Ram Fry

[canarsie11]

I just notice my rams defending area in my 75 gallon, i thought they had spawned again, they have been laying eggs 3 times in the last 2 months, but no fry.

So I assumed it was happening again, but then I see something moving between them, closer look it is fry.

I will give you quick count.............. Roughly 30 or so!

It is amazing as they try to swim off, the mom sucks them up in mouth spits them back out near the group.

Question what should I do?

I have 10 gallon with 3 livebearers, should I move them in 75 and put fry and parents in there, or just leave them in 75.

How should I feed, matter fact what should I feed them.

Also, I have a real busy day, will they be able to protect them til tomorrow, if I have to move them

 

[yhbae]

I read up on breeding (german) blue rams quite a bit when I purchased a pair a while back, but gave up when I realized I ended up with 2 males 6 months later...

Depending on the breeders, some had luck feeding them hatched brine shrimps, some didn't as the fries tend to be very small. You should probably try both infusoria and BBS if you have access to both. Easiest way for me to provide infusoria is to put a large chunk of java moss...

I believe both male and female guard eggs/fries so you should be able to leave them in the same tank. I read that some of successive tank bred species can scr*w up the parenting care so watch out! Also, male can turn aggressive towards the female, so watch that out as well! (remove the female if this happens)

Higher temp is supposed to help as well - as high as 84F. This should be gradually lowered to normal levels over the next few weeks...

Good luck!

 

[canarsie11]

Will raising my temp to 84 (gradually of course) effect the rest of my fish in my 75 sig?

 

[yhbae]

Oh boy, I didn't realize they were spawning in the large tank! (I never read the first sentence of a paragraph...)

It is probably not a good idea to do that even though all will probably survive. (I treat ich using only the high temp method, and all of my fishes survive at 87F for two weeks. Never lost a single fish during treatment).

Hmm... It is going to be a challenge for you to feed and take care of the fries in that sized tank. Since you know that they are a breeding pair, you should transfer them over to a separate tank next time but for this time around, I'm not sure...

Can you manage to move them to the new tank? I suspect if you move both fries and the parent, the parent will abandon the fries so you should only move the fries. But I can't imagine how you could move fries that small? (Using cup? Syphon them out?)

Do you have a large amount of java moss that you can place close to the nest? Perhaps that will give them some food and place to hide away from other species?

 

[canarsie11]

I will be going out in search of java moss right now, is it sold commonly like other aquatic plants?

 

[cometcattle]

I will be going out in search of java moss right now, is it sold commonly like other aquatic plants?

It is often sold in a clump, or attached to a small piece of driftwood.

You could also feed them First Bites by Hikari:

http/www.hikariusa.com/first_bites.htm


My krib fry loved it, and it's only about $3.00.

In Chicago, it has been VERY hard to find java moss. I hope it's easier for you.


Congats on the fry, and good luck.

 

[yhbae]

I will be going out in search of java moss right now, is it sold commonly like other aquatic plants?

If you don't have any already, you might as well grow your own infusoria using lettuce. Personally, I grow huge quantities of them because they are useful for raising fries but it takes a while for them to grow from shop-selling size to a useful size... But they are very common - you should be able to find them in any stores that sell aqua. plants.

Perhaps the best option is to setup a small tank (5.5g?), put a sponge filter, syphon out the fries and try to raise them there by feeding them infusoria and BBS. Easier to do daily water change in this setup as well...

 

[canarsie11]

Just called my lfs, they have java moss. I will by some put in the corner near the nest, hopefully they will migrate over to that, I will also look into the food.

Hopefully, the rams will be successful in defending thier fry until later on, cause I have some business to attend to today.

Upon, my return and seing my fry still alive and adding java moss, I will update. please if any more suggestions please post...........

Thanks!

 

[yhbae]

Good luck!

 

[guppymonkey]

Congrats on having your rams breed. I have been trying to get my kribs to breed for 2 months and they still can't figure it out. The java moss should be very helpful although the parents might not like it near their nesting area. A lot of cichlids will rip apart plants near their nest so that predators have no where to lie in ambush for their fry. Rams aren't very aggressive though (and too small to move most things) so I don't know how they will react. Since they are already at the free swimming stage I wouldn't move them to a new tank. In my experience moving fry can stress them too much killing them or stunting their growth.

 

[canarsie11]

Decided not to move.

I have put java moss in the tank about 1 foot away from nest, this morning they had nest near the front of tank, but upon my return they have retreated to a more secluded position.

So far so good.

 

[canarsie11]

Just for a quick update, the rams have moved there fry over to the java moss, I do not know how they can herd them so quickly.

10 min ago, they were in original spot, now fry in the moss, parents standing guard above.

 

[yhbae]

Just for a quick update, the rams have moved there fry over to the java moss, I do not know how they can herd them so quickly.

10 min ago, they were in original spot, now fry in the moss, parents standing guard above.

Hope it works out for you...

 

[abstract]

interesting...just 5 minutes ago i noticed one of my blue rams defending a flat surface on the back of some driftwood....and there are about 50 eggs there

is there anything i can do to ensure they do not get eaten by other fish in the tank?? or do i need to leave them with the parents?

 

[canarsie11]

Parents will defend the area, dont be suprised if nothing happens. I saw about 3 eggs nest emerge then disappear, b4 I saw fry.

Had rams about 2 months