fearless german rams

[Max Action]

Today when I was adjusting the tank decorations after a gravel vac, my pair of rams - which had never given me any trouble before - decided that the geode I keep in my tank was THEIRS, and every time I went near it they'd flare up and peck at my hand. It didn't really hurt, but it wasn't like when the tiger barbs would nibble on me, either - the first few times I flinched like hell. And they would NOT back down.

When I removed my hand from the tank, they went to work picking at something inside the crystal opening of the geode - is it likely that they've laid eggs in there, and are now busy eating said eggs?

 

[fufanu360]

lol is it possible they had EGGS where your hand was ? they will do that if theres eggs or fry

 

[Dwarfs]

They could be establishing a territory to lay eggs, or have eggs somewhere

 

[Ben]

sounds like breedng behaviour

they might be moving the eggs from danger

but they might have eaten them aswell,

but if they did they will start again with in a month

DD

 

[Max Action]

OK, so it turned out that they had not laid eggs - they just thought they had. Watching them voer a few days I realized (after a spectacular battle between the male Ram and my bushynose pleco, who couldn't believe he was being attacked by the little #### ram) that the Rams were defending not the geode, but the translucent glass marble (about 1" diameter) that was sticking up from the substrate - apparently thinking it was a huge egg!

Once I removed the marble, they stopped defending the area .... it was kind of sad watching them looking around for their missing super egg though, right after it was removed.

 

[pica_nuttalli]

awwww that is just too sad! but the geode sounds like a tempting decoration...
what does everyone else think of providing this as a potential egg-laying site? i'm wondering if the jagged surface would provide extra protection from hungry plecos. i guess the biggest question would be potential leeching.