My female ram laid eggs

[Elisabeth83]

Last night I noticed some odd behaviour of my female ram. It looked as though she had a short, thick white worm hanging out of her vent but it didn't match anything I read about worms. No red/inflamed area etc etc.

She kept rubbing it on some rocks and I was thinking great she brought in fin rot and now she has worms!!! Laying eggs did cross my mind but last night I couldn't see anything. She was picking up all the sand too and I kept thinking to myself alright I think ya found all the food your ever going to find there

Then this morning I go to check on her and she's guarding the rock pile and I look closer and theres a bunch of eggs all on the rocks

But the thing is my male is in another tank as they haven't been getting along so the eggs wont be fertile I was planning trying to put the male in the tank either today or tomorrow but now I'm feeling she really wont want to bond with him after laying the eggs??

At least she doesn't have worms although her vent still seems to be open

 

[jollysue]

Drama, drama, drama! It's just one epic after another in our little artificial worlds.

Let us know what happens.

 

[Ben]

IMO, you should put the male back in after she has eaten/destroyed the eggs, because now you know that she is ready and wants to mate, she will try and get along with the male and in about a month she will lay eggs again
Good Luck

DD

 

[pseud]

Hey Elisabeth! (That white thing is called the 'oviposter' )

As DD said, I'd put them back in together (provided she's disease free). So long as he doesn't bully her so much that she starts cowering in a corner, I'd leave him in. At first he'll probably chase her pretty much repeatedly and she'll swim for cover, but so long as she's always got somewhere to hide and the chase is over within a couple of seconds, she should be fine. Good luck!

 

[Elisabeth83]

Well I just got home from being out and I see that most of the eggs on the rocks are gone but that over at the other end of the tank there is a whole bunch more on a log. I wonder if she moved them or laid more?

I am 99% certain the fin rot is gone as her tail fin has all new re-growth but they are still not 100% back to normal. Should I wait until her fins are fully grown back or will it be ok for me to put him back? I bet it'll take maybe 2-3 days for them to back to 100%.

Ok oviposter I got it..just like a betta then

Hmmm I'm hoping to get a 40 long sometime this week..would it bet better to put them both together after I get the 40 long? It's not certain that I am getting it though I'm still talking with the guy.

 

[pseud]

Yeah, I'd wait a few days for her to fully heal, maybe 5 days. And then see if you get the 40, if so, put her in it and wait a week, then add him. That's just what I'd do.

 

[Ben]

IMO, you should give them a tank to themselves to breed in peacefully, btw how big is your current tank the female ram is in?

DD

 

[Elisabeth83]

I don't want to give them a tank by themselves to breed. I'm not even really looking to breed them. I just want them for a community type tank and if the eggs/fry get eaten it's ok and if some survive that's ok too

The female is in a 30 gallon right now. I figured out the new tank is only about 6.5 gallons bigger but that it's about 13.5 inches longer. The dimensions of the new tank (if I get it) are 45x12x16. The dimensions of the tank the female is in now are 31.5x14x16

I'll wait on adding him then til she's healed up. What if I added them to the new tank at the same time? Or it's just best to add her first and then him? I thought maybe if they were both new they would bond quicker? Maybe not

 

[pseud]

I dunno... maybe.
I was thinking add her first so then she gets used to the tank and considers it 'hers' and then when he is added he has no ownership of the territory so it would make him a little more timid, so he wouldn't pester her so much. He wouldn't be so territorial and so aggressive toward her. But, I could be wrong!

 

[Labyrinth]

Hi Elisabeth, I agree with pseud. IMO, You should let the female in first, this from my knowledge make the male court her on her territory so he shouldn’t be as aggressive when you put him in.

From your question before about the eggs on the log, I would have thought she has moved them, this is because Cichlids are often known to move their eggs and fry to new pre-cleaned locations.

Hope this helps!!!

Also, unfortunately if she has had finrot her fins will probably never get to 100% like they were before.

And congratulation, if the female wants to breed, you must have a nice clean tank.