Journal – Breeding German Blue Rams (Mikrogeophagus Ramirezi)

[james_fish]

Okay cool, the brine shrimp will get that female nicely conditioned

James.

 

[L_Plates]

No worries James i do not think i have mentioned it.

I mainly feed frozen bloodworm and half a dozen small cichlid pellets daily. Then once a week as a change i will be feeding live brine shrimp.

LP

Do i hear DIY brine shrimp

Indeed BBA, your pointers worked a treat Is it ok to add the water that they hatched in to the tank as it has salt in ?

Okay cool, the brine shrimp will get that female nicely conditioned

James.

I hope so, i have a batch on the go now.

LP

 

[BigbruiserAl]

Hmm being sea salt i didt want to take the chance, i got some coffee filters (x50) from flebay for £3 i pour the shrimp into the coffe filter then rinse fresh water through then into the tank
I did another bunch of shrimp feed to all the tanks and still had left overs so i left them till the next day with the filter and light off and they will still alive next day to feed again so dont worry about leaving them on the side for a day after hatching.
Done alot of reading on them and after 24hrs there is no point feeding them to fish as they dont hold any Nutrients after that time

 

[L_Plates]

Cheers mate, i will go take a look on ebay for some.

But could we freeze them ? Would it lock in the goodness ?

Cheers for the info BBA

LP

 

[BigbruiserAl]

Dont think our home methods would work mate for freezeing, some people grow them and gut load them before feeding but reading up seems a pain in the bot as you have to keep them just right(Heat,air light etc..). Most people seem to just have 2 batchs on the go and swap them out. In fairness the only cost is the eggs and i think the 40g i got is going to last me a year from the looks of(1/4 tea spoon per 2 ltr)

 

[L_Plates]

Very true, once or twice a week they will last me forever. Dont want to feed more than that as the missus complains about the light being on

Cheers again,
LP

 

[Gilli]

As you don't have a heavily planted tank you could use Root Tabs which are a plant fertilizer - they come in the form of small tablets. These will give new plants stronger roots and keep plants lush and green. They will provide the key nutrients, such as iron and potassium, required for vibrant growth. You set each tab into the substrate to deliver the nutrients right to the plant's roots. Each tab slowly releases nutrients and lasts up to one month. you use one tab for every 30 square inches (194 sq cm) of surface and push midway into gravel bed.

Or if you prefer you can use liquid ferts which you add weekly into your water change bucket when you do your weekly vac and water change - dosage will depend on how many gallons you have.

Both are easily obtained from your local fish shop or on Ebay and neither will upset the water chemistry.

With regard to the foods frozen would be easiest. Rams like any 'meaty' foods - mosquito larvae, bloodworm,glass worms, shrimp brine, tubifex worms etc . I fish my mosquito larvae live out of my pond along with any bugs that have fallen in there. They were also very partial to cooked mussels and prawns . I defrosted one every so often and shred them very small.

 

[L_Plates]

I have lots of spare Seachem Flourish and TPN so i think i will use them up as i am now using dry ferts on my community tank.

Also i think i still have some flourish tabs as well.

I just dont want to over do the ferts as i know Rams can be very fussy about water quality.

Cheers
LP

 

[L_Plates]

Ok a very quick update as there is not much to report.

I have just moved one of the females over to the community tank. The female i suspected to be paired with the male has a pink belly again and both her and the male was pushing the other female away when she came close.

Hopefully i have got the correct fish together in the tank, only time will tell.

The fish seem happy with the plants that where added last night ( photos on page 2 of this thread ) so fingers crossed.

LP

 

[Whitey_144]

looking good! keep up the good work!

 

[L_Plates]

Ok here is a quick video of the pair together in the tank after i had removed the other female. Well i hope they are the pair !

As you will see in the video they are looking happy together sharing food and sticking close together.

Also i have done a 30% water change this evening as well.

http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=SB_lKeaJWQc

Cheers
LP

 

[HayzH]

If they do have fry i will sort some out for you.

Fingers crossed.

LP

how big do these grow

 

[L_Plates]

Around 2 - 2.5 inches

LP

 

[ian]

what is the lighting like over the tank and how long do you have the lights on?

If the light is low enough (you have some experience with planted tanks, so i'm sure you know), you can get away with just a weekly dose of the Flourish. The plants you have aren't really hard to keep. Just keep an eye on the swords, remember to get the old leaves off as soon as they start browning.

 

[L_Plates]

It has 2 small twin 18w lights. They are on for 10 hours.

I only run one though.

Cheers Ian,

LP