My Rams are spawning!!

[brentling]

I am so excited. I ot a gorgeous pauir of German Blue Rams Friday, put them in my 29 gallon Amazon biotope tank, and they are already spawning!!

I'll try to figure out how to post pics :)

[nguyendetecting]

CongratS! I look forward to pictures. Just take some save them on your desktop and when you post a message just click on "GO ADVANCED" then upload pics. Oh make sure the pics aren't too big that's the only thing you need to worry about. goodluck

[brentling]

I hope these come through. They are not in order necessarily, but I managed to figure out how to post them! Funny, it's been 20 years since I raised any dwarf cichlids, but I had a feeling... I just set up a new tank, but it is not ready for them yet. I guess I'll just let nature do its thing here and maybe move them to the new tank in a couple of weeks once the tank is mature. I do sooo love these fish and I am very excited that they were happy enough to spawn just 4 days after I got them. They did spawn on just one rock, I wonder about moving it to the new tank, but I think not. Rams are usually good parent, but I have 3 little pigs that think they are Angelfish and I doubt they will leave them alone.

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/album.php?albumid=407&pictureid=2837

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/album.php?albumid=407&pictureid=2836

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/album.php?albumid=407&pictureid=2835

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/album.php?albumid=407&pictureid=2834

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/album.php?albumid=407&pictureid=2832

http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/album.php?albumid=407&pictureid=2831

[brentling]

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[Virtuoso2K12]

um... any updates?

[J double R]

considering the OP posted the pics late last night, i would assume that updates might take a few hours to get. ;)

[nguyendetecting]

lol cool pics, congrats again. Glad to see you back in the hobby

[lucy42083]

Nice pics, those are some good-looking rams you have!

[brentling]

Nice pics, those are some good-looking rams you have!

I waited months for them, but they are perfect!

This morning, the eggs were still intact and none had fungused, etc., or been eaten! I am really on the edge about moving them to another tank or taking the chance to let them be. They are in a fairly heavily stocked tank w/ Angelfish, Cardinals, Rummynose, Panda Cories, etc. The Angelfish are total pigs... It's just that the Rams seem so very happy in this environment and I don't want to risk their well-being by putting them in a new (uncycled) tank... But the coolness of raising the fry and the possible financial gain are also quite tempting.

If for some reason the fry remain viable, what do we feed the little guys these days? "Back in the day"... it was live baby brine shrimp, egg yolks mushed through cheese cloth, or green water. None of these sound appealing. Any new-fangled inventions for this purpose in the 21st century??

I will post updates as the situation warrants.

[grannylvsfish]

I feed my bavbies decapsolated brine shrimp . there so tiny and the fish grow fast on it. also crushed flakes :) are you selling some once there ready to go??

[brentling]

Momma Ram is diligently protecting the eggs still, and no fungus! That's a good sign 24 hrs in. The temp is about 82 degrees, so I expect them to hatch tomorrow? I have about decided to give these guys their own tank once it is cycled and this particular spawning has run its course. IF the babies live grow and prosper, I will certainly sell some. My LFS is interested too!

[nano cichlids]

good job cant wait to see more pics!!!

[brentling]

Apparently the eggs are infertile. I am told by reliable sources that my water is too hard for the eggs to become fertilized. Nobody ate the eggs, and no fungus, but no babies, either. Apparently the hardness of the water makes the outside "shell" of the egg too tough for the sperm to penetrate. I set up a 10 gallon that is currently cycling, then I'm going to do 40% RO and 60% tap and try it again. I also have a microworm culture on the way, so we'll see how that goes.

[brentling]

I am picking up an R/O unit tomorrow and the ten gallon is almost done cycling. They have spawned twice more, but the hardness of the water is leaving the eggs infertile. My microworms arrived and are thriving! Yuck! ;p

[shewolfgeo]

Good luck.. Lovely Rams you have.

[MaryPa]

Beautiful colors on your Rams,makes me wish I had kept mine.

[dirtydawg10]

That's a nice looking pair you have. Good luck!

[gmh]

How hard is your water? You may want to add more than 40 percent RO to the ten gallon. Good luck to you!