Blue Rams layed clutch of eggs, please help?

[Dlprice45]

Hey anyone out there? I have a pair of Blue rams that layed a clutch of eggs. any suggestions​?
I have 2 other rams in the tank and some clown plecos which dont seem to come out much. So do they raise their own? Would I have to feed them baby brine?I have raised discus but not rams before. they are in a small 10 gallon tank. I know I should at least take the plecos out. which I will soon. Do they raise their own with other Rams around? Any advise would be great.
Thanks
Diana

[Elliots]

First question, do you want to raise the fry? If the answer is yes I cannot help you but I am sure that info is available by Googling. My Discus lay eggs regularly. I live in a small apartment and I let nature take its course. If they live good! I have a planted tank so there is a very small chance they will live. Not everyone has the time, the space, the interest or the skill to raise fry.

[PP_GBR]

Is this their first spawn? Rams are notorious egg eaters. I let mine try on their own many times before I stole their eggs. They usually atet he eggs by next morning. If you really want to breed them, hatch the eggs and rear the fry yourself. I must admit I've leanrt how to breed rams from a 10 year old boy's Youtube.

[Ryan]

Some rams are bad about egg eating but not all. You could always give them a shot if you want them to parent-raise. If they eat the eggs they will likely spawn again, so you have more than one chance to make it work.

I would be concerned in a 10 gallon tank that the pair might be aggressive with the other two rams. They are cichlids, after all. Pulling the eggs would probably prevent too many aggression issues. Plecos will definitely eat cichlid eggs. I've had to remove plecos from most of my cichlid tanks because they sneak in at night and eat them.

Ram fry are tiny but should be fine with newly hatched brine. You could also try Hikari First Bites which they may or may not take. That's my main food for cichlid fry now because it's way cheaper and easier than brine shrimp. Once they're a bit larger you can switch them to a mix of frozen BBS, golden pearls, decapsulated brine, and/or powdered pellets. I usually smash up Hikari or NLS pellets until they're a fine dust, then mix with a bit of water to soften it and blow it right into the cloud of fry with a syringe or some airline tubing.

[Dlprice45]

Well the eggs made it through the night. So thats good. Will hatch some brine shrimp tonight if they are still there. I will get some Hikari First Bites too. Well really wasnt thinking they would make it the first night. But so far so good.

[John_Nicholson]

I have always pulled ram pairs and put them in their own tanks. I have had very little issues with them eating the eggs. I have always fed them fresh hatched BBS and have never had any issues raising them.

Good luck.

-john

[Ryan]

I wouldn't hatch any brine yet. It only takes about 24 hours to hatch brine and you will not have free-swimmers for about a week. Ram eggs will take 2 - 2 1/2 days to hatch and they will not go free swimming for another 4 - 7 days.

[Dlprice45]

Oh so I can feed them BBS right after they hatch? Also should I not clean the tank? I clean out the bottom yesterday when i noticed the clutch of eggs. So Im thinking maybe just gently clean water a couple of times a week? They are in a 10 gallon tank with a sponge filter and some fake plants and a stone that they layed it on. I was going to move the pair into a different tank, but they were ready, so will let them take their course and see if I have viable fry.Thanks guys-

[Ryan]

You don't feed brine until the ram fry are free-swimming, which won't happen until around 5 days after they hatch. So you're usually looking at 7 - 10 days from the time eggs are laid before the ram fry are free-swimming, depending on your temperature. I wouldn't start hatching brine until you've had wrigglers for 3 - 4 days because the brine are only good for several hours after they hatch anyway. If you hatch brine too soon you're basically just wasting them.

I change water daily on fry tanks. They will get dirty fast when you're feeding brine or crushed foods, especially in a tank as small as 10 gallons. I'd do at least 25% water changes daily or every other day, depending on water quality. As long as the pH and temperature of the new water and the tank water are the same, you shouldn't have any issues with the fry.

[Dlprice45]

Well eggs dissapeared, will get the pair alone in a tank this weekend so hopefully they will raise a batch otherwise will have to seperate the eggs. Thanks guys, know what I need to do.