well....gonna do another ram spawn.....

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stingray4540

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Oct 18, 2005
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cool! they look like tadpoles.
I have a 29 gallon and the problem is with them ganging up on 1 of my gouramis. I have 2 gouramis that have split the tank in half, well the rams layed there eggs on the one half so that resident gourami gets beat up by both rams and when he tries to seek refuge at the other end of the tank he gets chased by the other gourami. The only place he's safe is at the surface, but he's too stupid to stay there. The rams only go after the big gouramis and leave everyone else alone unless they get really close.
Well heres my plan: I got a 10 gal from my dad that I'm going to set up as a bare bottom tank with a heater and HOB filter I'm going to put a sponge from my 30 gal filter in the tank and put my dwarf gourami in there. Once the eggs hatch them I will put the gourami back and siphon the hatchlings into the 10 gal. What do you think of that? Is a HOB filter ok for the fry/eggs if I put a sponge filter over the intake, and leave the water level down to create good oxygen and water flow? Would a HOB rated for a 20 gallon be overkill even if I adjust the flow rate to the lowest setting? Also, What if I am unnable to find java moss before the eggs hatch? Is there anything else I could use, like a leaf of java moss that is growing new leaves at the tip of the big leaf? If so do I just cut the leaf in half and put the tip with the newly growing leaves in the 10 gal.? So what do you think of my plan is this good? any other suggestions?
 

Emg

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Jan 16, 2005
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That sounds good about putting the gourami in the 10 until the eggs hatch. If you put a sponge over the intake, your filter should be ok.

As far as feeding the fry...put some gravel from you established tank in a nylon bag in the 10. There should be enough microrganisms swimming around in the gravel....also, any kind of plant will do. If you have any plants in your other tank/tanks you can toss a few clippings from those in there. Having the tank set up for a few days before the fry are eating is good because it allows those crawlies to multiply. I wouldn't worry too much about the infusoria...they'll be in there.

As far as when to start feeding them larger foods. Just keep an eye on them. Depending on how good your eyesight is, you can actually see the fry chasing down little white dots and sucking them up...with sort of a "hick-up" like motion. My fry at this time are even too small for the powdered fry food I have on hand. (hakari "First Bites"...purchased at PetSmart) I just check on them several times a day to be sure all is going well with them...and I sprinkle in a very few little dots of the fry food and watch to see if any of them eat it. It's been awhile since I did this so I don't remember exactly how old they are when they start eating offered foods...I'm thinking 1-2 weeks....probably earlier than 2 weeks. Micro worms are a good first food...if you can pick up a culture of that. YOu should be able to find a supplier online if you do a seach. BBS is good too. (baby brine shrimp)
 

fish_breeder_05

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Aug 23, 2005
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whats with the gravel in the niolon bag
 

Emg

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I will sometimes use gravel from an established tank to add to a new tank....for the beneficial bacteria that it will add. Putting it in a nylon bag just keeps it all together and makes it alot easier to move from tank to tank as I need it.

In a fry tank, that "old" gravel also comes with microscopic organisms that the fry will feed on. My fry will hang near that gravel bag and munch on what they find there. I will often see tiny micro worms crawling on the glass after a few days, which the fry will eat when they get large enough. This is usually sufficient in feeding the fry until they are large enough for bbs or the powdered fry food that I feed.
 

fish_breeder_05

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just through in old gravel and You don't need to add food? cool. never knew that. Would it work with fry as smal as gourami fry? also you said something about crossing bolivian rams and german rams. Why Do you do that? does it stringthen the strain? one store has bolivians for $7.00 and the other has german high finns for $10
 

Emg

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Um...no, I did not say anything about crossing the two rams.....I have never owned bolivians and if I did I would never cross them. Must be thinking of someone else...or I didn't make myself clear enough on something...can't remember what it could have been.....

I have never had to worry about feeding fry for the first week or two as long as there is live plants in the tank (the first few days they're feeding off their yolk sack anyway)......What I do is, after they are done with the yolk...I will sprinkle in a VERY small amount of powdered fry food and watch to see if any of them congregate around it and start eating. As soon as I see that I begin feeding 3 times a day....doing water changes every day or every other day.

I'm a bit careful about doing really big water changes before I start on the fry food....don't want to remove too much of the microrganisms they feed on..but I do certainly do small water changes.....not syphoning off the bottom of the tank, where a good deal of that stuff lives. When I start feeding them is when I start getting more aggressive with the water changes as far as cleaning off the bottom of the tank.
 
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stingray4540

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Oct 18, 2005
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Ok, I did what you said and the gourami is now in the 10 gal. with a handful of gravel and a java fern leaf. As for fish food I wasn't able to find the hakari first bites but I piccked up some stuff made by interpet called liquifry No2. It says it's for baby live bearing fish but would it work for the rams? Thanks again for the help. Oh yeah, witch eggs are the good ones? the opaque white ones or the light clearish ones?
 

case_rums

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ARG!!!! My lil rams STILL aren't spawning. I don't think the female is at full size. Maybe she's a runt? She's about 1-1 1/2" and the male is 2-3".

Lucky you EMG. If I had a spare tank, I'd pick up another pair. Maybe I'll just have to pick up another tank.
 
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