my rams spawned!

[inkyjenn]

i feel like a success even though i did nothing special!

ok, pics :D

dad guarding the eggs
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b325/theladyisthetiger/balloon%20rams/DSC03963.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b325/theladyisthetiger/balloon%20rams/DSC03962.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b325/theladyisthetiger/balloon%20rams/DSC03961.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b325/theladyisthetiger/balloon%20rams/DSC03960.jpg
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b325/theladyisthetiger/balloon%20rams/DSC03965.jpg

mom:
http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b325/theladyisthetiger/balloon%20rams/DSC03964.jpg

[inkyjenn]

this is their first spawn, so im not holding my breath

[ChrisK]

Congrats, hope they hatch

[inkyjenn]

well, they made it through the night :)

[moosefish09]

nice pics and good luck

[inkyjenn]

and theyve made it through a second night. there are a lot of infertile eggs; the nest has definately gotten smaller. however, there are clumps of nice clear eggs that show evidence of a pair of black dots and a yellowish area of a developing yolk sac

[coach_z]

does/will the male sit and tend the eggs for hoewver long it takes?

[inkyjenn]

the male seems to sit them more, but the female does come over once in a while and gives the male a break. the male swims off and stretches for a few minutes and pecks around for snacks, then swims back and takes over. its really kind of cute. the male is a hausfrau...

[inkyjenn]

third night and there are still eggs. the quantity is a lot smaller, but it seems the parents are only eating the infertile eggs, leaving behind the fertile ones. i keep my water between 78-80 so im hoping the eggs will hatch any day now...

[bs6749]

From the first pic I was wondering what was wrong with the male ram and thought you might have balloon rams. Not my favorite but it looks like that's the case. All of the eggs look as if they are unfertilized. They should hatch out within 72 hours at those temps.

[inkyjenn]

they are balloon rams. i wasnt asking for opinions about them; i was sharing my glee that they had spawned at all. they arent all infertile. that was i dunno how soon after they were laid. quite a few are clear with distinct black speckling of eyespots and spines

[dirtydawg10]

Cool! Congrats! Hopefully you will get some fry.

[jpappy789]

Very cool, congrats!

Interesting that they picked to spawn on the substrate like that.

[dirtydawg10]

I had GBR's that spawned on the gravel like that. There apparently was no better place in my tank for them to use.

[inkyjenn]

I HAVE WIGGLERS!!!!!! there are like 30 in some java moss attached to a log! now for the real quandry: do i move the babies, or leave them in there...

[dirtydawg10]

They will be easier to take care of if you move them into their own tank.

[inkyjenn]

they hatched sometime this afternoon...should i wait till they are free swimming?

[bs6749]

Don't move them. See if the parents can raise them. That's the best thing you can do right now. They won't go swimming until 3 or so days from now and that's if they make it that long. If they do you will need to have microworms on hand or something small like that, walter worms, vinegar eels, etc. BBS are too large for them when they first go free swimming.

[inkyjenn]

ive got A TON of java moss, and ive got plants in an outdoor tank i can snag for infusoria. ive also got hikari first bites. i feel im fairly well prepared. i can grab brine shrimp to hatch, but that should wait a few days, right, since they are so small?

[bs6749]

You are going to have to go with microworms or walter worms or vinegar eels off of Aquabid. Trust me on this one. Hikari First Bites are worthless IME. Toss them out. The fry don't eat the stuff and it fouls the water FAST. You need live foods like what I mentioned.

[dirtydawg10]

I usually don't move the fry until they are free swimming. They don't need to be fed until they are free swimming. My main reason for recommending moving them is because the amount of times per day that you will need to feed them. It will be easier to make sure they are fed if they are in their own tank. You should also do frequent water changes...like daily or every other day.

[inkyjenn]

thanks for the advice guys.

[inkyjenn]

my rams think they are funny...i collected the fry this morning and put them in a breeder net. the parents went up and sucked the fry out of the net (they are so tiny) and put them back in the java moss where they started :swear:

[fl4ian]

lmao

[Liquid_Pyro]

Thats hilarious, are the rams in general very easy to keep? I have read they can be sensitive...

[bs6749]

my rams think they are funny...i collected the fry this morning and put them in a breeder net. the parents went up and sucked the fry out of the net (they are so tiny) and put them back in the java moss where they started :swear:

So why do you insist on moving them? I told you to keep them with the parents and clearly they are good parents if they moved them. It is much easier to raise the fry by letting the parents do it rather than artificially. Leave the fry alone!!! All you are doing by messing around in the tank is stressing the parents. Keep it up and they might eat the fry. Since they haven't eaten the eggs and the wigglers, they most likely won't eat the free swimmers once they get there...unless you keep messing with them.

[inkyjenn]

So why do you insist on moving them? I told you to keep them with the parents and clearly they are good parents if they moved them. It is much easier to raise the fry by letting the parents do it rather than artificially. Leave the fry alone!!! All you are doing by messing around in the tank is stressing the parents. Keep it up and they might eat the fry. Since they haven't eaten the eggs and the wigglers, they most likely won't eat the free swimmers once they get there...unless you keep messing with them.

ok, there is more than one person posting advice here. dont take it so personally that i disregarded yours. also, after a lot of digging, most people move the fry, not leave them with the parents. RELAX. IT WILL BE OK. IF THEY SPAWN ONCE, THEY WILL SPAWN AGAIN. THIS IS THE FIRST SPAWN ANYWAY. THEY WERE LIKELY TO EAT THEM IF I LEFT THEM ALONE. THEY ARE IN A COMMUNITY TANK. people have left them alone and 48 hours after they become free swimming, all become snacks.

*sheesh*

i feel like my mom just yelled at me...

for you with the question on ram sensitivity, yes, they tend to be sensitive. you need a well established aquarium to home them in, not something newly set up (in other words, dont cycle a tank with them). they can also be picky about water parameters (gh and pH), but once acclimated, do pretty well. the only other drawback i see to these guys is that they tend to be short lived; the oldest ive read they get is 2 years and thats ancient for them. someone else chime in on this if im wrong

[bs6749]

Most people don't move the fry, they move the EGGS, as in before they hatch. I'm simply pointing out that you are doing nothing except stressing the parents, which seem to be raising the fry on their own. This alone isn't all that common anymore it seems and you have it in your fish. That's why I'm wondering why you want to chance stressing them to the point where they eat them.

They aren't likely to eat them if the wigglers have hatched. I don't know where you got that information from but it's not true. As far as water parameters go you can cycle a tank with them. If you can't then how do you explain how all of my wilds lived in an uncycled tank with water changes every other day? Not a single loss on them. They can also live more like 4-5 years. Two years is a really low number in my experience. By the way, I've bred rams for years so I do know a little about them.

[inkyjenn]

could someone close this thread. its getting off topic

[fl4ian]

don't close it without starting another for pics :)

[inkyjenn]

ha!