stsetter

Update: Got home from work today to find my GBR and Gold Ram spawning. They were just laying the last of the eggs so at least I didn't miss all of this amazing sight! However, the first eggs that I thought I saw looked nothing like these ones so I think it's safe to say I was wrong, but at least I know for sure! I will be leaving the eggs/fry with the parents to see how good the parents are with the young. I've heard it's hit and miss with natural fry rearing and rams so I figure Darwin can take care of the first spawn and I will go from there. I do however have a question about the fry. Can I feed them decapsulated brine shrimp eggs or should I pick up the powdered fry food?

After watching my fish for almost an hour my male red ram seems to be half-@$$ protecting the eggs. However, he seems to only be chasing the female red ram away. The gold ram and German blue ram seem to be able to go anywhere without being hassled. Is this a sign that my red rams have spawned or could it be something completely different? Also, there only seems to be a handful of eggs (maybe 6 from what I can see) is this normal?

Hi, so while doing a water change today I went to vacuum up what I thought was play sand only to realize that they are eggs which are stuck to my drift wood. Now in my tank I have three guppies, four rams and a handful of Amano Shrimp. I read up on the shrimp and it says that they carry their eggs until they hatch, and we all know guppies are livebearers, so by process of elimination that leaves the rams. However, none are showing more than usual agression and none of them seem to be guarding the eggs. In fact all the fish and shrimp seem to be ignoring the eggs. Are these ram eggs, shrimp eggs, or do I have a real mystery on my hands?

I was going to add another filter (another u2) down the road but I just want to get this tank cycling as soon as I get it hence the question about the lesser filtration.

Hi everyone, I am going to be setting up an Amazon biotype tank and had a few questions regarding the initial cycling of the tank. First things first, it will be a heavily planted tank with rocks and driftwood, the tank is 75 gallons and will eventually house three pairs of Rams, 10-12 Neons, 10-12 small Tetras (forgot their name), as of right now 4-6 Amano Shrimp, and either 2 Ottocinclus or 2 Ranger Plecos. During the cycling phase I will be putting in my plants, filter from my current tank, and some of the water from my current tank's water changes along with one Dalmation Molly and one Mickey Mouse Platy. So on to my question, the filter I will be using is a Fluval U3 which is rated for up to 40 gallons. Is this under-filtering going to be detrimental to the cycling phase? Also, the only fish that will be in there right after cycling is done will be a pair of Bolivian Red Rams, a German Blue Ram, a Gold Ram, and the 4-6 Amano Shrimp. Can I still under-filter the tank for a while with just those fish in their or will I kill them? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

Haven't seen anything like that (the rock cleaning) but when my two rams aren't swimming around the tank together it seems like one is biting the other one on the side of it's body. Never results in anything other than a ticked off ram, but still concerning. Opinions!

Sorry, forgot to add the aggression question is about my electric blue rams not my Bolivian reds

Hey, just wondering how I differentiate ram aggression vs potential spawning. Also, my red rams used to hang out together and looked like they were getting ready to spawn but today I noticed they are staying somewhat apart from each other. Is this a "she banished him to the couch for the night" deal or are they just not pairing?

Hey, just wondering if you will be planning a trip to Edmonton after your SA stock comes in? Also, I couldn't find your prices on blue rams and the L121 and L134 plecos.

So, I added the sand last night (after running a vinegar test, a pH test and a nitrate test) only to realize that I am a dumbass and the sand is too fine to put into an aquarium. Needless to say as I poured it in it formed one long string of sand (cool pattern though) and did nothing but make a mess. After about two hours and a 80-90% water change I went and picked up some playground sand and my big tank is just waiting on the dust to settle. So far all the fish and shrimp are still alive and seem to be doing well. As my spare tank is only a 5g I moved my two red rams, one ottocinclus, and my two livebearers back into the newly renovated big tank and I left my electric blues (as they are a little more finicky) in my 5 basically to protect them and to see if I can get them to spawn. It was a scary couple of hours but all turned out well!

Ok, I will give it a whirl! Thanks for the replies!

Jvision - obviously I don't want to kill my fish, how accurate is the vinegar test? 425nm - What should I cover the intake with? Just a filter media bag or something finer?

I don't remember the brand name but it is a decorative sand from Michael's that we used for a Sand Ceremony at our wedding. If you don't know if it's safe or not I do have a 5G fry tank that is currently almost done cycling that I could put it in first (don't care if the two fish in there pass away) but I don't know what signs to look for (other than a dead Molly and Platy). Should I monitor calcium, nitrates, or something else? Also, how detrimental is a calcium based sand in a planted tank? I am assuming it would destroy my tank but just curious. Thanks

Hey, just wondering how I can find out if the sand I have would be ok to put in my tank and what I would need to monitor in order to find out if it's ok? I've heard playsand can be used but I have some other stuff I want to try.

I added some drift wood today and will be picking up a ton of small/medium sized rocks this weekend to make more hiding spots. I have however decided to wait on my two L134 places, two rams and two apistos till I can get the bigger tank running. I figure I might as well make sure I can keep the four I have alive before I add some more. But thanks for the input!