# german blue ram eggs!!!



## jay0884

Okay so today I got home from work and I sit down to watch my tank for a while and notice my male german blue ram chasing the male electric blue ram more then usual. He also kept swimming up to the top of the shipwreck and hovering over it. So I turn on my blue nightlight and what do I see?? A batch of eggs on the deck of the shipwreck ornament!!! Wasn't expecting eggs this soon have only had them 2 weeks! What do I do?? So unprepared for this. I know I shouldn't get my hopes to high as they usually lose the first couple batches, but still really cool to see.


----------



## Flint

I don't know for certain, but I believe the parents will care for the eggs and fry. Sometimes they will eat them, however, but if you have a male and female expect more. 

Hopefully that helps while we wait for someone more knowledgeable to come along.


----------



## jay0884

Yes, I purchased a bonded pair. In fact is seems the female has just laid the eggs and doesn't seem to care much about them. The male on the other hand is constantly hovering over them and chasing anything that comes close to them, including the female. I'm not sure when she laid them but I'm hoping last night because I just did a 33% water change yesterday morning and I pour the water directly on top of shipwreck to not disturb the gravel.


----------



## jay0884

Well it seems today the female has seen the male caring for eggs and has decided to help. When ever he leaves the eggs to eat or chase off the male she will hover over eggs and fan them. They are also doing something very funny. I have a volcano aerator, they take turns going to volcano and collecting air bubbles in mouth then bringing them to eggs.


----------



## jay0884

Well it took a little longer then I expected but they ate the eggs.  I think it was the female, since when the male had watch, the eggs were fine. Then when the female decided to help they all disappeared in a day. Either way I wasn't quite prepared for fry. And didn't know what I need to do. Will have to do some research and be ready for next batch.


----------



## Crazyfish

Either

- the eggs weren't healthy
- they need a couple tries to get the parenting thing right
- because there is only one female, the male has no other outlet for spawning aggression and maybe the single female saw the male as a threat and ate the eggs? :-?

Maybe next time...


----------



## equatics

Congratulations on your success, and it is a success. I remember when a pair of angelfish I had bred. I got very involved in their raising the fry. I have a few suggestions from my experiences with the angels.

If they are in a community tank, I think the breeding pair would do better in a tank in a tank by themselves, say a 20. Or even better, put all of the other fish in another tank and leave everything else the same.

It might help their breeding and raising the eggs if you cover the sides and back of the tank with a dark colored material. This would help keep them from getting spooked by people walking by the tank.

I think that, being cichlids, they may fan the eggs to help them get oxygen but you should also make sure there is some soft water flow to the spawning site.

You can provide them with a smooth, round rock embedded in the substrate for them to spawn on. Aren't you glad you bought that castle? I would also leave the castle where it is in case they have developed a liking for it.

You should look into buying some brine shrimp eggs to get baby brine shrimp to feed the fry with. They may swim around with the mother like the angels did. You can feed the baby brine shrimp to the fry with an eye dropper.

Lastly, there are books on the subject out there - I think you may find something at TFH publishing, or elsewhere. Don't neglect searches on Google for information about breeding rams. There is also the subforum of this one about breeding.

Good luck for the next time. Angels were every 21-30 days I think.

Oh, and feed the parents a good nutritious food, perhaps frozen adult brine shrimp. And don't feed the fry right away until their yolk sacs have been absorbed. Do frequent water changes and keep testing the ammonia. Don't overfeed.


----------



## jay0884

Hello and thanks for the suggestions. I believe the eggs were healthy as only 2 or 3 were white after a 2 days and the male would eat the white ones. The rest had a light tan-ish color. And I noticed the male constantly harassing the female so I add a male electric blue ram I had in another tank. That seems to help the female out a lot. As a matter if fact just last night the female laid a new fresh batch of eggs in the exact same spot on my shipwreck.  which makes me wonder if she ate the eggs because she was ready to lay new eggs. I have heard the female eats eggs if she feels she is ready to lay a fresh batch. And she ate the last eggs exactly a week ago. Also is it normal to lay a batch this quickly. Its been only about 2 weeks since the last batch.


----------



## jay0884

In any case I'm hoping for a better outcome this time around. We'll see how it goes. I don't have a spare take to raise the fish in or brine shrimp to feed so I probably will just let them do their best on their own and if by any chance a couple make it I guess I could move the electric blue to other tank. And leave just the pair with the fry. I will have to order baby brine shrimp eggs tho. Probably do that today.


----------



## Agent13

I can't say for sure with the rams as I'm sure mine are spawning yet they're in an egg eating tank . However my angels in another tank lay almost exactly every 2 weeks sometimes sooner . Been doing this for months. So on that note I'd say this sounds normal and like a healthy pair . Good luck!


Sent from Petguide.com App


----------



## rsskylight04

Congrats! Spawning adds so much interest to fishkeeping. I have convict fry in my 50 gallon, easy fish to breed ,but still very rewarding and interesting. 

Ive read that rams often lay infertile eggs even when there is a proven pair. They like somewhat soft water and low ph to maximize the chances of eggs and fry . In hard water and high pH they are prone to bacterial and fungal infections. Rams are such awesome fish, I would love to have a breeding pair... so lucky!


----------



## jay0884

Thanks. Yeah I have high ph. Usually around 7.6 to 8.0 but the breeder I got them from raises them in the same ph range. If interested in getting a pair he sells breeding pairs. Check out germanbluerams.com


----------

