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I discovered my bolivian rams had laid eggs on my driftwood yesterday..so excited!

they are first time parents and ive never bred these so im gng to need some help!

the parents aer being extremely territorial the female hasnt moved from the eggs whilst the male stands guard and chases all the other fish away from the spot.

i havent removed the eggs as yet.. any advice as to what i should do would be appreciated!!

thanks!

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Truth doesn't always win friends but it influences them

Leave them alone! They may eat the eggs, buy then again they may not. New cichlid parents can be really hit and miss, but only by leaving the eggs will they learn to be good parents. So, after they have a batch that hatches, they may well eat the fry, too! Still, give them a few more chances and before you know it they'll be good parents.

Eric

It often takes many tries before they successfully raise a batch but it's definitely worth it. It's fun to watch, much easier to let the parents do the work, and the fry are more likely to succeed in raising their own young when they grow up if their parents are allowed to raise them. Within a few days the eggs turn into wriggles. They will look the same at a glance but if you lean in close you can see little tails wiggling. The parents may move them around the tank at that point to avoid predators. In another few days the fry will start to swim and the parents will keep them in a little group in various places in the tank. You might have to remove them soon or at least some of them at this point because it gets too difficult for the rams to gaurd all of them and the other fish in the tank will start to pick them off. Feed them small amounts frequently(live food or at least frozen food is best) and wait for them to grow. Any ammonia will wipe out ram fry overnight so be careful not to overfeed them.

Thanks for your replies.. i will try to resist seperating them .. so excited waiting for them to hatch. The only thing im worried about it the danios in the tank attacking them. hopefully the parents will stand guard!

keep you updated!

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Truth doesn't always win friends but it influences them

Just a quick question.. where she has laid them is right near the filter intake .. can i just use a normal (brand new-no soap) houselhold sponge to place in the filter intake bit to stop them being sucked up?
or do i need a different type of sponge?

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Truth doesn't always win friends but it influences them

I usually cut up an Aquaclear filter to slide over the tip or I'll rubber band a mesh bag over the end...I'd stay away from household products...it's better safe than sorry.

Eric

Thats what i was thinking.. i might get some stocking and rubber band it on..

would that be a better idea?

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Truth doesn't always win friends but it influences them

That would work, too.

Eric

None of the eggs have hatched however the female is still standing guard. The male is now being chased off whenever he gets even remotely close to her.

How long is it supposed to take?
the eggs arent white but a clear colour. i cant remember which way they are supposed to look if they are fertilised.

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Truth doesn't always win friends but it influences them

I can't honestly tell you what color they are supposed to be...I just wait and see what happens.

No need to worry - they'll eat them or someone else will eventually if they're not fertilized. If you see fry one day, you'll know they were fertilized!

Eric

My GBR eggs always turned noticeably darker and you could see a teeny tiny black slit in the middle (which was the baby fish). Sortly after seeing the color change and the slit, the eggs will start to move. This is when I remove them from the parents as it is difficult for the parents to keep the eggs from falling off of where they were. I have 3 seperate GBR spawns growing out in a 10 and my first set is almost ready to be sold.

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~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

Thats a gorgeous pic of your fish as your avator Melissa!

will look closely tonite for black slit... fingers crossed!

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Truth doesn't always win friends but it influences them

Yeah, that's my daddy ram. He's the father of all my ram fry. It's the same pic that I posted in the photo booth. I hope the kids look like him!

**Keeping my fingers crossed for your eggs**

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~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."

well i got home last nite and the eggs were gone..
not quite sure what happened to them. i looked all over the tank to see if i could see any wrigglers and nothing.. maybe better luck next time!

the female is still gaurding that spot and it appears the male wants to try again however she chases him away every time. will this behaviour stop eventually?

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Truth doesn't always win friends but it influences them

They may not have been fertilized and so got eaten. Rams usually clean up any unfertilized eggs before they mold and contaminate the others. Or the rams just had a falling out and ended up eating their eggs out of stress. Sometimes it does take them a few tries to get it right. Wriggles cannot swim and will look exactly like eggs unless you lean in close. Then you'll see little tails moving back and forth. They will usually be in the same place and grouped together just like the eggs until they can swim. If all the eggs/fry are really gone the female should calm down soon and once she's ready to mate again, might take a couple weeks, you will get more eggs.

Thanks.. ive got my fingers crossed!!

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Truth doesn't always win friends but it influences them

I agree that patience is key to spawning rams. My couple had three spawns go south prior to their first success, then, the next three were good. They have to make a few 'practice' runs before they get it right.

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~~Melissa~~
"Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder."