4 new gbr's,,,,,,forgive me

[smaug]

I couldnt help it,I know this takes me over the limit for dwarf cichlids [not to mention other bottom dwellers(blush) ]The were just too cool looking and very healthy.Today after there fist night the are already so beautifully colored and active,I wish I would have gotten turned on to dwarves before I got everything else.Check them out,here are some pics.I think I got 2 males and 2 fems but it is so hard to be sure.
14217

14218
Ill post more and better pics as I can.
BTW,,,in the backround of the first pic is the flanks of smaug,he is only an inch behind the ram.

[mrs fishpatrick]

they are lovely are they in with your kribs? ( you do have kribs, don't you?)

[smaug]

Yup,they are in with a pair of kribs and 5 smiling acara.

[Brookfish]

Very nice pick ups, good luck with them!

[Deleted User]

Very nice pic ups Smaug. Good luck with them. :ssmile:

[troy]

Great pickups.thumbs2:

[smaug]

Here is a another pic,this gives a good idea how small they are,thats a dwarf cory with him.14235

[Red]

smaug, feed some garlic in there diet. Do you know if they are tank raised?
Very nice color GBR for such a small size!

[smaug]

smaug, feed some garlic in there diet. Do you know if they are tank raised?
Very nice color GBR for such a small size!
Why garlic?I would assume they are domestically bred,they are just yunguns at the moment.

[Red]

garlic helps the immune system agaisnt internal parasites. GBR and other popular are injected with hormones to boost there color (easier selling them at the store) and then become prone to internal parasites. If you get them a garlic base food, it will help them fight them off. Thats why sometimes you see people loose GBR at a month for no reason, they will loose color and just die.

[smaug]

garlic helps the immune system agaisnt internal parasites. GBR and other popular are injected with hormones to boost there color (easier selling them at the store) and then become prone to internal parasites. If you get them a garlic base food, it will help them fight them off. Thats why sometimes you see people loose GBR at a month for no reason, they will loose color and just die.
Thanks for the advice,I will do that.I did not know that at all.They actually were not nearly this colorful at the shop.It can hurt to prevent though.

[Anomaly]

Beautiful GBR's you got there! :-)

[Red]

Thanks for the advice,I will do that.I did not know that at all.They actually were not nearly this colorful at the shop.It can hurt to prevent though.

yeah, I bet they werent having that much fun at the petstore, and enjoy your tank a lot better! again nice GBR!

[toddnbecka]

I couldnt help it,I know this takes me over the limit for dwarf cichlids [not to mention other bottom dwellers ]
Definitely time for another tank...

[Northernguy]

Great looking rams!:22:

[Oscar_freak12321]

Very pretty fish, and beautiful pics too! A+

[poler_28]

What beauties! I'm jealous.. I'm having a terrible time finding GBR's at ANY LFS! Congrats!

[Goodbye]

Nice Pics! I would have more dwarf cichlids if my 38g was not fully stocked.

[bushwhacker]

first two pics i'm fairly certain are female

[smaug]

I lost 2 of them for sure yesterday,[I found there bodys]and I can only see 1 at the moment.They looked so good yesterday morning and the remaining one looks very healthy as well.I havnt gotten to a pet shop to get the food that sev recomends as I just simply havnt had time yet.Hopefully tommarow.This is my second attempt at keeping these fish.

[Algenco]

I lost 2 of them for sure yesterday,[I found there bodys]and I can only see 1 at the moment.They looked so good yesterday morning and the remaining one looks very healthy as well.I havnt gotten to a pet shop to get the food that sev recomends as I just simply havnt had time yet.Hopefully tommarow.This is my second attempt at keeping these fish.


if you want some that will live, let me know:hmm3grin2orange:

[smaug]

The GBR experiment is over.How can a fish look so fantastic in the morning and be deader then heck in the afternoon.Its almost like there being killed by one of the other fish,Maybe the angel,the gbr were really little.

[Red]

I am telling you smaug, those dam internal parasites gets them everytime. If you want good ones, get them from algenco..

[smaug]

Yup,thats the plan,next time I will.

[Red]

Yeah it sucks, I am having the same problem in my tank, fish look good, then wither away and die :(

[smaug]

Yeah it sucks, I am having the same problem in my tank, fish look good, then wither away and die :(
These guys never whithered,they just died!I was looking at the last survivor this morning thinking how vibrant and full of vinegar he was then this afternoon I dug his dead body from the bushes.

[Red]

Yeah, I had the same problem with rams bought from the store, the are so full of internal parasites its sick, but I bet you have good luck with algencos rams..

[Algenco]

with the Asian bred Rams the problem is twofold
1. internal parasites are common
2 hormones are used to get them to color up early, as a result they burn out quickly

[Red]

with the Asian bred Rams the problem is twofold
1. internal parasites are common
2 hormones are used to get them to color up early, as a result they burn out quickly

I agree, but the hormones make the fish weaker, which in turn lets internal parasites get it, when I healthy fish stops them..

[Algenco]

the hormones speed up the life cycle, burns the candle at both ends

[Red]

the hormones speed up the life cycle, burns the candle at both ends

moral of the story, we shouldn't use hormones :22:

[Taurus]

with the Asian bred Rams the problem is twofold
1. internal parasites are common
2 hormones are used to get them to color up early, as a result they burn out quickly

I've heard and read about the hormone treatments a lot. The GRB I tried from a retail source didn't last a week. Did your stock originate from wild stock Al ?

[smaug]

This is my 2nd attempt at keeping them the first time was petco,this last was that fish place that pet place.Ill wait awhile and try some of Alqencos fish.

[Algenco]

I've heard and read about the hormone treatments a lot. The GRB I tried from a retail source didn't last a week. Did your stock originate from wild stock Al ?


No, a friend got some Asian bred that survived long enough to spawn.
I am getting 2 wild males next week to improve my linethumbs2:

[Sharon]

Smaug...I've made four attempts at Rams. I bought all of mine at WalMart, so that's certainly a disadvantage. All have died. At $10 a fish, it gets expensive!

I wish I was closer to you, Algenco!:ssmile:

[smaug]

Cracky!10bucks!!.Thought the 5 bucks I spent was bad enough for the risk that I knew they would be.What sucks is they do have a warranty but I live too far away from the place to have them honor it.

[herc]

wow,they are amazingly colored

[fraggle]

That really sucks smaug. Sorry mate!

Hey Al, do you send your rams to Australia? LOL

[smaug]

wow,they are amazingly colored
They WERE! According to the pros,that is why they are also dead:help:

[Flowcus]

Sorry for your loss Smaug... What I did when I bought my rams was treated for internal parasites immediately. Granted I still lost one to that very thing, the other came out very healthy and very colorfull! Try to find some that were wild caught or privately bred and you should have some better luck.

Good luck in the future if you decide to get some more. :22:

[smaug]

Red sev suggested that,by the time I could have gotten around to getting it done 3 of them were already dead.:scry:

[Taurus]

No, a friend got some Asian bred that survived long enough to spawn.
I am getting 2 wild males next week to improve my linethumbs2:

Thanks Al. That's really good to know.

[Taurus]

This is my 2nd attempt at keeping them the first time was petco,this last was that fish place that pet place.Ill wait awhile and try some of Alqencos fish.

I made the same mistake with petco. And my plans for the future with GBRs are the same.

Thanks all, this has been a very insightful thread on GBRs!