New Project

[Tshethar]

Another great thread! Great photos and videography as usual, Pat, plus breeding (no surprise), and lots of good tips. Looking forward to seeing how things develop from here, and hope you have fun.

[Second Hand Pat]

I start my fry at 100 micron .
Kens fish food is really affordable so I get every size of Golden pearls and Grow meal .Over 4 sizes of each ..
The affordability of Kens food is how my fish manage to eat Als Blackworms daily also !
I think between the three foods I really have a winning combo ..

You should find the pair you like best get them a 10g tank and place it right next to others so they can see each other ..
That will be your best bet and most fun of all the learning ..
I keep my pairs side by side in shotgun tanks with a white divider across the bottom half of tank for privacy ..
I make them eat face to face and the behavior is outrageous ! They get mad when you feed the neighbor first ..Real mad !
The spirit of competition kept in check works great for the flashy little fish ..

Thanks Tom and glad to hear Kens website is back up. I may separate a pair at some point and play with raising a spawn. For now I am happy with letting the fish play in the 50. If a pair manage to get some fry with a little size I will separate the fry if I can and raise separately. I am hoping a friend may be interested in some fry in the near future.
Pat

[Second Hand Pat]

Another great thread! Great photos and videography as usual, Pat, plus breeding (no surprise), and lots of good tips. Looking forward to seeing how things develop from here, and hope you have fun.

Thanks Bill and nice to see you making that next step with your discus keeping.
Pat

[Second Hand Pat]

So my Pennywort arrived in good condition but it was cool to the touch but mostly alive. I let the bag it came in come to room temp then removed the leaves which look questionable and placed the plant in a vase thinking it would be ok....NOT. It mostly melted and I added the still living stems to the rams tank hoping a piece will grow.

Considering I am not plant literate should I be added some sort of ferts to the water? Elliot (pastry) sent me some java fern etc that lives in my guppy bowls and that seems fine. (Thank you Elliot).

On another note I cooked up (hatched) some BBS and have been feeding that to the rams the last four days or so. Did a 50% water change last night and had one pair spawn and others showing a bit of their breeding tubes. Everyone went a little nuts after the water change as I rearranged the tank a bit.



Beginning to think Tom is correct about separating a pair if I want a spawn to be successful.
Pat

[coralbandit]

They look good Pat !
They are tight fish ...I am unclear how breeding for color brings out hostility but in many cases I find the black ,dark or even the golds from blacks to be the meanest rams I have ever had !
On the separating note , pick the right two ,they can be homicidal in pairs .
Some males are just mean ??
I like the tank set up .

[Second Hand Pat]

They look good Pat !
They are tight fish ...I am unclear how breeding for color brings out hostility but in many cases I find the black ,dark or even the golds from blacks to be the meanest rams I have ever had !
On the separating note , pick the right two ,they can be homicidal in pairs .
Some males are just mean ??
I like the tank set up .

Thanks Tom, the tank is still evolving since the wood is still floating a bit. I have been watching the males and they definitely have different temperaments. One of the males even kicks the females out of his corner. I should be able to select two which will get along. I just need a cycled sponge for the 10.
Pat

[Second Hand Pat]

So I took Tom's suggestion and order a mat of subbwassertang moss from Aquatic Art. It came in a 3.6x3.6 stainless steel mat which I can bend but not cut.

moss.jpg

So I bent it in a U and placed it on the wood. All the rams had to check it out. I am currently not dosing any ferts, should I be. My plant knowledge is nill lol.
Pat

[coralbandit]

It should grow easy ..No need for anything for me ? I use LED lights and even let it float around ..It floats ,it sinks all in the light cycle .
Eventually it clings somewhere. I love sub !Better then any moss for fry as it tangles less easy ..
That looks like a pair in pic ..
The others just won't give them any peace !
Tight fish ..
I use terra cotta pot trays for eggs ..Put near the sub and you should see eggs ? They may just happily choose the wood ..

[Discluv]

Im learning alot myself from this thread-- thanks for documenting here Pat. And thanks to coralbandit for all the experienced commentary.
I have a bunch of the subbwassertang in shrimp tanks, ill move it over to the ram tank.

I have a moss tree also growing in there- so lots of moss. I may get a few of the small clay pots as well.

[LizStreithorst]

I'm learning a lot here, too. I'd like to try again with my Rams but I don't want to be disappointed a second time.

[Second Hand Pat]

Thanks Tom, it is a pair and they had a spawn in the wood directly behind the moss. When the female was lying eggs another female was rushing in and eating the eggs. Talk about a war zone but the male seems more committed to protecting the spawn site. I think the spawn is gone now but almost lasted 48 hours.

What other plants do you use Tom?
Pat

[coralbandit]

I like Bolbitus ,javafern and have I think wisteria floating like duck weed ..Did I say duck weed ..
Rhizome plants seem best and suited to slow growth or death in my tanks ..

[Second Hand Pat]

Alright Tom, 10 gallon is setup and warming up. BB with heater and sponge filter with a wee bit of foam from another tank for bio. Clay pot with about a five inch opening. Could be a bit big but all I have ATM. Sounds like it's time to cook some BBS. Several females seem ready to go in the 50. I will add a couple small plants if that helps. Any other suggestions?
Pat

[coralbandit]

Alright Tom, 10 gallon is setup and warming up. BB with heater and sponge filter with a wee bit of foam from another tank for bio. Clay pot with about a five inch opening. Could be a bit big but all I have ATM. Sounds like it's time to cook some BBS. Several females seem ready to go in the 50. I will add a couple small plants if that helps. Any other suggestions?
Pat

Sounds like you are ready now just to get the fish to cooperate a little ..
Look for two that even tolerate each other and stay to same area while others are jousting ..
I mentioned in Liz thread about water ..I take my rams to 100TDS for breeding ..
I don't test anything else knowing my taps parameters as a baseline and seeing how little RO changes them .
My tap is 7.6 pH / 2-3 KH / 9 GH with a TDS of 350+
I use RO [no DI] that comes out 17TDS and add it back to my tap to get 100..
80-82+ and that is it ..
Feed the parents BBS especially after the eggs are laid so they know there will be food for their babies .
Some actually theorize that rams eating fry is just them knowing they would not survive where they are due to lack of proper food ?
I have seen several breeders add the BBS or a small amount of vinegar eels near the eggs and turn fry eaters into good parents !
Not my trick something I was shown and make sure to do .
I feed BBS 2-3 times a day to all my fish ..Just habit ..
Good luck Pat I love seeing others raise fry .

[LizStreithorst]

Pat, what's your TDS? After Tom mentioned it in my thread, and I believe once before, I added humic acid to my tank. It works as well as Roobios tea for allowing Angel eggs to hatch. I don't know for sure if it's even needed.