breeding pair of rams (german blue or bolivian) in a 10 gallon?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Prometheus;2500879; said:
ok, lastly i have a few question about basic ram care so i can properly take care of my little beauties :)

1. what to feed and how often?
2. what to feed fry and how often?
2a. iv read they should be feed brine shrimp, should i have a brine shimp breeding tank?
3. should i have a second tank ready to move the fry into? at what age should i move them?
4. inbreeding, is it bad to keep the fry and turn around and breed them in a different tank?
5. pH, could i not just use a pH solution from a lfs? is that bad?
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all you need to know:
http://www.cathygeier.freeservers.com./spawning_blue_and_bolivian_rams.htm

My suggestion - forget about breeding them unless you have years of breeding experience (fish).
 
i have come across that page in my research, it seems terribly complicated. it cant be that difficult, it just.... cant be. at the very least though i can keep them right?

and back to my questions. what about feeding adults? how should i go about doing that?
 
I think the difficult part of breeding blue rams is that if your water is too hard, the egg shell gets too hard and the fry can't penetrate it, so while your rams will lay eggs & fertilize them you'll never get fry. I know many people who have this issue. However, if you have hard-ish water you can always mix your tap with R/O to get the gH, kH and pH down. Besides that issue, just be sure to get a true pair, and keep their water extra clean and you have a good chance.
 
Also, in response to some of your questions:
(1) feed the adults once or twice a day, just enough they can finish in a few minutes, varying their diet is best - I feed mine NLS .5mm Small Fish sinking pellet, flake, algae wafers, frozen bloodworm and brine shrimp. They prefer to eat from the middle or bottom of the tank, though one of mine will eat flakes from the surface.
(2) feed the fry several times daily, crushed flakes work, or baby brine shrimp or microworms
(2a) You can, I'm sure they'd love it, and a good idea if you end up having a lot of batches of fry, but it's not a necessity.
(3) Well, unless you plan on getting a MUCh larger tank, obviously a 10G tank will not be sufficient for dozens of blue rams (2 would be the max. IMO) so yes, you will have to have plans to move them to a bigger tank. I would move them at 1/4 or 1/2". You can probably start to sell/give them away at an inch.
(5) No, those pH solution chemicals do not work - the problem is your water will just buffer back up to the original pH within a day or so, unless you have like no hardness, and pH swings can be really bad for the fish - worse than a slightly high or low but steady pH.
 
Didn't meat to discourage you - just wanted to make the point that it ain't easy. My two pairs of GBRs spawn every week. I'm literally watching them cleaning up their spawning sites now...will see two patches of eggs tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, and then nothing...
 
Like chc mentioned, try to find some that have been captive bred for a while and you will avoid a lot of the issues. Your best bet with your pH is get a RO unit. They're a pain in the ass and it's not a good idea to play with your pH but when you're only dealing with 10gallons of water that's not going to be hard. I suggest getting the fish and making sure you like them before you worry about breeding them.
 
thank you all. i will give it all careful consideration. i appreciate your time and effort to answer these questions.

i do have one last one thats worth asking, that i can think of right now, with moving the fry to a different tank... i need to know whether or not my community tank will be ok or should i look into redoing one of my other tanks. the community tank will house, at the very least: ember tetras, cory cats, black kuhli loaches, a banjo cat, and possibly a peacock eel. the tank is a 20 long, well planted and filtrated. would this work or should i get another tank? i dont know that i can get any more tanks but if by some chance i can (not likely) what would be suitable and also be space saving (smallest reasonable size in other words).
 
$8, that sounds great. i mean he's left already but im sure prices shouldnt change that much when he gets back. thanks. nice hair by the way. you look a little tired. go to bed. and my last exam is on the 11th so after that, like say later that day, we need to have brinner or something. school is being a jerk and im ready for some fun.
 
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