lmsmith Posted September 5, 2008 Report Share Posted September 5, 2008 I have a pair of blue rams who are displaying spawning behaviour in my community tank. I'd like to keep the babies (if I can hatch and raise them). Should I move the parents to another tank? The only ones they can really go in is a 15l hospital tank, or a 50l tank with either lionheads or guppies + corys. Alternatively, I could just leave them in the community tank and plant heavily around where they are laying. Help would be much appreciated!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitzy Posted September 5, 2008 Report Share Posted September 5, 2008 How big is your communtiy tank ? what other fish are in there? I had my pair of gold in a tank approx 25 - 30 litres , once they laid the eggs i removed the parents put an air stone near the eggs, and the meth blue in and covered the tank. Ideally you need a spare tank thats bigger for grow out. I moved mine when they were about 4 or 5 weeks with the water from the breeding tank to a 60 litre tank with there water and about 20 litres of cycled water that was already in the tank and slowly raised the level with each daily water change. when mine were free swimming i fed them microworms , egg yolk . I also put in other food that they may or may not have been able to eggs like shelled peas etc , Its important not to put too much in as can turn the water pretty quick and daily water changes is important too. Hope that helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted September 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 5, 2008 My community tank is only 100l, in it is: 2 medium angels 6 black widow tetra 3 glowlights 3 male guppies - will prob take these guys out 3 BN And the 2 rams I'm a bit concerned about the angels and black widow tetras eating the eggs, although the rams are being pretty territorial and won't let anything near where they're hanging out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitzy Posted September 5, 2008 Report Share Posted September 5, 2008 Alot of the time the parents will eat there own eggs that why alot of people raise the eggs them selves, I dont think they will have chance of hatching with all them fish in the tank really you need them in a tank by them selves or remove the eggs thats if you see them lay them etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted September 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2008 Ok, I've got a 60l tank for them, think I'd be better off setting it up as a bare bottom or sand bottom for them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitzy Posted September 6, 2008 Report Share Posted September 6, 2008 Bare bottom is best , easy to see what the babies are eating, easy to clean. I have plants in mine too just in terra cotto pots etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted September 6, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 6, 2008 awesome thanks so much for your help! I'll give it a go and post back here to let you know how they go! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted September 8, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 8, 2008 Here's a pic of my set up - I'm just waiting for the PH to get a bit lower and the temp to come up a bit. I'm going to add some peat tomorrow and add my ram pair. They're still nesting in my community tank at the moment and the male is getting pretty territorial. I've got lots of caves and hiding places in the tank - I'm hoping to be able to breed bristlenose and the rams in the same tank. If I get the pH down to 6.5, and the temp at about 27c, they should both be happy enough to spawn. I'm just a bit concerned that the rams might attack the catfish, or eat the babies. Any advice would be great, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave+Amy Posted September 8, 2008 Report Share Posted September 8, 2008 I'd be keen for a few of your rams if it all goes well! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted September 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2008 I put the rams in the tank last night, and today they seem to have gotten aquainted with their new surroundings. They've picked a cave, which has good water flow across the mouth, and is in a darker area of the tank. The male has been sussing out the surroundings, and has been coming out of the cave a bit, but the female has spend most of her time in the cave. It kinda looks like she's 'climbing the walls'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitzy Posted September 9, 2008 Report Share Posted September 9, 2008 Looks great. sorry not got pic to you as cam playing up and very hard to get a good pic. You don't have the catfish in there too do you as they will eggs the eggs and fry. got to love all them caves Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted September 9, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2008 Hi Mitzy - no, I decided not to put the bristlenose in there after all, I'll put them in my guppy tank instead. The rams seem really happy and the boy is happily following the girl around, so I'm hoping for eggs in a few days. I don't have a smooth stone for them to lay on, but do have all of the pots - will this be enough? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mitzy Posted September 9, 2008 Report Share Posted September 9, 2008 should be fine as my golds likes the pots instead of flat rocks. Feed them up real good with blood worms and live foods. Best of luck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted September 11, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 11, 2008 My rams laid eggs last night - I saw them this morning. There only appeared to be about 60 of them. When I got home this afternoon, they were gone. I guess the parents had eaten them. Are the eggs sticky? They had laid the eggs on the bottom of the tank, and I couldn't see if they were sticky or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmsmith Posted September 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted September 25, 2008 There was no breeding activity in the rams tank, so I look them out and put them back into my community tank. Surprise surprise, 2 days later and they're digging themselves a hole in the substrate. I've decided to take all the other fish out of there and leave them in the community tank by themselves. Hopefully, this will work better! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave+Amy Posted September 26, 2008 Report Share Posted September 26, 2008 hope your next batch turns out fine - wouldn't mind buying a few Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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