourage the pair to form a strong bond, but it may also be hard on the current male as the new male will most likely show aggression to a degree. I don't recommend keeping the unpaired male in the tank once a pair has formed.
Wilkes
Aquarium Advice Freak
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Yeah sorry about the confusion I'm confusing myself with which one is which. The female is the dominant one chasing the male. He is beginning to show split fins. I'll see how they are tomorrow and assess the situation again.
well.... the eggs are gone... not sure where. they were there at 1pm and they were still being guarded then at 430pm they are gone. any chance they are holding them all in their mouths? how would I know if they are?
OBEYtheFISH
Aquarium Advice Addict
They might have eaten them
Gbr's are not mouthbrooders
Gbr's are not mouthbrooders
yep - that is what I thought. I had read that they might put them in their mouth to keep them in a group, but wasn't sure about the other. Pretty sure either they ate them or the loaches did. saw the loaches cleaning off the stone for them later in the day. guess my guess just couldn't resist those wiggly little things
maybe they will do better next time. I will give them a few more tries and then maybe I can just remove the stone they lay their eggs on after they lay them on it?
rotorhead22
Aquarium Advice Freak
Sorry to hear that. Bottom feeders do like to eat them. I had a pair whose eggs were constantly eaten by a Corydora.
bs6749
Aquarium Advice Addict
I was going to comment that the eggs looked unfertilized, so your male may be too young to breed, but he will most likely get it right soon. Keep up on the water changes every other day and you will see more eggs in 5-7 days. As far as them putting the eggs in their mouths, they won't hold them there, but they may decide to move them from one spot to another. I've especially seen this when the eggs were about ready to hatch and the parents gobble up some fry and spit them out in a corner or in a pit for safekeeping.
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