David593

two weeks ago, i purchased two german blue rams. However, one passed away. so I got another. I wasn't sure if i got a male and female. Well it has only been half a week since i introduced the new fish to the tank and when i went to turn off the lights, i got a huge surprise! EGGS on a flat part of some driftwood. I am really excited, but also nervous.

Are they fertilized?
Do I really have a pair?
What should I do?

Also, i have a 5 inch common plec in there (will remove when he gets bigger) and i have heard that they can destroy eggs at night, when the fish aren't paying attention. What should I do about this? I am so nervous about this, but in a good way

Amanda

If the eggs are fertilized, they'll be clear. If they're not - they'll be a milky color. Rams will raise their fry like any other cichlid. Plecos will eat the eggs if they get a chance.

David593

Tankmates are

10-rummy-nose
6-hatchets
1-plec

Do I need to divide the tank?

David593

Ok, the eggs are like a yellowish color and they look a little flat-ish, I still dont know if I have a male and female, could it be possible that a female lays eggs without a partner?

David593

Scratch that, they do not look flat-ish. Anyways, i was observing and the female has been trying to lay the same eg thatseems to be hanging there for the last 5 minutes. Meanwhile, the supposive male follows and kind of wiggles around near the eggs (fertilization?) Sorry for so many questions, i am really curious and want the best.

wot_fan

Male GBRs are usually bigger than the females. The females have pink on their bellies and males don't. Below is a pic of my pair. If you look closely you can see the pink on the female.



Mine have bred a few times. The other fish in the tank have gotten the eggs during the night though. Here is a vid of mine breeding if you are interested.

The little research of have done on breeding rams indicates that raising the fry can be challenging. Good luck.

David593

Interesting. Thanks! Mine are doing that, only they dont seem to be a protective meaning that they sometime stray of away from the eggs. None of the other fish look like they are going to go after them, except the pleco. He's eyeing them from a distance


I guess I'll just have to wait and see how it goes. They are still working and the lights have been on for over 12 hours so i want to turn them off but am worried about them not finishing, would it be safe to do so? I can keep the room light on...

wot_fan

The couple of times I actually caught them breeding, it was over within an hour. Afterward at least one of them would stay near the eggs and aggressively protect them. That was until it was feeding time. Then they seemed to forget about them until they were done eating. They would return to guarding after the food was gone.

Every time I have had them breed, the eggs were gone in the morning. IMHO, when the lights go out, your pleco will eat them. Every article I have read on breeding GBRs says you have to either remove the eggs or have only the GBR pair in the tank. Again, I haven't done a ton of research. You may have different results than mine .

P.S. Here is a vid of the last time they bred and you can see the protective behavior. It isn't as good as the last vid since the GBRs picked a tougher place to breed for me to film. For some reason it isn't playing properly for me in firefox but it plays fine with Internet Explorer (PC) or Safari (Mac).

David593

thanks for the info. I just put up a divider and the rams have a third of the tank just to themselves. Unfortunately, I am afraid it was a frog move because evryone is stressed now. I sure hope it works out. I just turned the lights of so that they may calm down. One thing that really worries me is that they chose a spot that is about half a foot away from the intake filter. I didnt want to move the driftwood as i was worried that that would definately mess them up.

Do you think that this was a bad move?

wot_fan

I think you have a good plan there. As far as the intake of your filter, can you put a sponge or net over it? I use AquaClear HOB sponges over all my intakes. It acts as another biological filter and a prefilter.

I may be getting ahead of the situation, but do you have anything small enough for the fry to eat? From what I know, you have a few days before it becomes necessary to feed them. It is best to be prepared though .

David593

No I dont :/

I was just looking into that and i don't really know what to do about that. I don't really want to have to buy some expensive baby fish food. I seen people mention daphnea and baby brine shrimp. Not sure how those work. I will have to look into it. I also read that if you have a lamp on in the room to give a little light so that the parent are wary of predators, but i think the divider will work.

any ideas on what to feed the babies, if I get that far...Could i just crush flakes into really fine pieces? Or do i need to grow something? I don't know for sure...

David593

Well, i guess they got too stressed or just didn't feel right, because i went to the tank and half of the eggs were gone and they were both there, picking them up and munching on them. well, at least its good protein and there is always a next time!

Thanks for the help!

wot_fan

Unfortunately my only experience with fry has been with Endler's Liverbearers and African Cichlids (mouth brooders). For those fish, decapsulated brine shrimp eggs has worked great. Even my adult GBRs go nuts for it. Egg layer's fry are a lot smaller in general so I am not sure it would work for them.

I have read that Wardley's Smallfry, microworms and vinegar eels are good for freshly hatched GBR fry. The article I read says after the first week and a half you can try bigger foods. Unfortunately that is all the info I have.

Edit: Sorry to hear that. From what I have read it sometimes take a couple of spawns for them to get the hang of it. At least now you have a plan for next time .

David593

yep! Thanks.

wot_fan

Your welcome .

I did a little reading on breeding rams today. One of the posts I read recommended a method of controlling where they will breed. It said if you partially bury a piece of slate, they will breed on it. Your not supposed to completely bury it. Just cover it with a thin layer of gravel so some of it is exposed. Evidently the female likes to clear off a flat surface to breed on. If you try this method, I would love to hear if it works .

David593

Ok. I'll look into that. I was going to put in a clay pot, but i will try this too.

wot_fan

My female GBR has been digging in the gravel and is getting a little aggressive. That is usually an indication that they are going to breed soon. The last time they spawned was 3/31. IOW, yours might be ready to breed again in 2 weeks or less . Good luck and keep us informed.