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I think removing both pairs might be a good idea. Then you can use the tank as a growout tank and not worry about whether one pair would accept the other pair's fry.
I've in my possession a quartet of what was then unknown gender ratio of German rams. Due to some rearrangement of setup I've recently transferred the fishes into a partitioned 2 footer as a temporary housing of sorts along with some other fishes like my quartet of Badis fish and some Dicrossus filamentosus.
To my surprise I discovered that the 4 fishes paired up and have formed 2 pairs.Not noticing the red belly of the females i completely ignored them for days till i discovered free swimming fries today! From initial headcount it seems to be above 50 pieces of the tiny critters.
From hereon out is where my predicament sets in...Instead of just a pair of happy parents,i have myself 2 pairs that simultaneously spawned within the same tank! Due to the cramped quarters,both pairs exhibit extremely aggressive behavior with the frequent pecking and flaring when fishes from opposing couple enters into fry zone.
Another extremely frustrating issue with the fries are that they are totally going wild.They do not possess the tight schooling nature of say Apistos neither do the parents exhibit strong defensive parental natures that herd the group to safety. Instead,they often swim all over the place unchecked and are eaten by the other pair if they venture too far out of their safety zone.
I'm not very familiar with spawning rams as this is my 1st hence would like to seek advice on the issue.Main concerns come to mind...
1)Would siphoning out free swimming fry and rearing them artificially in another setup be prudent?
2)Should i remove just 1 pair,would fry mix in and be taken care as 1 single brood without aggression?
3)Or would removing all 4 fishes and leaving just fry by themselves be a better idea?
4)BBS or microworms?I've read that both do work with microscopic organism as start,followed with microworms then BBS.Recommendations would be appreciated.
Much help would be appreciated by ram owners whom have successfully bred the fishes before.Hopefully my batch makes it?Stay tuned for more
Main setup :
Pair 1 : *Brood circled in red*
Pair 2 :
Fries :
Morphophilia : The smaller the fish, the lovelier...i'm kinky like that
I think removing both pairs might be a good idea. Then you can use the tank as a growout tank and not worry about whether one pair would accept the other pair's fry.
Do not remove the fries.
They are super sensitive. more sensitive than apistogramma fries.
Henry aka joopsg
Current tank: 1 4 tier 3ft fish rack
Livestock: WC Ivanacara Adoketa, WC Apistogramma Kelleri 'Red Cheeks', A , WC Apistogramma Mendezi, WC Apistogramma Cruziero, WC Apistogramma Elizabethae and WC Biotoecus Operularis.
i think the very first thing you needed to do.... hit the singapore pool outlet and buy 4D. Wow, double happiness and prosperity.
Update...as of today 1 batch of fries are completely gone as i witnessed an all out open massacre even before i could even remove adult fishes.Parents on the left snapped and went on an attacking frenzy.Spooked by the incident,another major moving was initiated and both pairs were separated.
Joopsg,you mentioned fries as being super sensitive...How so?When would you recommend removing them from their parents then?Being placed in a tank with gravel as base,feeding of say microworms might be wasteful?
Hopefully the other batch survives as my divider being transparent makes the parents a little skittish? Haha...great idea mobile2007!I should've bought 4D,might actually win due to dumb luck!
Morphophilia : The smaller the fish, the lovelier...i'm kinky like that
Put the fries just with the mums in the breeding tank. remove the males.
Water parameter need to be monitor, any slight changes may kill the brood.
About 2 wks then you can try remove the females. unless you can provide another tank with the same parameter if not move the adult fish.
You can feed them with newly hatched brine shrimp to beef the fries up. Do provide some java moss kept in some age tank. The fries can have a better change of surviving.
Henry aka joopsg
Current tank: 1 4 tier 3ft fish rack
Livestock: WC Ivanacara Adoketa, WC Apistogramma Kelleri 'Red Cheeks', A , WC Apistogramma Mendezi, WC Apistogramma Cruziero, WC Apistogramma Elizabethae and WC Biotoecus Operularis.
Thanks for the info joopsg!Will try following your method and see how it goes.I've read several articles regarding java moss,guess it's true after all. Just to ask,would parents pose as possible threat anytime in future?Say if i decide to rear the fries together with parents.
Morphophilia : The smaller the fish, the lovelier...i'm kinky like that
Once free swimming, fry are ok on their own, albeit they grow slightly slower. They do not need the parents to survive because there are no predators in your tanks.
Just to ask...is eating of fries a common trait in rams?My 2pairs consistently eat their fries no matter how i arrange their living quarters? As suggested,i've tried removing the males once fries are free swimming but fries are still lost...any suggestions?
Morphophilia : The smaller the fish, the lovelier...i'm kinky like that
If they feel there is a threat, like another pair of fish, they may just eat the fry or eggs, yes.
Currently keeping many wild betta species and other anabantoids.
Hi aquanatix,
Where did you buy the german ram? I am looking for that. Thanks!
Very nice fish !! Some being sold here in New York are quite large with very little color. Not the true strain of German Blue rams. Probably from being over breed. Yours look great. I can't even find females for sale here anymore. I guess someone is affraid others will breed to sell. I never sell to the stores only trade what my friends don't want for free. And I only trade for supplies. Good luck with those babies.
Tom,
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