Butterfly Rams' (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi) Fries

[Phishee]

Hi,
My butterfly rams bred a few times & all the while I leave the fries with the parents.

There is no cannibalism of the fries by the parents but it seemed that every time the fries died despite the care provided by the parents.

I fed the fries with Liquifry but the fries don't seem to eat. So I think the fries may be dying of starvation.

I heard that fries can feed on freshly hatched brine shrimps, is it true? Aren't the brine shrimps too big for the fries?

Can any one advise?

Thanks in advance.

[illumnae]

for the first few days the fries can feed on infusoria, which can either be cultivated or can be found amongst the plants in your tank. after a few days, the fries will be large enough to each freshly hatched brine shrimp or decapsulated brine shrimp eggs

[Cacatuoides]

The brine shrimps sold in shops are adults, definitely too big for the fries....you will need to buy baby brine shrimp (bbs) from C328 or hatch them yourself using the traditional inverted coke bottle method....

once your fries start to be free swimming, they will be able to take bbs in a day or two, this will increase the rate of survival

I hasn't hear of anyone breeding these rams....any beautiful pictures of your tank setup and the parents?

[Shadow]

Not sure how big is the Butterfly Rams' Fries but if it is the same size as ballon rams frys then bbs is too big for them.

[wks]

Phishee, Liquifry serves to promote the growth of infusoria in the tank, so the latter becomes food for your ram fries. Try growing java moss, not only it is a good feeding ground, the moss is also a good refuge when the fries feel threatened.
I have successfully bred my rams through this method.

[Gecko]

My pair have so many spawns that I lost count and in fact is guarding some free swimmers now but I only have a couple of juveniles so far....will try the java moss, thanks.

[Phishee]

for the first few days the fries can feed on infusoria, which can either be cultivated or can be found amongst the plants in your tank. after a few days, the fries will be large enough to each freshly hatched brine shrimp or decapsulated brine shrimp eggs

May I know how you cultivate infusoria?

My fries just hatched again. Now I am putting more Liquifry to see whether it will help.

Looks like I can't use freshly hatched brine shrimps for the initial feeds.

Phishee, Liquifry serves to promote the growth of infusoria in the tank, so the latter becomes food for your ram fries. Try growing java moss, not only it is a good feeding ground, the moss is also a good refuge when the fries feel threatened.
I have successfully bred my rams through this method.

I don't quite understand how java moss can be good feeding ground. Could you please explain?

I suppose you put your rams together with other fishes? Otherwise, why do you need the moss to act as a refuge? For me, I keep my rams in a separate tank.

Just to share a few photos taken some time back for the rams that I kept.

Enjoy!

[Shadow]

I don't quite understand how java moss can be good feeding ground. Could you please explain?

I suppose you put your rams together with other fishes? Otherwise, why do you need the moss to act as a refuge? For me, I keep my rams in a separate tank.

Moss is a breeding ground for infusoria.

[Interestor]

Just to share a few photos taken some time back for the rams that I kept.

fries these size should be able to take freshly hatched BBS

CHeers..

[Shadow]

that is not frys, that the parent

[Quixotic]

Phishee, it's a good time to learn scientific names. When using common names, this can confuse readers with other fishes, which is why someone mentioned that he has never heard of these fishes spawning.

Your rams are Mikrogeophagus ramirezi. The common name butterfly ram has been used interchangeably with another ram, the Bolivian Ram, Mikrogeophagus altispinosus as well. So use scientific names whenever possible.

On infusoria, these are tiny creatures that are food for your fries. They can be found among plants in your aquarium, especially moss. So more moss = more infusoria = more food for your fries.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infusoria

[luenny]

Phishee,
Nice job. So many fries. I've breed these before but not as many fries as yours. Can't really remember what I did - it was more than 10 years ago. At that time, moss and planted tank is not a big thing and my tank only got undergravel filter and some cabomba. What I did for them is put some cabbage in a glass jar and fill it up with water. Leave it until water turns a bit opaque and drop a small amout of that water into the tank to feed the fries. I got this from a very old book I about fish breeding that I have.

Good luck with yours.

- Luenny

[Interestor]

I suppose you put your rams together with other fishes? Otherwise, why do you need the moss to act as a refuge? For me, I keep my rams in a separate tank.

is the pair with fries around it?

[Phishee]

Phishee, it's a good time to learn scientific names. When using common names, this can confuse readers with other fishes, which is why someone mentioned that he has never heard of these fishes spawning.

Your rams are Mikrogeophagus ramirezi. The common name butterfly ram has been used interchangeably with another ram, the Bolivian Ram, Mikrogeophagus altispinosus as well. So use scientific names whenever possible.

On infusoria, these are tiny creatures that are food for your fries. They can be found among plants in your aquarium, especially moss. So more moss = more infusoria = more food for your fries.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Infusoria

Wow! Thanks for the great wealth of information. I didn't know that butterfly ram this name is used for so many different species of rams.

is the pair with fries around it ?

Yes, I guess the photos taken are not not sharp enough to show that.

Phishee,
Nice job. So many fries. I've breed these before but not as many fries as yours. Can't really remember what I did - it was more than 10 years ago. At that time, moss and planted tank is not a big thing and my tank only got undergravel filter and some cabomba. What I did for them is put some cabbage in a glass jar and fill it up with water. Leave it until water turns a bit opaque and drop a small amout of that water into the tank to feed the fries. I got this from a very old book I about fish breeding that I have.

Good luck with yours.

- Luenny

Thanks for the compliments. Hmm...is that cabbage thingy supposed to be used to cultivate infusoria? I think I sort of heard it before but later forggtten about it. So it works? I'll try the next time round, it is too late for this time already.

But I have some moss. So I have transferred a lot of moss to the breeding tank now.

[Phishee]

Hi guys,
Thanks for all the advice. The 6-day-old fries are getting bigger now. I think I saw them pecking at the bbs that I fed them.

I have removed the female when I saw the male kept chasing it away. Hope this is the right move...this is the first time I am doing this.