[Crazyfish]

I got some Rams the other day and they hooked up and laid eggs in no time... it was quite a surprise. The male chased the female for a couple days then they started cleaning the inside of this coral rock and a day later laid eggs. They have been taking turns hovering over the eggs and chasing away any fish that come by. I took out all fish but 3 Harlequin Rasboras just so they have something to protect against . Here are some pics I took of the female laying eggs while the male waits to fertilize. I'm interested to see if these hatch or not... been 24 hrs so far and they haven't been eaten by the parents yet so time will tell.

 

[Sylverclaws]

Congratulations! I hope it works out. They sound like they're doing a good job already. First time parents often fail, so don't feel too bad if they do. Hopefully they wont and you will have some wigglers soon. =)

 

[Crazyfish]

They totally failed... but their behavior during breeding was fun to watch. The male and female were doing a good job watching the eggs. They would "tag" each other to take turns watching and fanning the eggs. The female would do a better job at fanning and the male would just hover over and keep an eye on them and chase any fish that came by. The eggs got fungus on day 2... I'm guessing they didn't get fertilized or they weren't able to remove the bad eggs and the fungus spread. Maybe next time.

 

[Sylverclaws]

Sometimes it takes three or four tries. Sounds like daddy needs the learning, fanning keeps fungus from growing and they're supposed to remove the bad eggs themselves. But eh! It's not an easy thing, at least you have a breeding pair, so chances are you'll get another shot to see them raise a brood. Usually once a month, once every other month they will try until they don't fail. lol Sometimes they wait longer. I knew someone who had theirs drop a second brood after a fail two weeks later, but I'm not sure how common that is.

Mine were paired, but the female had some sort of complication or other and died, then a couple days alter my male decided to stop eating and followed her. =( Poor guys. Wish I were so lucky as to get eggs, and likely would have eventually. I'm not really sure what happened with the female, they cleaned out a pot for their area but she got sick soon after and then just died.


Good luck to you, sounds like you have a fine pair, they just need to work out the kinks!

 

[Crazyfish]

Well, it hasnt even been a week since they laid eggs and the male is getting frisky again. Looks like this is going to be a weekly thing... female is already getting fat.

 

[Sylverclaws]

Haha, well that'd be a bit more unusual. Maybe the first ones were unfertilized and it was a test run. If dad didn't fertilize them, it'd explain why he wasn't helping as much as he should, or perhaps he misfired....

 

[Crazyfish]

Well, it seems the male wasn't healthy which is probably why he was too lazy to properly fan the eggs. Yesterday, the female was ready to lay eggs again, her ovipositor was fully out then she went over and nudged the male but he wasn't interested. I found him dead this morning. The only thing I can recall is that he was spitting out flake food at times but was ok with freeze dried worms and shrimp. His gills looked protruded as well. I guess I should have taken note to some of the warning signs. I'm not sure if I'm going to look to getting a male for her but she's reallllly fat

 

[Sylverclaws]

Awuh, that sucks.

Yeah, if you have a nasty in there it may be iffy to get a new male...however the upside of adding in one after her previous passed, while she is heavily laden with eggs...may actually work in your favor. Or may not.

 

[Crazyfish]

Looks like I made a good decision on not running out to get a male ram.... the female is showing the same symptoms and following in the footsteps of her mate who died a couple days ago. Basically, it's the same thing that is written everywhere on the internet about their sudden hiding, rapid breathing followed by inability to swim... sort of like bottom heavy (swim bladder). I'm not sure if it's parasites or what but seems that everyone on the internet goes through the same experience with German Blue Rams. Here I was happy that they paired up and were breeding. I don't get it because they were so active when I first got them. I don't get how they can be fine for a couple weeks then just die suddenly.

 

[Sylverclaws]

They're actually quite delicate fish. So yeah, it's not uncommon for fish to be fine and then go poof so fast, especially Rams. If it was a parasite, perhaps it laid eggs and they hatched and ran over their systems. I've heard of cancers in animals going into remission, and then one day just blasting back and pretty much killing them instantly or very close.

Parasites and infections are nasty things. Depending how bad, or where they are, they can kill very quickly. Parasites can get unhappy and break through walls inside the fish causing a pretty nasty, but quickish death. If you can call a day or two quick...

I am sorry this happened. Try to save her though. If you can find an anti-parasitic and antibiotic that can go together safely with rams...go for it. Nothing to lose if she's going down that hard. Though before that I would say to try and make a help thread first and ask if anyone knows -exactly- what it is so you can try with more knowledge of what to do and less risk of a backfire.

 

[Crazyfish]

She went down much harder than the male.... I just found her on her side barely moving. I guess I need more info on how to keep these pretty fish or perhaps quarantine them with anti parasite meds after getting them home. I surely won't get more Rams anytime soon