Breeding German Blue Rams

[sailor]

I want to set up a 55 gal tank to try and attempt to get GBR breeding. Once I get my water parameters sorted out.(ph too high @ water too hard) Any tips from the pros- Nick I saw you that you have a 30 gal breeding tank on your website. I am thinking of getting 10 juvies for my tank. Lots of places to hide and try my luck at live plants. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance
Sailor

[jbeining75]

sailor I'd say get half a dozen and let them work out the pairing.... try to introduce java moss and somewhere for them to hide... hardness around 80 ppm... alot of the time when the petstore breeds them the no pairing rams will cower towards the top of the tank. Take them out or they are gonna die. The lfs uses a flowerpot for them to lay eggs... about a week after eggs you should start to see fry develop.... one time I seen a male get super aggressive towards the female after the fry were hatched and the owner had to remove the female.... once the fry are free swimming he removes the male and puts back with female... after a few days he puts cory cats in the tank to clean up the left over food. Make sure to decrease airrate flow a little in a bubble stone and put a sponge or stocking over the filter so they don't get sucked up... Good luck don'tget frustrated from what I have seen they are very hard to pair... unless they are a permanent pairing like the fish store has

[sailor]

Ok thanks for the advice. Now to get my water sorted out.

[NickFish]

Yes sailor I am attempting to breed german blues, although I am setting this tank up now, it is not currently stocked.

I know a good breeder that can tell male from female no problem so I'm getting 2 males and 3 females, and letting them pair up. I may also add a few Nannostomus as dithers. You could add a few more though, your tank is bigger. I have my pH all set up, heavily planted, lots of caves, and feed a variety of live and frozen foods.
There will be some aggression.

[sailor]

Thanks Nick.

Any pics of your GBR set up?

[NickFish]

I'll get some pics up as soon as its complete.
No problem.

[Incredulous_Ed]

If you get your rams from a local breeder (which you shold anyway) there is less of a need to soften the water. My bolivian rams bred in my hard alkaline water. Also, some peaceful tetras in the mid water level will make the rams less shy