New Blue Rams, babies on the way?

Your fish were doing the dance of love...

Yep, eggs should be there very soon if not already. Rams are notorious egg eaters however, so don't get your hopes up! This spawn is probably their first attempt - let them have 4-5 tries at it and see what happens. If you decide you want eggs I have written up how I do it and EMG on this forum has a whole line called 'Well, gonna do another ram spawn'. (Put that in the search feature).

She might jump in here too..

Anyway, if they lay eggs, you can watch the eggs to see if they darken. You won't want to put your face in the glass all the time, but check them once in a while. The rams should take turns guarding them... if after 24 hours you see some white eggs and some flesh colored eggs you will know that some did get fertilized. The white eggs are dead/unfertilized,etc and will fungus. If your water was too hard - gh above say 6 or so, then the eggs probably didn't get fertilized and they will eat them for sure. They need soft water.

There is lots of info on this site with all the rams lovers, etc. If you have any other questions be sure to write. (And write to keep us posted...)

Oh, if they hatch - you will need to feed them after 3-5 days. The eggs hatch into wrigglers. These wrigglers are feeding off their yolk sacs. If you have a planted tank, no problem. When they start to free swim they will find food. You could check into getting a microworm culture, and if they are still alive after a couple of days free swimming, start hatching some baby brine shrimp.

How fun, huh?!
Cathy
http://www.cathygeier.com
(Click on the link on the lower right)

I can't stress enough about baby brine shrimp. Without them the fry will not last 4 days. Microworms may give them a couple of weeks but bbs are the way to go.

Also, it's usally best to transfer the eggs to a spare small tank if u can, especially if the pair is in a community tank. You would then need an airstone to fan the eggs and probably some anti-fungus solution to stop the fungus on the un-fertilised white eggs. Sometimes it is best to even pick them off with tweesers as well.

Rainwater is also good as it is realy soft. But not 100% rainwater, thats too soft. And lots of oxygen to help develop the eggs. Once they hatch u can turn down the air a little so they can swim without getting thrown around with the current.

Feeding is the most crucial part though and without it they will perish, obviously.

Well I think I would forget the melafix/pimafix and get some Metronidazole. It could be hith (Hole in the Head), a disease caused by poor water quality and lack of good nutrition. (Not necessarily your tank - didn't you just get these guys?)

So, if you can find some of this powder, dissolve a pinch in very warm water. Soak some of her food in that water and feed it to her 3 times a day for 5 days. If she likes bloodworms/mysis shrimp then thaw those on a few napkins to dry them out a bit before soaking them in the Metronidazole.

The brand I use for this is distributed by Hikari, and is called Metro+. The other thing I would strongly recommend is daily water changes. Keep that water spotless, keep nitrates under 5-10 if possible. Not sure what your temp is but I keep my rams at 84-6, so bump up the temp a bit to boost her immune system.

Good Luck,
Cathy

Rams are tricky in this day and age. They got so popular that they are over bred and inbred. Then there is the shipment over here, and their sensitivity to nitrogen...

Keep trying to get her to eat that food. Their won't be much medicine in the tank from just that one squirt of food. Plus, Metronidazole doesn't dissolve that well in water and also doesn't get that well absorbed by the fish in water...

I hope she pulls through!
Cathy

I don't suppose you have a QT tank do you? You should really be careful adding new fish - especially rams. I went to one of the better lfs a couple of days ago, they had just gotten in a new batch of rams a couple of days before. Well, I went up to the tank and all the rams were dead and laying there on the gravel with no symptoms.

If you don't have a QT, and aren't going to be setting one up, then I'd get one right away. When I lost my favorite female I was slow to replace her and my male just went into depression. He began hiding all the time, and wouldn't eat anything. When I added another female a few weeks later, he was set in his ways and still doesn't come out much. (Only when the tank lights go out...)

They have spawned several times and have actually made it to the wriggler stage before eating the fry, but he still is very boring.

I assume she is still under 'warranty' and that any new girl you will bring home will be out of that same batch she was from. If so, he already has been exposed to anything your first female had, and probably the second one as well. (At least thats one way to think about it)

Sorry it didn't work out with these guys! Listen, there are some ram safe medicines you can add to the tank that won't bother any other fish. First, PraziPro - kill flukes. Second, Levimasole - kills internal worms. Third, the Metronidazole. Taken internally it kills other internal parasites. I routinely subject all my incoming rams to these 3 medicines. I know of another ram guy here who also runs them all through a course of Maracyn 1 and 2 together. It would be best of course to run all these meds when the fish are in QT. But, the Metron. and Prazi are totally safe meds. (Just my 2cents worth!)

Hopefully she won't suffer long if she is not going to make it.
Cathy