Bolivian Ram Breeding/Raising

[dudenamedcody20]

Hi apistogramma.com! This is my first post, and its about Bolivian Rams. So I've been raising fish my whole life. About 3 months ago I decided to try cichlids. Originally I wanted Africans but decided to go for SA, as I have only a 20 gallon tank set up for tropical fish. So I researched and found out about rams and decided to get them. After unsuccessful try with GBR(due to subpar water conditions, it was clean but the ph was screwed up) I went with the hardy bolivian ram(love this fish, and would recommend it for beginners to cichlids). I also decided I wanted to try and breed it. So after a month of trying to see if I had a pair and trying to breed, I gave up. Thanksgiving night i noticed my dominant male hanging really close to the bottom next to the female and thought something was wrong. Then i noticed the eggs and was shocked. They had shown no signs of being a pair.They ended up eating the fry right after they hatched. So I decided to get a 10 gallon to breed them in. I have just got it to start cycling. It has black river sand, two red smooth rocks stacked on each other to create a little tunnel a fake 6 in log and a Java fern. I plan on getting small plants for the fry to hide in and having floating java moss. I have Zebra Danios in it to cycle and was wondering what you guys think of the setup.


Thanks, Cody.

 

[briztoon]

What was wrong with the 20 gallon?

 

[Mike Wise]

A 10 is possible, but very small. I can't imagine keeping several hundred fry + parents in such a small tank for more than a few days.

 

[dudenamedcody20]

I wanted to have something where the fry could get cared for specifically.

What was wrong with the 20 gallon?