Blue Rams spawn

[catfishbone]

Hi all,

just want to share with you guys on my latest rams spawn ... :)
trying to make a daily or probably weekly notes on their journey ... :)

06/10/06 around 11.30pm female started to lay eggs and male is fertilising it.

some pics attached ... :)

[catfishbone]

more pics ...

[catfishbone]

click on the wrong button ... :)

more pics ...

[catfishbone]

more pics ...

[Robdog]

Great pics mate. Looks like a huge spawn. What ph have you got them in?

[Ben]

Thats awesome!

My next fish to have a go at breeding is these little rams!

Keep us posted how the spawn goes.

cheers
Ben

[Nathan]

i love blue rams, definitely one of my fave fish.

well done they are excellent photos, as ben said we're interested in knowing how the spawn goes.

so keep us posted an keep up the great pics :)

[DR.V]

Yay !! Save some for me 8-)

[wickedglass]

nice work, my rams laid this morning, too ;)
the hard work is yet to come, getting them to lay and hatch is easy ... getting them to survive isn't a cakewalk.

[wickedglass]

took the camera in today and got a couple of shots of them tending their eggs. they should hatch sometime tomorrow ... we'll see. How are yours progressing, catfishbone?

[catfishbone]

Hi guys ...

latest update ...

eggs GONE the next day ... ARRGGHHH ... :( but oh well got to try again ...

Dr.V would love to save some for you but the parents didn't think the same as I did .... :(

Robdog: didn't really test on my ph but should be around 6.8 most of my tanks is around that level.

wickedglass: agree with you ... but sometimes to keep the eggs also a hard work ... hahahha :D

anyway if i have more spawn will sure post it again ... :)

cheers,

Andrie

[wickedglass]

do you have any other fish in the tank? I have some small guppies as ditherfish to help enforce the protective bond of the parent fish.

Seems to work ... yesterday they were defending eggs, today they're defending the wrigglers ... next 3 weeks will tell if I end up with a bunch of dutch rams ...

[catfishbone]

Hi wickedglass ...

no didn't have any other fish inside the tank ... just that pair ...
anyway just get myself "wild" rams ... that's what written on the shop ...

now still conditioning the pair and hopefully they will get it going soon ... :)

[wickedglass]

here's a blurry phone vid of my rams with their swimmers ... first day out and about today. the tank's divided with a sump divider covered with fly screen and my A. papagei are on the other side. The rams are very protective of their brood.

http://s73.photobucket.com/albums/i208/taxman69/?action=view&current=14-10-06_ram.flv

[Nathan]

i wasnt ever able to hatch my blue rams eggs, always got fungus on them, oh well i dont have any pairs anymore.

aparently there very hard fry to raise, as feeding is quite difficult, good luck though!!

[wickedglass]

have you tried peat extract to help combat the fungus? with some fish I add the Tetra blackwater extract after conditioning the fish (some fish react to it very favourably by obliging me with a spawn shortly after adding it) and after having 3 previous b/r spawns fungus like mad, I thought I'd give the extract a shot, and it seemed to work really well in regards to stimulating the parent fish and helping protect the eggs from fungus. The tank I put them in has been set up for over 6 months and undoubtedly has some nice hotspots of micro organisms for them to feed on, and I'm introducing baby brine gradually as well.
fingers crossed I'lll have some juvies left in a couple of months :)
there's about 40 fry right now, it's this pair's fist spawn.

[Nathan]

whats the ph of the water the blue rams pair an fry are in?

i havnt tried it, ive found that tetra extract exteremely good for my discus an helping repair scratches and getting them active etc.

welll keep us posted an maybe some pics?

[wickedglass]

argh, something happened last night ... our angelfish ate their eggs, and in the tank half a room away our blue rams ate their fry ... ah well, more conditioning, as I mentioned it's this pair's first spawn....same with the angelfish ... bwwwaaaaaah ... serves me right for getting my hopes up.
I took the last remaining guppy dither out of the tank last night, maybe that broke the protective bond ... not sure though ... who knows why these things happen! I'll keep you posted on the next spawn.

the pH of the water I keep them in is 6.3

[catfishbone]

sorry to hear that chris .. .

anyway ... it happens with mine too ... everytime when they feel threatened then they will start do funny things ... like eat their eggs or eat their fry ... :(
that's why normally when they start spawning then i will try my best to leave them alone ... except when I feed them ... :)

hi nathan, i kept mine ph around abt 6.4 - 6.8

cheers,

andrie

[flaggy]

Dad and mum with eggs. Dad and mum look very different and come from different sources - dad is wildcaught from Aquapets.

http://www.wemmit.net/pics/cac/ram_dad.jpg
http://www.wemmit.net/pics/cac/ram_mum.jpg

[catfishbone]

my rams decided to spawn again ... and finger x they are not going to eat it again ... will try to take more pics ... :)

[catfishbone]

gone again ... :(

[scott bowler]

dont worry they will do it again just keep tryin

[wickedglass]

mine spawned again, too ... this one is heaps bigger than the first, they were a LOT more meticulous about cleaning the slate this time (young parents learn fast I guess), too, hopefully they won't eat the fry this time .... I'll keep the parents in again and see what happens.

here's a little vid

http://s73.photobucket.com/albums/i208/taxman69/?action=view&current=rams.flv

[wickedglass]

any good news on your spawn, catfishbone?

[catfishbone]

not at the moment chris ...

still waiting for the next one to come ... :thumb

congrats on your new spawn ... :) fingersx the parents won't eat the fry again ... :)

[gingerbeer01]

I have got my first fry from my rams. Still not freeswimming - probably 2 days off.

Male is a gold ram selected for red face colour and size - I wonder if he is imported due to his size. Female is local bred blue - nice form but like many local bred lines a little small. I also have another female and male from this line.

So I am hoping for some nice golden-blue rams :D . Actually probably will leave this lot in the community tank with the parents and seperate out in a couple of months after they have had more practice and I can see more of what the other female is going to do.

Steve

[ren]

hey guys

just noticed this topic - how exciting

i had 3 different pairs of rams all lay eggs on friday night - i removed all of the eggs and put them into a container floating in the tank - majority of the eggs turned into fungus but 15 fry hatched and theyre now in another container

the yolk sack is still attached to them - they hatched only on sunday arvo

how long should it be until the sack comes off??

this is my first ever fish spawn EVER!! very exciting stuff - i only started with fish 2months ago now :)

im going to try and get my hands on some microworms for them

otherwise have any of you heard of using a boiled egg and then crushing up the yolk and mixing it with tank water as food for the ram fry??

might see if my camera is good enough to pick up the fry

cheers,

ren

tank temp is 28/29 and the pH is unaltered (its tap water)

[ren]

sorry, temp is 29/30

[wickedglass]

hi ren
your temperature may be a tad high for rams, imo. Mine spawned at 26 degrees and became free-swimming (yolk-sack gone) in 3 days and after 1 day free swimming, they got munched by their parents. The latest batch (spawned on friday) should become free swimming tomorrow ... so generally on the 6th or 7th day after spawning they start to swim. micro worms and baby brine shrimp may be too large initially.
you may want to start up an infusoria culture which takes 3 - 4 days ... you can do that by adding a wilted lettuce leaf or two to some tank water which should be kept turning over with an air stone. it will go cloudy and then clear ... once it's clear, the bacteria (which made the water cloudy) have been eaten by the infusoria. the culture should be good for about a week. the infusoria can be attracted by a strong light and syphoned off with a pipette or straw or a piece of air hose, and added to the fry nursery.
egg yolk can also be a successful food, but dangerous, as it can foul the water very quickly. best is to let them feed, wait for the yolk to settle and then syphon it off and do a waterchange.
also, place a small, slowly bubbling airstone in the container, it will turn the water over and thereby effect aeration.

[Th0mas]

Welcome to the hobby - spawning fish is extremely addictive, be warned. :wink:

microworm and BBS are too large for ram fry (from what I've read - never had breed them myself).

People says use boiled egg yolk - but for 15 fry, a yolk is way too much.

Suggest have a sponge filter going with a bunch of java moss. Toss the fry into a small tank with the sponge filtration and java moss. This should provides micro-organism for them to nibble on.

Good luck.

Thomas.

[fishgeek]

mine raised on microworm
and i have seen others who managed on bbs

mine didnt take bbs in the first days

[flaggy]

G'day

Saw this advertised by ASA in one of the threads:


Ultra Plus Fry Food
(Size 1 - 100 - 200 microns)

Ultra Plus No BS (Brine Shrimp) Fry Food, eliminates the need to raise baby brine shrimp to feed and rear superior fry, or baby fish.

Tests by breeders and hobbyists show that Ultra Plus Fry Food grows fry to equal or bigger size faster and more uniformly than does baby brine shrimp or any other diet tested. In addition, traditionally-fragile strains stopped experiencing typical fry losses and grew at the same rate as more vigorous varieties.

Anyone tried this for Apisto/Ram fry just coming out of wriggler stage? Any good?

Cheers

[catfishbone]

agreed with Thomas about have a sponge filer and toss a bunch of java moss in there and it will give enough food for the fry to munch on ... anyway that's how I do it ... but still fry can't escape from the bigger predator .... THE PARENTS ..... arrggghhh ...

anyway ... my female rams now showing some signs that she's going to spawn again soon ... just have to wait and wait and wait ... patience patience patience ....

:lol: :lol: :lol:

andrie

[ren]

ok i added some java moss

and i ordered a microworm culture from xtreme but it wont arrive until around tuesday or wed :((

the fry are starting to swim around the container more now a bit more "freely"

[k0b0i]

java moss is great natural supply of infusoria ;)

i use the egg technique with my goldfish. Just an alternative which does work.. u don't need to dump the whole egg in hehe. after you boiled it.. get some into a cloth.. dab into water and squeeze it through the cloth.

depending on the amount of fry you have will depend on how much u put in. and well.. unless u have a constant egg supply or really enjoy eating the left overs you may reconsider... lol :lol:

HTH

GL with the spawn all

[Th0mas]

Just make sure whoever is finishing off the egg daily don't have any health problem (cholesterol, blood pressure, etc) :wink:

Thomas.

[ren]

ok well one of my betta splendens just jumped out of his container while i was doing water changing and into the container of my fry !!!!!! its like 15cm away thats a HUGE jump.. anyway by the time i realised ( i wasnt there next to it) he'd taken a few.. and now i can only see about 7 fry :(:(:(:( NOT HAPPY JAN!

[k0b0i]

Dai lo.. maybe should try using yolk from Yut Bang! :lol: (i think that's how you'd spell it in english).

Ren - Don't be too dissapointed. we all loose fry.. and there's plenty of fish out there in the sea......

[Th0mas]

Ren - don't feel bad about it, it happens. At least you know the betta is in great form.

[gingerbeer01]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v498/gingerbeer/Picture001-1.jpg

[gingerbeer01]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v498/gingerbeer/Picture001-1.jpg

[k0b0i]

Oooh.. looking good :thumb

[ren]

thats awesome gingerbeer

well im down to 3 fry now

dont think they liked the java moss :/
its got some tank "debris" on it thats all i could think of that might have killed them ? oh well i made it a lot farther this time with some eggs actually hatching :) better luck next time!

[catfishbone]

yay .... my rams started to spawn again tonite ... :)
fingerx will reach hatching stage .... the patience has paid off .... :lol:

andrie

[fishgeek]

here's some shots of the progress of my rams over the last 2 mths
spawned in late august

had to go away in the september so removed the parents and the fry were being fish sat, lost some i assume to water quality wit requests for daily water change and small feedings , maybe asking to mush of a nn fish keeper

and now in late october

[fishgeek]

i see, reverse attachment order and only 3 attachments
here's dad and the young now

[gingerbeer01]

Fishgeek,

What did you feed the young with.

I haven;t seen a male with that much black throughout his body before yours. Interesting colour I do like his red in his face. Lots of local breds seem to loose that colouration IMHO.

Steve

[fishgeek]

mine started with zm infuso grade powdered food and microworm

they would not take bbs in the first instance
they also would not take powdered food , simply mouthing and spitting, so i was dipping the microworm in powdered fods to hope that some was ingested with microworm and at least gave better nutritional content

i still now struggle to get them to accept anything but moving live foods

andrew

[sonflowerjoela]

Those are reallyawesome Ram pics you are making me want some of my own. I just ran to the attic to see what kind of extra tanks I have up there. LOL :lol:

[gingerbeer01]

Well, The tetras cleaned up that spawn as I thought they would. I think I need to set up another rack for breeding.

On the positive side my Boreli should be free swimming today.

Steve

[sonflowerjoela]

Hey GingerBeer01 those are awesome pics of the Rams and fry. What type of plant are those? I am going to look into buying some Rams tomorrow. I've really enjoyed all of your sharing. Thanks. :)

[sonflowerjoela]

how do you get the pictures on here?

[wickedglass]

sonflowerjoela, click on "Post Reply" and under the text box you will see "add an attachment" ... put your attachment in and click the button. if there is a certain progression of your images, put the last one in first ... you can add up to 3 images.

on another note, updating on my rams ... my female A. papagei somehow managed to get past the divider and into the ram's side of the tank. none of the babies were left, and they were 2nd day free swimming ... lucky me, I took most of them out the day before and left the parents with only about 30 .... i got another 70 odd in a tank of their own and they're doing well ;)

If they're anything like apistos, the next 2 weeks will be the most crucial ...

and speaking of apistos, I had removed my Inka eggs and they're in their 2nd day of wriggling now ... there were only about 30 eggs and most of those went blind. I'm left with about a dozen wrigglers ... fingers crossed I'll get a few out :)

[gingerbeer01]

The plant is a hygrophilla species (spelling bad).

I have set up goldy with another female in a breeder. Reckon they will breed by the end of the week.

Steve

[catfishbone]

my spawn is gone due to incorrect ph level ... arrghhhh *stupid* *stupid* *stupid* :oops:

anyway ... they seem to get to their spawn mood again anytime soon ... :)

this time i got it all right ... :)

will update more soon hopefully ... :)

[wickedglass]

spawning again, here's a little vid of them doing the ring around ... I've still got a bunch of fry growing on from the last spawn ... these ones I'm definitely keeping with the parents ... now I can since I've built new breeding tanks and put them in a nice rack! anyway, here they are doing the tango ...


http://s73.photobucket.com/albums/i208/taxman69/?action=view&current=blue_rams_x.flv

[flaggy]

G'day

Went overseas for a week and came back to some nice free swimmers!

Don't have much hope for their survival in the community tank, but am in the process of setting up some breeding tanks for the next time!

http://flaggy.wemmit.net/DSC01225s.jpg
http://flaggy.wemmit.net/DSC01223s.jpg

[k0b0i]

My pair of rams had a spawn last weekend too..

Mum seemed to pick and eat all the fertilized eggs. left unfertile eggs till last... :cry:

I'm sure she'll learn as she does it more and more

[catfishbone]

I got fry againnn .... yay ... :) after long time ... finally they doing it again ... :)

took mum and dad out and put them back in my community tank ... and let the fry grow by themselves now ... it's time for them to learn that there's more things to learn in life ... hahahah :)

cheers,

andrie

[catfishbone]

one more pic .... sorry the pic is not that clear ... there wasn't enough light this morning when i took them ... :(

enjoy ... :)