Attachment 125742
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Looks fabulously intriguing Pat. Is that a large matten pad across the rear of the tank? Please do tell us the tank size and of your plans for filtration and livestock. Beautiful pieces of wood and very tastefully placed. Looks incredible!
Hi Danny, I am actually using the foam for a background. I know, a bit odd but also hoping it will provide a platform for plants. The tank is a 50 gallon acrylic tank (36x18x~20). It will house a rowdy gang of Dark Knight Rams who desperately need more room. There is only about an inch or so of water. I will be filling it up tomorrow and of course the wood will float. Once the wood sinks I will arrange it in the configuration shown in the first post. For now I will simply move the sponge filter over with the rams. Once the tank and fish has settled I am hoping to slowly plant it so it will be an evolving process.
Pat
Awesome Pat, can wait to see how things evolve. Are you planning to implant plants into the foam background? That sounds like a great idea that should work out well. I know you will do a fabulous job of documenting your progress as always, and I am following along for sure!
I love a tank with a good center piece! tuned in. Cannot wait to follow you through the end results.
Following as well! The scape looks good so I can't wait to see it full! :)
Looks good Pat, and how are you liking your current led you recently bought, did you get the satellite or pro plus
Jeanne
Thanks Jake :D
Hi Jeanne, on this tank I have the Fluval Plant 3.0 LED and so far I like it. I do have both the current satellite or pro plus LED lights and like they both. I have had several of the Current satellite LED for several years and all still working except one which like to flicker the blues on and off which is a bit annoying.
Pat
Here's a video from last night. The water is a little cloudy but the fish seem happy.
http://youtu.be/K-FJD0xIMqk
The rams are happy and eating and lots of flirting is happening. Look like there might be a couple pairs forming.
Pat
Looks great Pat!
They're cute lil boogers Pat. Looking forward to your Pennywort going in today...has the postman stopped by yet? :D
I know the ratio is 20:1 but I am not certain how long Pat.
In the Cardiac ICU I work in bleach contact has to be min 3 minutes to kill pathogens when we take equip in & out of patient rooms. I guess that would be a good general rule of thumb. Of course we use 100% bleach wipes...
I have a pair of dark rams myself from Coralbandit, is that where you sourced yours?
Very nice group you have.
Are they aggressive with one another? They seem to be much more aggressive then my Bolivian Rams and the German Rams Ive had in the past.
Great job capturing them in your video, these fish are hard to capture in photos and even video because of their coloration.
Hi Discluv, Thank you and I got this group from a friend who is associated with Gold Coast Aquatics. They do not seem any more aggressive then rams I have had in the past.
The first thing I notices was how hard they are to capture will. The LED over the tank can be make brighter and that helps a lot.
Pat
This afternoon there are at least two females and one male with dropped tubes. The vid shows one female who can not seem to decide on where and towards the end of video there is a pair under the sponge and she is busy cleaning the rock. Busy tank lol.
http://youtu.be/wHCzcsVhUA4
Hi Pat,
That looks great! I love the look of the dark knight rams.
As far as a plant dip goes, I've done several different types. A common dip is using PP - I usually add PP until it is a very dark purple. For bleach, I've done a 19:1 ratio (19 parts water, 1 part bleach, assuming you're using standard 5% bleach solution) and the dip only lasted a few minutes, at max 3 minutes. As you've already mentioned, bleach is a bit tougher on plants. Some of them don't tolerate it at all and will end up dying off. Pennywort might not take kindly to a bleach dip.
On a separate note, had two pairs spawn tonight. One spawn looks great but the other pair spawn on wood. I saw a couple eggs on the wood and later after they were done I could not see any eggs. Both pairs are guarding their spawning site. Video later.
Pat
Down to the one spawn under the sponge filter. Parents are tending it well.
Pat
How exciting! I can't wait to see how the fry develop! :)
I feel your pain, Pat. I bought some very nice Dutch Rams and would never get it on. I finally gave up and put both pairs into a 100 gallon with 8 sub adult Discus. I put one of their 29's to use as a home for a breeding pair of Bosamani Rainbow fish.
Congratulations Pat Husband. I envy you and am also a bit jealous of you. Why can you do it when I can't? I have to be doing something wrong but don't know what.
I've had several spawns with my rams, but they never get past a couple days free swimming. The parents give up or eat them. I haven't tried removing the parents yet, but if I decide to really try to raise some, that will be next.
What are you feeding the fry Steve? I had a conversation with Ryan and normal BBS is too big for the fry. He said to get the San Francisco Strain of BBS from Brine Shrimp Direct as this strain is small enough for the ram fry. Ryan also said if doing a water change that the water has to be the exact parameters of the tank water. Ram fry are very delicate.
Pat
I was prepared when both pairs showed signs of spawning. Here videos of both pairs. The camcorder allowed me to get some nice detail.
This pair is tending the eggs.
http://youtu.be/l5pYhkO8YXg
I think this pair ate their eggs. Spawning site was in the middle of the tank.
http://youtu.be/zIcNtX_T21g
Most rams will not be comfortable raising fry in large aquariums in my experience ..
I have found in 5 and 10g tanks that they can be great parents as they worry less??
Not to be heartless as my discus [2 separate pairs ] breed almost every or every other week and I have had zero success ,but it does my heart good to hear how hard you all think rams are !
I wish all fish were as easy for me !
I buy regular 90% hatch BBS eggs from brine shrimp direct[not the SF type] and have never had ram fry that did not eat them day 1 free swimming ...Without them I would not be anywhere with rams IMO ?I hatch 3 batches a day and feed them within hours of being hatched ,I never 'save' any ...I just make more new ..3 batches everyday for the last 3-4 years ….
Hi Tom, I am sure you are correct with the rams but this group needed to be in a larger tank and they decided to spawn. I also figured they would. As to whether it is successful or not who knows. I have successfully raised wild discus fry and apisto fry so not a stranger to this. This morning the eggs were fertile. You could see the fry in the eggs (talk about cool).
Attachment 125852
Tonight when I arrived home from Thanksgiving dinner with my daughter and family the eggs were gone. The pair were guarding the site so guessing the fry are squirreled away in a pit. I suspect tomorrow I will know more. I will report back in the morning.
Pat
Great egg pic, Pat!
Moving the eggs/wigglers is a good sign ..Usually rams will move good eggs and wigglers to a new clean and safe spot .
I hope you see a cloud of fry soon !
Thanks Tom, so I have both the vineger eels and smaller BBS on order but doubt any of this arrives in time. I am assuming if there are fry, they would use up their egg sack by the third day after hatching. I have a wild idea to take some of the cubed FD blackworms and grind the cube into dust like I do for discus fry but grind it as fine as possible. I would soak a small portion of that in some warm water to totally hydrate it. I would then suck a small portion into a 10ml syringe, attach a bit of flexible airhose to the tip of the syringe with a length of rigid airhose to the other end of the flexible airhose. This little rig allows me to do some very precise targeted feeding while trying to not crowd the parents.
Pat
do you have plants in any of your tanks? I accidentally raised some Boesemani fry by just taking a big wad of java moss out of the pair's tank and putting it in another tank with no air and no heater. One day I glanced at that tank and noticed fish! They survived and grew eating nothing but the microorganisms on the java moss. It might at least tide you over until your stuff arrives.