# german blue ram spawning problems



## Josh H (Oct 31, 2013)

hey all, new to the forum! have had success with other forums in the past, so decided to try this one. well, im having a problem with my pair of german blue rams. they have spawned 2-3 times since *** had them, and i would really like to raise the fry (if, for no other reason than i never have). the problem is every time they lay eggs, they seem to get eaten. not sure if its the parents or one of the other fishes i have (bosmoni rainbows, zebra danios, cory cats, flying fox and roseline sharks). the pair seem to do a good job guarding the eggs, but after 3-5 days, suddenly they are gone and the pair just resume normal behavior. i was thinking about setting up my spare 55 gallon, but cant figure out how to separate the eggs as they are always put onto a huge piece of driftwood in the display tank. anyone have any tips or tricks that may help? thanks for reading!


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## Tomagorn (Apr 5, 2013)

You might try putting a piece of slate in the tank and see if they will lay the eggs on it instead of the driftwood.

On a separate note, how do you like your flying fox and have you had any problems with them?


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## Jaciesla (May 2, 2012)

I too would recommend slate in the tank so the eggs are easier to remove. You could also move the pair into a smaller tank where they could spawn, and then see if the eggs disappear. I had the same issue with my rams and one of the two must have really, really loved the taste of those eggs because they were always gone the next morning. I know how frustrating it is >.<


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## Josh H (Oct 31, 2013)

might give that a shot. and i havent had the flying foxes in there more than a few weeks, but i like them. an interesting schooling fish. i often see them schooling with other species. pretty good at algae cleanup, not as good as some shrimp, but at least they get big enough not to get eaten or trapped in my overflow!


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## Josh H (Oct 31, 2013)

so its settled. i do have some extra slate hanging around, i shall try that next time. looks like it will be another few weeks or so as i noticed this morning they were guarding more eggs! man...the rams are always mating, i'll find zebra danio fry in my filter every couple weeks, rainbows are always mating...my tank is just a big box of sex...


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## Blue12am (Oct 29, 2013)

> hey all, new to the forum! have had success with other forums in the past, so decided to try this one. well, im having a problem with my pair of german blue rams. they have spawned 2-3 times since I've had them, and i would really like to raise the fry (if, for no other reason than i never have). the problem is every time they lay eggs, they seem to get eaten. not sure if its the parents or one of the other fishes i have (bosmoni rainbows, zebra danios, cory cats, flying fox and roseline sharks). the pair seem to do a good job guarding the eggs, but after 3-5 days, suddenly they are gone and the pair just resume normal behavior. i was thinking about setting up my spare 55 gallon, but cant figure out how to separate the eggs as they are always put onto a huge piece of driftwood in the display tank. anyone have any tips or tricks that may help? thanks for reading!
> /quote]
> 
> I've had the same experience here but I was expecting it because my pH is real high here on the coast; I really need to start an african cichlid tank but for now I prefer peaceful fish. I read that when the parents sense the eggs aren't going to make it, they get eaten. My GBR eggs last two days tops. I haven't tried separating the eggs but I have read that you should try to get them to spawn on a flat stone or other object and then your remove the whole object as to not disturb the eggs too much and keeping them submerged in water during the whole process.
> I recently realized I'd rather not have a mated pair in a community tank because I don't enjoy watching my fish get charged at constantly, although the female shows brilliant colors; my male turns real dark/kinda ugly. My GBR had the coolest temperament until I paired him and now he's super bossy even when I separate the pair.


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## Blue12am (Oct 29, 2013)

I recently set up a new 36 gallon tank with a new canister filter, sand substrate, and seeded it with my old HOB filters running. I introduced a new femaleGBR to an already paired up male (separated for a week because I read somewhere that it might be helpful to separate the pair in between breedings to get them bulked up with protein) to see what would happen. Apparently my male is some kind of stud GBR because they paired up instantly like he did with his previous mate. 
So tonight I was vacuuming my new sand substrate a week and a half later, and kind of disappointed I wasn't able to suck up any of the gunk I would with a gravel vacuuming, and a top layer of sand got sucked up when I noticed a fry already colored the trademark orange with a dark spot on the side! :thumb: I wish I had some moss or fry food; I will try to feed them some of a hard boiled egg yolk trick I read about a while back, before I go shopping in the morning. The sand substrate (20 Grain) really camouflaged the eggs this time. I guess my rams don't like the flat stones (not slate) I provide because while I see them nesting and cleaning off the stones, they seem to prefer laying their eggs on the gravel (previously witnessed) or sand (didn't see any eggs this time). I really did not think the fry would even hatch because my ph is in the high 7's, but now that I think about it I remember seeing a similar fry and I thought it was a water insect and vacuumed it up. Sometimes it doesn't pay to be a compulsive vaccumer.  BTW I love my new canister filter and will be looking to upgrade all my tanks in the future.


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## Jaciesla (May 2, 2012)

Congrats on your successful fry survival! I know we would love to see some pictures to go along with your descriptions  Each ram pair will be different with the area and surface they like to spawn on, just like people I suppose


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