Need help breeding GBR

[bir123]

Got 6 about 5 weeks ago(3 male 3 female )got them in a 15 gallon tank until they pair up so i could separater them in to various tank .The tank have a small piece of drift wood with an anibus on it .it is bare bottom.the temp varies from 80 to 82 and they are fully grown and they did not lay as yet but i have sopt a dominant male and female, their colours are much brighter.
What advice could you guys give me on how to breed them.
Pic soon
Thanks in advance.

 

[themountain]

Whats the water like?? What do you feed? What temperature ?

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
I think we need to know the questions "themountain" asks, and also where did the Rams come from (Breeder, shop etc).

Have a look at Apistobob's site it is full of good advice <http://www.dwarfcichlid.com/Breeding_Blue_Rams.php>.

I've got a few thoughts I'll put down, they are how I did it, there are other methods,

" The tank have a small piece of drift wood with an anibus on it .it is bare bottom.the temp varies from 80 to 82 and they are fully grown and they did not lay as yet but i have sopt a dominant male and female, their colours are much brighter. What advice could you guys give me on how to breed them."

My main point would be that even if they were in soft, clean water, came from a local breeder and were getting a diet with lots of live food, I'd be surprised if they had bred in a set up like this.

Substrate
Rams are Geophagine cichlids, and they like to have a bottom they can sift through. I always have a thick enough layer of sand to grow plants in, but even if you don't have plants in the substrate I'd definitely have a layer of sand.

Plants
Rams come from water where there often aren't any submerged plants, but as you already have an African plant (Anubias), I'd definitely add some more plants, they make management of water quality easier.

Cover
Being in open situations is stressful for small fish, including small cichlids, they need a lot more cover (dead leaves, wood, plants) before they are going to feel happy. I like floating plants to diffuse the light, and then some Ceratopteris (Indian Fern) and "Java" moss to provide a complex environment.

Dither fish
Dither fish also help, but you need to bear in mind that Rams are much less successful in defending their fry than Apistogramma spp. are. A surface orientated fish with a small mouth (like Nannostomus eques) would be a possibility.

Spawning site
They are open spawners, I found that a piece of terracotta pot worked well.

cheers Darrel

 

[bir123]

During the day the temp is 82 and at night night it drops to 80 .They were bought from a local breeder who has good quality and healthy fish .i feed tetra colour bits ,tetra flake,new life spectrum,live adult brine shrimp and frozen blood wormsand once in a while live black worms.
I actually have 3 1inch saword tails with them.will consider getting sand .
I was planning to move 2 pairs into a 75 gl planted discus aquarium and keep the other in the 15gl so i could raise some fry but now i might move all 6 .Do you guys think that they would bother the discus or am i good

 

[bir123]

.

 

[bir123]

Moved a male and a female to the 75 gl tank today .i chose the fish with the best colour
Pic soon

 

[bir123]

.

 

[bir123]

Male GBR

 

[bir123]

Female GBR

 

[bir123]

Sorry about the bad pic and i contacted the breeder and the rams i have are wild caught that he was growing up from 1inch to fully grown.He said he had them about 3 months now

 

[Mike Wise]

If they are from wildcaught, how can they be called German Blue Rams???

 

[bir123]

I am new to rams and cichlids
So sorry my bad what are their real name then?

 

[bir123]

Here are some better pic
Male

Female

 

[bir123]

They coloured up realy nicely in this new aquarium, thinking about moving the other 4.any advice

 

[themountain]

Just keep relaxed ...when the water parameters are right they will spawn

 

[Mike Wise]

I am new to rams and cichlids
So sorry my bad what are their real name then?

Wildcaught Mikrogeophagus ramirezi are usually called wild Rams. The German Blue Ram is a domestic strain. The original GBR strain, with a deeper body profile and more black pigment, has been so degraded by sloppy breeding practices (quantity more important than quality), that I haven't seen the original strain in 15-20 years. What is now sold as GBR are just a poor imitation of the original strain, sadly.

 

[bir123]

So the wild ram has better colour .But how do you sex the wild ramd because the males have blue spots on the black dots .The only differnces i could find was the male have a yellow spot by the belly while the female has a pink ,the male has a longer dosal fin and a pointy pectoral fin while the female has a shorter dosal fin and a round pectoral fin.
Are these true or is it just my fish.

 

[bir123]

.

 

[Mike Wise]

Color being better is all in the 'eye of the beholder'. Wild Rams take longer to color up and can vary in color depending on population, food, water values, etc. Sexing wild Rams is exactly like sexing GBR: Oval humeral spot with blue scales around the margin = male; round humeral spot with blue scale in the interior = female. Color is really not very important. Mature Rams can be sexed even from black and white photos.

 

[bir123]

Thanks