Breeding Rams (Apistogramma Ramirezi)

[Merlin6758]

I have a 4ft tank and would like to try and breed rams. Could someone explain how I might achieve this. My tank has an external filter and temp is set at 78f, where do I go from here.

Kindest regards and thanks for any help.

 

[Cathy G]

I've written up complete directions for how I do it. (It can be done other ways...) Put 'Breeding Blue (or Bolivian) Rams' into the google search engine and you will find tons of info. Breeding this fish and rearing fry is not for beginners, it will take months of high quality care. You should also start by researching your chosen breed - find out what type of water they like and what kind of water you have. (Start by bumping up that temperature - rams like 82-86 degree water).

Cathy
http://www.cathygeier.com

 

[apistoireland]

getting them to spawn is the easy bit. Raising the fry is the hard part.
the water should be as soft as you can get it preferably filter over moss peat, ph below 7. If you feed them frozen and live foods they will spawn quite easily.
Raising the fry is a different matter. A lot of fish will not care for their spawn/young and just eat them. Try to avoid any fish that come from breeders in South East Asia. Go for German or Czech fish if you can. They will be hardier than wild caught specimen but you will have a good chance that the parents will rear the young.
Small water changes every day or the young will not grow properly.
Some people have problems with brine shrimp as a first food. Can't say I ever had it.
As with all fish breeding it's a bit trial and error before you will get it right. Same goes for the fish. They might eat their first couple of spawns

 

[wtpdosa]

Two weeks ago I had two of my Bolivian Rams spawn. The eggs hatched in 3 days. I had a very large group, but now there are about 30 left and they are doing well, showing some stripes. They are about 1/3" long and are eating BBS and Hikari's "First Bites."
I did keep them in the community tank with other Bol. Rams and the parents fought off all comers and have become very good parents. 9 days ago I put a tank dividing screen in and so far it has done a fair job. The problem is that there are small spaces on the sides where the divider doesn't sit flush, and I've lost some fry who have ventured through the space and have been eaten by their tank mates. The parents now hurd the remaining fry away from the sides and keep them close to a pit that they dug in the gravel. Through all of this spawn in the community tank, I feel that my successes this first time have been because of the parents raising the fry in what would have been a semi-natural environment, which includes other fish that would prey on the fry. Besides the two parents and fry, I have 5 other Bol Rams, 3 different Cory Cats, and 2 Dwarf Gourami. The parents have held all of them in check and are very protective of their fry, even attacking the turkey baster I use to feed the fry.

If you are trying Rams, I would suggest Bolivians, as they are a much hardier breed and can tolerate various H2o conditions better that German Blue Rams. I would agree with the earlier posts about raising your tanks H2o temp. I would also read up by Googling and seeing how others have tried and had successes raising Ram fry. Best of luck in your endeavors.

 

[BigDaddy]

By the way

Rams are not apistos, but they are a dwarf cichlid

If you google apistogramma ramirezi you won't get as many hits as their valid name "Mikrogeophagus ramirezi"

 

[fredmir1]

Rams use to be called Apisto many years ago

George

 

[nightowl1350]

Your temp is a bit low for rams to want to spawn in. A temp of 82-84 would be better. Then do a slightly cooler w/c and just before a storm would be perfect. Flat rocks, flower pots (upside down or on their side) and even silk plants will provide places to spawn. My previous female loved to use a flat leaf on a plant (very unlike rams) Make sure there are seperate areas for each pair.

Condition the pair with bloodworms or frozen shrimp along with what ever else you feed them and sit back and watch. The females will have bright pink tummies and the pairs will chase eachother around for a few days.

I have no problems breeding mine and raising the fry at a ph of 7. The new free swimmers will need something smaller than hatched bbs. Try microworms or vinegar eels if you can get some. Real plants in the tank help as they provide micro organisms for the fry to eat as well.

Mine don't parent raise (only get them to wiggler stage, then eat them) so I pull the spawns I have room to raise. It would be much more exciting to see a pair with babies.


Good luck!