FraserNZ Posted February 2, 2011 Report Share Posted February 2, 2011 Hello all, I have picked up my breeding pair of German Blue Ram's, they are two very good looking fish. The male had all the tell tail signs of his sex, and the female a lot smaller with a pink belly. She also looks to be full of eggs and has her tube showing! I was going to put them in with my other rams until I had the chance to setup my breeding tank perfectly. However,the other two rams just jumped them, and wouldn't leave the female alone. They just chased the male off completely! It was really disturbing to watch! So, I setup the breeding tank in a rush and just used the water from my main tank... Do you guys think this will safe for the pair to go straight into?? The setup is as follows, 1 x Air Pump (powering a air filter) 1 x Eheim 100w heater 1 inch layer of gravel (green/grey if that matters) 1x small piece of wood 1 x medium sized Java Fern Water Temp 28c ish PH 6.8 KH still to test I really hope they will be sweet in this tank as I had no time to let the bacteria build up on the sponge filter before adding them! Do you guys feel that using the tank water from my well established tank will be enough? I'm also preparing a list of food items I will need for the fry and the parents. I only have have color enhancing flakes and tetracolor at the moment so, any help would be very much appreciated! PS, I will keep you all updated with how it all goes with these guys so you all can learn from my mistakes Cheers, F Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfishybuisness Posted February 3, 2011 Report Share Posted February 3, 2011 did you buy these of tm ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandysme Posted February 7, 2011 Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 Can you take a bit of media out of your already established filter, whether it be filter wool, or noodles it will help... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquila Posted February 7, 2011 Report Share Posted February 7, 2011 How big is the breeding tank? If it is big enough (ideally 80L with large footprint, but at least >40L) then 2 fish in it won't cause an ammonia spike as long as you don't over feed the first couple weeks. Feed the fish often to help condition them but make sure its not more then they can eat. Also, small daily water changes will help in the first few weeks until the filter is established...then drop back to 1-2 a weeks, for maybe 2 per month depending on the size of the tank. Rams like clean but stable water conditions. I think you will find that the pair will settle in quickly (especially after their stressful ordeal in the community tank) and will probably breed within 2 weeks. For the fry, have some green water handy, also microworms and live baby brineshrimp. You can also eventually get them onto decap brineshrimp but just mix it with the other food until they learn how to eat food that is not alive. The parents will also love it if you suppliment their diet with high-protein flakes or pellets, frozen bloodworms and brineshrimp and live daphnia. Goodluck and keep us posted with the progress! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FraserNZ Posted March 10, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 Hi Guys, Sorry I have only just spotted all your responses, Since this post my breeding pair have had another two lots of eggs. The second lot getting to the fry stage which they raised for about 5 days after hatching. Not sure which one ate them, however it was good to see hundreds of fry swimming around the male Aquila, I read your post sometime ago. Did you end up having any luck raising your fry to maturity? I have done quite a bit of research and have just built a 140L tank which has a very large foot print at 100cm long by 40 deep. I intend to use this for my pair, and will mimic their natural environment as much as possible. I have also got a 30L tank setup just for the fry. If you guys are interested I'll post up my progress as I go when I have time Cheers, Fraser Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fruju Posted March 10, 2011 Report Share Posted March 10, 2011 Hey another Fraser! Hi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FraserNZ Posted March 23, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2011 Hey another Fraser! Hi Hi mate! Looks as though the Rams are at it again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FraserNZ Posted April 4, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 4, 2011 Just an update, I still haven't had any luck with getting anymore fry. I think they laid some eggs a couple of weeks ago (I could see the eggs as there was a load of hairgrass in the way). However, I went away that weekend and there was no sign of them when I returned. A couple of questions, 1. How many times a day should of be feeding them? Is it best to feed them 3 or so times a day, but small amounts each time? Or, should I just feed them once a day? 2. Does the KH level really matter for these guys? Mines aways very low, and my PH is normally around 6.5 -6.8. There has never been a PH swing in the tank however. Would it be advisable to increase the KH with those Seachem products, and then amend the PH back down after I have increased the KH? Or is it best left alone? Cheers, Fraser Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davd-lw Posted April 17, 2011 Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 Move down to Hamilton. I will show u how to get 100000s fries in u tank. U need get few things right Water cndition(ph) Environment Filteration Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FraserNZ Posted April 17, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 17, 2011 Move down to Hamilton. I will show u how to get 100000s fries in u tank. U need get few things right Water cndition(ph) Environment Filteration Oh any advice would be great, I have pretty much tired everything I can think of!! As for water conditions, My PH is 6.7 at the moment, with a very low KH (test kit changes colour on the first drop) DIY CO2 to help bring the PH down from 7.2 Environment: 50x50x120 (300 litre tank) Planted with Stargrass, Swords, Glosso, Java Ferns. One side of the tank is heavily planed, the other is a little bare at the moment as I'm remodelling. Lots of wood as well. Only other occupents in the tank is 1x bristlenose 2 x dwaf loach. All of witch the pair chase from time to time (when breeding) Filtration: 1x Sunsun forget the model but I think it does about 1400lph? Plans for the tank: More plants, more filtration, and pressurized C02 (I'll rehouse the breeding pair until I have this running prefectly) I can rehouse the other fish, however I have left them as I thought they would be good chasers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
myfishybuisness Posted April 18, 2011 Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 Move down to Hamilton. I will show u how to get 100000s fries in u tank. U need get few things right Water cndition(ph) Environment Filteration trust me david no wat he talking about , he has millions of the sucker Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FraserNZ Posted April 18, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2011 Yeah he must do! I have only ever managed to get one spawn to the free swiming then they went missing :tears: I'm so keen to raise some of these guys to adulthood... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FraserNZ Posted April 19, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 Here's a few pictures of my tank which houses my breeding pair. Sorry about the photo quality, an Iphone is all I have for a camera at the moment :oops: Also, the right hand side of the tank is currently under going a refit so please ignore the open space Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davd-lw Posted April 19, 2011 Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 Very nice setup. This will do, just need some rocks n flat surface. Thats all. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bishop Posted April 19, 2011 Report Share Posted April 19, 2011 Yeah tanks looks great, good luck with the breeding. What is that foreground plant under tha sag? Amd where do I get some? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FraserNZ Posted April 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 thanks guys, Bishop are you talking about the grass like stuff? If so thats Glosso. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bishop Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 Yeah mate, thanks. Looks good in your tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FraserNZ Posted April 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 Thanks mate. Heres a link for ya... http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/mypla ... oides.html It's a lot easier to grow than what people say. However, it does require good lighting and good substrate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dreams Posted April 20, 2011 Report Share Posted April 20, 2011 I think if you just keep up with the good quality water, and keep feeding good foods (flakes/tetra colourbits and bloodworms etc.) they will start breeding again soon. Mine used to do it every time they lost their batch of fry. Though I've never raised them past a few days due to other commitments at the time, I find the parents are usually very good at taking care of the frys. The male more so though...but I had neons and SAE's in the tank, and found that quite often the fry would get lost in the hairgrass and end up as food. Make sure that your CO2 doesnt fluctuate too much Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FraserNZ Posted April 21, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 21, 2011 I think if you just keep up with the good quality water, and keep feeding good foods (flakes/tetra colourbits and bloodworms etc.) they will start breeding again soon. Mine used to do it every time they lost their batch of fry. Though I've never raised them past a few days due to other commitments at the time, I find the parents are usually very good at taking care of the frys. The male more so though...but I had neons and SAE's in the tank, and found that quite often the fry would get lost in the hairgrass and end up as food. Make sure that your CO2 doesnt fluctuate too much They haven't breed for about a month now. Before that they were breeding every two weeks or so. However, the female looks as though she is holding a million eggs at the moment, hopefully I get some eggs soon! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FraserNZ Posted April 28, 2011 Author Report Share Posted April 28, 2011 Ok well I have now had my second failed breeding/fry raising attempt... I made a small log of how it all unfolded in the hope that someone could comment on where I'm going wrong :digH: 22/04/2011 6:00pm The pair started preparing an area on a log to lay the eggs. Tank temperature 29.5c PH 7.4 22/04/2011 8:00pm The female begins to lay her eggs on the log with the male following close behind. At this stage I had a party to attend so I left them too it. 23/04/2011 12:00pm I find the male guarding the eggs, most of which look brown so I guess he must of done his job fertilizing them. 23/04/2011 4:00pm finish setting up a 13l tank to move the eggs into. I have set this up with water from the main tank (the tank the pair are housed in) and set the temperature to the same as the main tank. Added Meth blues as per the instructions on the bottle. Setup two small are stones in the tank. Removed the log with the eggs on it and put it in the 13L tank. Moved the stones so they were close to the eggs without blowing them around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshlikesfish Posted April 28, 2011 Report Share Posted April 28, 2011 Good luck! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquila Posted April 30, 2011 Report Share Posted April 30, 2011 So what happened next? Did the eggs just go all white? Ok well I have now had my second failed breeding/fry raising attempt... I made a small log of how it all unfolded in the hope that someone could comment on where I'm going wrong :digH: 22/04/2011 6:00pm The pair started preparing an area on a log to lay the eggs. Tank temperature 29.5c PH 7.4 22/04/2011 8:00pm The female begins to lay her eggs on the log with the male following close behind. At this stage I had a party to attend so I left them too it. 23/04/2011 12:00pm I find the male guarding the eggs, most of which look brown so I guess he must of done his job fertilizing them. 23/04/2011 4:00pm finish setting up a 13l tank to move the eggs into. I have set this up with water from the main tank (the tank the pair are housed in) and set the temperature to the same as the main tank. Added Meth blues as per the instructions on the bottle. Setup two small are stones in the tank. Removed the log with the eggs on it and put it in the 13L tank. Moved the stones so they were close to the eggs without blowing them around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FraserNZ Posted May 20, 2011 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2011 So what happened next? Did the eggs just go all white? Yeah most of them went all white, about 10 or so got to the wriggling stage. I think the main problem for me was keeping all the eggs together as the log they were stuck to was pretty large it did take up most of the space in the tank, and I couldn't lay it flat. So when the eggs go to the wriggling stage they just fell to the bottom of the tank and they were so small and so few, I couldn't make them out from the debris that came off the log. Is there anyway of removing the eggs from the log? I have learnt abit from this anyway. 1. I need to purchase a pipette... where does one get one from? 2. If there is no way of removing the eggs from the log once they are laid, I will need to remove all the large bits of wood and replace them with small bits, or small rocks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FraserNZ Posted June 9, 2011 Author Report Share Posted June 9, 2011 The pair are at it again... So if anyone has any further advice that would be very much appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.