Bolivian Rams Breeding and Coloration Questions

[michelle767]

I have a couple of questions about Bolivian rams. After I removed my apistos and one of the juvenile rams from my 29G, I noticed some strange coloration changes in the mother ram and the unsexed (suspected male) juvenile ram. Both of them got a lot brighter, I mean ALOT - they both have extreme yellow and orange showing right now. Also, the juvenile has developed an odd pinkish patch right by the first ray of the dorsal fin and now has an extended tube (I know males can get this but I thought it was only when directly breeding). I'm a little confused here...I know these could be signs of breeding, but there doesn't seem to be anything else going on. No displays, no other obvious breeding behavior. Any suggestions as to what might be happening? Do I have two confused females? Or is this just the preliminary to greater things?

Other question: I've also noticed an odd aberration in my rams...three of them, including the confirmed female, have blue spots on their flanks while the other three have black spots. I've noticed this on both light and dark substrate, so it's not an optical illusion. In what I've read on Bolivians, I've never seen this mentioned as a sexually dimorphic trait - is it possibly just an odd genetic thing?

Thanks.

 

[LyreTail]

Mikrogeophagus altinspinosa often changes colors based on mood. The only two ways I know how to sex them is to see the ovipositor ( f) and papilia (m) and perhaps the "roundness " of the female

 

[Jayhawk]

Another way is when they're older, the males get long tail fin extensions - it's really easy to sex these fish when full grown.

Eric

 

[JG]

In my experience altispinosa display dark coloration when in breeding mode. I'll post a few pics for you to compare to yours. The male has elongated finnage on the dorsal and caudal fins. You'll clearly see this in the below pics. These pics are from today. They began to court again and I'm hoping for a successful spawn and hatching.

Male

Male

Female

 

[Jayhawk]

Nice pics JazzyB!

I replied on your other thread. I currently have bolivian rams right now, too, and they're just about my favorite dwarf cichlid.

How often do yours spawn? Mine did once, but haven't in the past 2 months which I find odd.

Eric

 

[JG]

They spawned two weeks ago immediately after a water change. Today they are beginning the process which means if it follows their first spawn then they should be laying and fertilizing tomorrow. My prob is that I have a ravenous group of Pepper crows...er corys who ate the last spawn. I've been trying to sell and now give them away to the first comer.

Here's the link to some pics from their first spawn: http://forum.apistogramma.com/viewtopic.php?t=2516

 

[petriss75]

coloration and change of eating behavior

Hi!
I am glad that your rams are all doing well. My female, though, showed really deep coloration and stoped eating two days ago. Is it breeding mode (but she didn;t allow other rams to get near) or is it bloat (internal parasites)? Thanks!

best,

 

[JG]

The females I've kept always ate prior to spawning. One interesting thing the pair does is to take turns guarding the eggs and fry. One guards the other eats, etc. What do you currently feed your Bolivian Rams?

 

[petriss75]

Thank you for your reply.

I am feeding my four bolivian rams foods specifically for cichlids. They developed good appetite toward the food. I kept these rams for a month. However, this female ram stopped eating about two days ago. I'd love to believe that the ram is in breeding mode. However, I suspect the coloration and lack of appetite are caused by bloat (internal parasite). Is there any solution to decide which one is the cause? And what should I do once it is caused by parasites?

best,

 

[JG]

Deep coloration suggests breeding...

 

[petriss75]

Thank you again.

BTW, how long do i have to wait before I have to be worried about her lack of appetite? What if there is no mating or eggs for the next few days?

 

[JG]

Is this fish eating yet?

I've noticed that my pair will go to the surface to eat only under dim lighting conditions. This is likely due to the fact that they are usually found in low light conditions. However, depending on your filtration, the outflow usually pushes the food into the lower portion of my tank and they dine from there. Since they are "Small eartheaters" as per their name, Microgeophagus, you may want to try some small sinking shrimp pellets, etc., as mine seem to prefer eating from the substrate, etc.

I'm moving my pair into a 20G (long) this weekend so that they can finally have their own "room" to spawn. About every second week they show breeding colors, however the aggies are infamous for breaking up their little dance.

J

 

[petriss75]

Despite the female ram's lack of appetite, the other pair finally breeds! The ritual lasts about 2 hours, to my surprise. What should I do right now to make sure that the eggs hatched? How often should I do water change? What kind of food should I offer to the fries?

 

[Seb]

When you first get ram eggs, the problem is not about what the fry eat, it is if the parents eat the eggs!

You might want to try seperating them, or seing just what happens. But remember the Rams arn't told how to be parents, so don't be annoyed if they make lots and lots of mistakes.