Male Ram attacking Female after eggs were eaten overnight

[Eridinus]

I made some posts about my GBRs spawning recently.

Basically this morning I turned on the light and all the eggs were gone (corys ate them most likely).

But now the male is seeking out the female ram and chasing her - I can distract them with food and they leave each other alone for a few minutes, but then he goes back to shooing her off.

Any explanation for this?

 

[Colin_T]

Are you sure the eggs didn't hatch and the male is guarding the babies?

Make sure you have lots of plants and hiding places and see how they go. Try not to separate them unless one of them gets injured.

If you have a low wattage light (like a child's night light) near the tank at night time, it will give the adults enough light to see catfish and other nocturnal fishes that might steal the eggs.

 

[Eridinus]

Yep definitely not, watched for a long time - they were just wandering around the tank - he kept going back to check where they laid the eggs but nothing there.

And well I didn't want the fry right now really, so I'm glad the corys ate them all!

The male has calmed down now and they're peaceful again. I think he only realised the eggs were gone when I turned on the light, so he went a bit crazy.

 

[Colin_T]

It's pretty common for cichlids to eat their eggs the first few times. Once they stop eating the eggs they usually eat the fry a couple of times and eventually they work out they shouldn't and start to become parents. Having said this they usually breed again a week or so after the eggs are gone so you will probably have more eggs next week.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

They will eat the eggs themselves sometimes, especially if they feel they are threatened by other fish.

 

[Byron]

I did explain this in one thread the other day; can't remember which so will repeat.

The cories are almost certainly the egg eaters. Cories are nocturnal when the cichlids are "sleeping" and egg clutches if found will be eaten within seconds. It is not common or normal for rams to eat their eggs; that is a trait of commercially-raised angelfish especially, but not the ram species. Not saying it could not happen, individual fish do not always follow the norm, but here it is most unlikely with the cories present. Cories will also be very successful eating the shoal of fry should the eggs hatch.

The male's behaviour suggests the pair did not bond. These fish must select their mates and bond. Any male/female put together may or may not accept each other. They may spawn once or a few times, but eventually if they do not bond the male will kill the female. There is no way to tell if the pair bond other than their interactive behaviours. In a tank of fish in the store it is sometimes, perhaps usually, relatively easy to spot a likely bonding pair; or you can acquire several and let them pair up in your tank, although then you have to do something with the others.