at the weekend i made some caves out of some slate and put it in my tank, before this my rams had been digging in the sand alot but didnt seem to be able to find somewhere to 'settle'. now though my female has laid eggs! i thought yesterday that she had turned very red and seemed to be more plump and now ive just found eggs which werent there a couple of hours ago. I dont think this lot will be successful as i think ive seen the male eating them but im so pleased ive got a pair that will breed and that feel happy enough in my tank

Awesome, good job.
You were right in your observations. This first time around, the brood my not be successful. But they will learn.

Most captive rams lose their parenting skills and will actually eat their fry all the times. It is best to artificially rear the eggs.

well the light is still off in the tank so i cant quite see if the egss are there still but the parents dont seem to be gaurding them so im presuming theyve gone. it was fascinating to watch her lay the eggs and then see him go over and fertilise them. im pleased that they feel happy enough to breed though

all the eggs have been eaten as i suspected, but the female is still very plump and red and still has what i presume is the egg tube on her underside, are they likely to try and lay more eggs today? or do they have 1 attempt then wait a few weeks?

it depends on the condition of the female I would say. Mine usually could only lay once a month, but if your female has a tube showing she might try again sooner.

Unlucky but good effort. My Bolivian Rams have had two failed breeds so far. Im sure its them that are eating the eggs. The chap in my LFS recons they dont know any better being tank bread

Good effort though and im sure they'll be at it again soon

Yeah my Blue Rams have done the same on their first two spawnings (they also spanw about once a month). Both times they have laid eggs in the late afternoon and have guarded them well until at least the morning. By the time I have got back from work both times though the eggs had been gone (in a tank full of cory's and tetras so not supprised).

Next time they lay I'm going to divide the tank to keep the other fish away and see how they do. I have been tempted to give them a tank of their own though.

Like I said, most rams lose their parenting skills if they are tank bred. You should put them in a small separate tank with an air pump and no gravel and when they hatch you should put them in another tank that is half-filled. This will help the fry find the food. Many people have luck feeding them microworm the first 3-4 days and then switching to BBS.