My German Blue Rams breeding now

[fxbillie]

I bought a couple of rams from Richard. They are good looking rams indeed. I put 3 males & 3 females in a large 55 g planted community tank. They really love to hide in the rocks amongst the thick plants. I took one pair to a bare bottom 5 g breeder tank. The pair were scared & stressed. For 2 days they didn't move much, nor feed much, even after I cover up most sides of the tank. For fear of their safety, I put the pair to a 30 g planted tank. They are back to active normal self right away there. Being my first time, I was scared to lose the fish by stressing them too long in the 5 g bare breeding tank. Did I do the right thing, or should I leave them in the 5 g until they are used to it. How long usually for a breeding pair to get used to the new environment? I already use the same water from the 55 g to fill the 5 g, so water-wise, I don't see it is the reason the fish is stressed.

Then today, I look at the 4 fish left in the 55 g and was surprised one pair actually spawn on one of the rocks amongst the plants. They use a little caved in spot on the rock to lay the eggs. The male was constantly tending to the eggs (like use the mouth to poke them but not eat them), and the female keeps laying. There must be over 100 eggs now. The rock is a large one. What do I do next? I am thinking to move the whole rock to the 5 g to let the eggs develop. I don't have any choice, because there are too many predators in the large 55 g where the spawning occurs. Just hope the 5 g is big enough to fit the rock.

When the eggs develop into free swimming, I don't think I can develop 'green water' fast enough to feed them. Can I use a product called 'First Bite'? Will micro worms work or too large at the first 2 weeks? Any suggestion from experienced breeders?

[fxbillie]

Here are pic of the gbrs in spawning action:

[Peterchow]

Congrats for your first GBR spawning, Billie !!!!

Thanks for sharing !!!!

[mysticalnet]

Yes u can use hikari first bite, I use it too, sera micron is another food I use too, thanks for sharing pictures! good luck!

[JTang]

Congrat! Good luck on breeding these beauties!

[Diztrbd1]

congrats...hope you have better luck than me. Richards Rams are great. the 2 pairs I have, spawned 2-3 times each in the short time I have had them but no success yet, they have ate the eggs within 48 hours or less. I still love them tho lol I'm not an experienced breeder but I am trying to learn with the ones I got too. The pair you put in the 5g would probably never get used to it, I wouldn't recommend trying it with less than a 10 or 15g with some plants and flat rocks and a cave to give them a better sense of security and places to lay the eggs. I do not know if it is better to remove the rock as the parents are taking care of them now, the father is picking at the eggs to keep the free of fungus and such. However if if I am not mistaken , one of the members here took her's away from the parents and put into another tank and was successful. Anyway,here is some info from another website and pretty much is the same info I have gotten from many other sites pertaining to breeding the GBR:

"Both the male and the female fish should be allowed to stay with the offspring because this species practice bi-parental brood care and the parents work together to care for the eggs and guard the territory. A parent will fan fresh water over the eggs to prevent attacks from fungi and bacteria. The parents will also eat infertile eggs to prevent them from turning into breeding grounds for pathogens.

The eggs will normally hatch within 40 hours if the water is kept in the upper part of the recommended temperature range. It will then take roughly 5 days before the offspring becomes free swimming. The free swimming fry will be kept in a dense school and be cared for by the parents. They will be escorted by their mother or father during foraging.

Don’t lose heart if the first few spawning's are unsuccessful. A lot of things can go wrong and it is common for German blue rams to spawn a few times before they get everything right. They might for instance eat a few batches before they become good parents. Once they have started breeding, you can however expect a new batch once a month or so.

If your couple continues to eat their offspring even after several spawnings it can be a sight of distress in the aquarium. Try to figure out what stresses your fish and do your best to make the aquarium more relaxing for them"

this info came from: German Blue Ram
Once again I am no expert lol but this is what I have learned thus far, hope it helps to answer a couple of your questions for now till the experienced members here come along & add their input...Good luck with them

[fxbillie]

Thank you guys for the encouragement & advice. Actually I already took out the big rock where the eggs sit to the 5 g tank. Just don't want to take chances overnight, with so many big tetras, tiger barbs, swordtails etc lurking around. Anyways, unless I move the eggs, I don't think any frys will have any chance in the 55 g to grow up. So I move the rock to the original 5 g which stressed out the 1st pair I put there. I set the temperature to around 82F, and put an airstone close to the eggs for aeration. The 5 g is currently using a AC 20 filter, but I think if the eggs hatch, I will have to use sponge filter. I called one aquarium store for sponge filter. They said they don't sell it, and recommend me to but some sponge/foam material to wrap around the AC 20 intake to protect the frys. Not sure about that advice. Have anybody tried that and still raise their frys successfully?

I have 3 jars of green water being developed (some green veggie leaves + aquarium water in a jar over the window sill), never done that and not sure if some infusoria will form. But comforting to know that First Bite can work in case green water doesn't work. Will have to learn how to grow microworms soon. Where can I find a starting culture and is that expensive?
It is my first time breeding egg-laying fish, so I have lots to learn from the pro. Keep the advice coming. Much appreciated. My name is actually William, so you guys can call me that instead of Billie, hehe.

pic of 5 g with the eggs on the rock & airstone going.

[PeteAce]

If this works I'll be getting a 5 or 10 g for my next GBR spawn. Good job William.

[fxbillie]

There is sign of trouble with the eggs being hatched. Some white fungus are growing on some eggs. I need to find an anti-fungal medicine fast. Any suggestion? The eggs generally turn whitish colour. Is that supposed to be? Hope some eggs left to hatch. Perhaps this first batch of eggs are not properly fertilized. First time experience for me, so no clue what to expect.

[PeteAce]

I'm not sure if those are fungus. When i watched my eggs with the parents, most of them turned white too... and they just poked on them but did not eat them. Since you moved them already all you can do is to wait and see. i would have waited for at least 24 hours b4 moving them... but the chances are the parents would eat them. Good luck, please keep us updated... I'm getting a bigger breeder net for my 20g for the next batch of eggs.