Blue rams

[sskruzr]

Last Friday I got 10 rams for Sundance and myself to split trying to get some pairs. Within a couple days, two pairs maybe 3 had spawned and another pair were getting ready to spawn. Sundance picked up a pair Sunday. Unfortunately one pair ate their eggs, but another has free-swimming fry for sure. Think I'll snitch tomorrow morning and finish raising them up.

[Jackielee]

Great job. Was it an aquabid purchase. Wonderful results no matter.

[sskruzr]

This was an AB win. A few years ago I got 4 rams from a HAAS auction, originally Otto's. I was lucky enough to get 2 pairs. Those 2 pair provided tons of babies for the next year. I decided a month ago to try them again. Should have some ready for the NWAAS and HAAS spring auctions.

[kribkid17]

Great job! Can we get some pics?

[sskruzr]

I'll see if I can find the wife's camera.

Here's setup and parameters.
It's a homemade 75, 48L x 24W x 16H, a big footprint for lots of room. Bare bottom with various spawning spots, flower pots and a couple cave structures. Unfortunately each pair spawned in a bare corner and not in a pot. Water temp is 82 and ph 7.2. This is Bella Vista water. 11 rams were thrown in and fed frozen brine shrimp, frozen bloodworms, frozen cyclops, various vegetable and earthworm flakes, Tetramin crisps, and the occasional pellet.

Provinding the babies are still there this morning, they're going in a bare 2 1/2 with their aquarium water and a sponge filter. Previously, I found the key to getting rams raised was daily water changes of about half their water and lots of microworms. The easiet way I found to siphon water outta baby tanks, is to put an airstone on a an airline and siphon it out using the airstone as a filter. It's slow, but you never suck up fry.

[etheonut]

You didn't mention details about the flower pots (orientation, holes, pieces, etc) but you might have better luck getting them to spawn on a flower pot if you break them into pieces. Rams are substrate egg layers so a shard of pottery or smooth stone on the bottom would be a more likely spawning spot than a whole pot on its side or with a hole in it.

Of course you have raised more rams than I have seen in my life, so take my advice for what it is worth.

Kevin

[sskruzr]

Currently the pots are on their sides with the ends broke out. This has worked in the past but that was with only 2 pair in a 40breeder.
Forgot to mention I added 6 clean oak leaves and some java moss.
I did manage to snag a bunch from the parents and they still have some left.
The only pair have swimmers also but they're in a ceramic cave so I have to slowly blow microworms into the cave. Hopefully I can snitch some of these from the parents also.

[etheonut]

I was going to ask if you still had the oak leaves in there. That was quite an amazing sight last time the parents guarding the eggs on the oak leaves.

Kevin

[sskruzr]

Man I forgot how slow these guys grow. First batch is doing good but I see a pair spawned on a leaf and looks like another pair will spawn shortly.

[sskruzr]

Well evidently I wasn't doing my due diligence on water changes. Over the last 3 days the babies have been dropping like flies. By the end of tomorrow they'll be all gone. BUMMER