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Interesting… is it possible the parents are worn out from producing two broods? I know my honey male gets really tired if he’s guarding broods back to back. When I clear out his nesting area and his hormones go down, he spends a few days sleeping on the floor of the tank (scaring me half to death). Can you force rams to snap out of breeding mode? Or is it up to them to self regulate?

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On 8/12/2021 at 12:27 AM, Hobbit said:

Interesting… is it possible the parents are worn out from producing two broods? I know my honey male gets really tired if he’s guarding broods back to back. When I clear out his nesting area and his hormones go down, he spends a few days sleeping on the floor of the tank (scaring me half to death). Can you force rams to snap out of breeding mode? Or is it up to them to self regulate?

Very good possibility they're worn out. My son had a pair that got looking this way after a few batches. They eventually just aged out and died. That is something to bear in mind. Sometimes you get Rams when they're at a year old. If you keep them warm and breed them a lot, they can just "wear out" and die earlier than normal.

But I think I want to try to run them through the meds. It's possible that the live mosquito larvae I was feeding them the other day was unhealthy. Maybe my photoperiod is too long. Not sure. Could just be stress from me pulling eggs too.

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Well… sad to report… the 2nd batch of German Blue Ram fry has “melted away.” I put it that way, because this is typical of fry that aren’t getting what they need from their environment. They just sort of disappear.

Good news, though, is batch #2 is going strong. Lots of healthy growth.

Here’s an update video…

 

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It’s MOVING DAY! (or… “First day of school”) Ram parents are moved to Discus tank.

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Baby Rams are moved out of net-breeders, and set free to grow out in the 20-long with a school of Pygmy barbs.

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Here’s a long video if you’re interested in watching the process unedited. I did lose one Ram fry. Otherwise, all’s well!

 

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Ram Fry enjoy BBS in Grow-out tank. The Glowlight Pygmy Barbs scurry around, but do not bother the little Rams.

The adult Tam parent pair is also enjoying their new tank together with the Discus. No one bothers them, though the Discus like to “photobomb” as often as possible. They also nibble away at BBS today.

 

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On 8/26/2021 at 1:41 PM, anewbie said:

What temp do you keep your ram and discus ?

Very warm in this tank - 85° F avg. Their earlier tank where they first spawned was around 80° F. Rams (and discus) can be kept cooler. I’ve just found, though, that warmer temps seem to work well. Their metabolism will increase, however, so life expectancy shortens a bit. 

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On 8/26/2021 at 3:41 PM, anewbie said:

yea that was why i asked. Someone mentioned to me at 85-86 the rams barely live 2 years; of course if you are breeding them you will always have more.

Yes. This is correct. Rams are much shorter-lived at high temperatures. All fish are, in fact. It's a matter of purpose. Because I keep fish in order to breed them, I make temperature adjustments accordingly.

Interestingly, I have some U.S. Native fish that prefer breeding in COLD temperatures (i.e. Rainbow Darters). I'm still pondering getting a chiller for them eventually. 

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Adult female Ram (momma) hasn’t been looking good the last few days. She’s looking like she’s got some ailment. I’ve decided to isolate her in a net breeder in the upper left of the tank. The the male is harassing her in the larger tank. Added a small Catappa leaf, some greens to calm her. If she’s got dropsy, she’s not going to make it long. We’ll see. 

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On 8/31/2021 at 11:18 AM, Fish Folk said:

Adult female Ram (momma) hasn’t been looking good the last few days. She’s looking like she’s got some ailment. I’ve decided to isolate her in a net breeder in the upper left of the tank. The the male is harassing her in the larger tank. Added a small Catappa leaf, some greens to calm her. If she’s got dropsy, she’s not going to make it long. We’ll see. 

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Heh, poor mamma. Hopefully she recovers. 

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ida passed through my neck of the woods and not much happened just a lot of rain. No real flooding. Guess it picked up strength when it moved north or maybe cause we are not next to the ocean like Virginia. Oh well I've never had a sick ram get better; but i've managed to treat several apisto with success. I had one little guy so close to death he was floating upside down at the top; poor little guy thought it was time to be done with him; but gave him another day since the gills were still moving with furan-2 and now 4 months later he is still swimming around happily. 

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