egg care?

[adam]

hi there,
ive got a breeding pair of blue rams, they've bred 4 times in as many weeks 8O and its the male who takes the nursing role, he then eats the eggs 2 days after they have been laid. :?
the female looks as though she wants to look after them too but he wont let her. :?
they have bred again this evening and im going to take the male out and let her have a shot at raising the eggs.
if she eats them to, next time i'll take both parents out.
o.k, once the eggs are laid how soon can i remove both parents?
will an airstone placed beside the pot the eggs are on be enough circulation?
and how long will it take before they can swim?
any advice would be great, i really want baby rams!!!
thanks every1
adam.

 

[Neil]

adam,

WELCOME TO THE FORUM

First of all, you need to know that rams are often very poor parents. This does not mean that you can't find individuals or pairs that will successfully raise babies, just that it is no suprise when they don't. That said, I think that it is promising that the male is guarding the eggs well for 2 days. IMO, the male is your best bet! This is not unusual for ramerizi, a species that often has a Father, female, family reproductive scheme, although normally a species that supposedly shares fry care. This is fairly rare for S.A. Dwarf Cichlids that are normally Mother, male, family or Mother, Father, family in fry-rearing. The above capitalized gender is responsible for the majority of actual fry care. So, in rams, the father often takes the lead in raising the fry.
With that in mind, I would think there is a good possibility that the eggs are fungusing before they hatch and that the male is eating them because they are not viable. Rams require water that is poor in mineral content (soft water) more than they do water that is acidic. However, both are a positive to obtain the best results in breeding. If the water has too high a mineral content, the eggs will not develop correctly and fungus. When the eggs begin to fungus the adult will often eat them to utilize the nutrition for a resource in continuing breeding attempts.
What is the hardness, pH and temp of your water? This may suggest some possible clues as to what is going on.
Artificial rearing is a difficult task to deal with and requires, not only circulation, but also antifungal elements(meth. blue or acriflavin). And of course, very careful management of water quality with conditions replicating the original tank water. Under normal or artificial rearing, eggs will hatch in 2 to 3 days and fry will free-swim in 3-5 days following that.
Good luck and let us know what the conditions are of your water. That might be the key. Neil

 

[adam]

conditions

Hi Neil

I am awaiting a good Ph test kit - will get one soon. I only know that the ph is 6.8. The temp is 31c. I change 25% or more of the water every Sat.

After posting my last post, the femal ate the 5th batch she had just laid and I did take the male out of the tank leaving her to care solely for the eggs.

How many chances would you give them of raising them on their own, before you would do it artificially. :?:

Their parents were breed in a ph set at 7. Both fish are very healthy, colourful and eat well (live food often) and they are very keen to breed with each other, so I would like to get it right.

I don't understand why after they have laid a batch of eggs, the male will not tolerate the female anywhere near the eggs and is quite aggressive towards her. Before the eggs are laid he is very co operative with her, I don't understand.

Thanks for your reply and I look forward to hearing from you on this subject.

Thanks mate

Adam
:wink:

 

[Z Man]

I have NEVER been able to get any Ram pairs to raise their own fry. I always remove the pair as soon as I notice eggs. (I breed them in a bare bottom tank with just a small sponge filter - Nothing else in the tank!) The easy part is getting them to spawn. The pH doesn't seem to affect the eggs as much as the hardness. If the water isn't soft enough, the eggs won't hatch no matter what I do! Then if they do start to wiggle and then swim free, the most difficult part is getting live food small enough for them to be able to ingest it. Some may, I say may, survive on BBS but not very many. Infusoria or microworms are good first foods. Good luck.

 

[Neil]

Zman,
I just thing that you have been unlucky. I have had more pairs of rams (german) that successfully raised the fry to the free-swimming stage than not. It is after that that the problem usually started. But, there is no question that if you have the motivation and experience, your way is most productive.
Neil