BRC=blue ram club
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173 Posts
Sorry, the BRC acronym has a copyright. 
Try GRC = German Ram Club.
Try GRC = German Ram Club.
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289 Posts
I like the idea of a blue ram club...im in!
We need a good acronym though.
MGR - MikroGeophagus Ramerezi (sorry about the spelling)?
DRC - Dwarf Ram Club?
BCC - Butterfly Cichlid Club?
BSC - Bolivians are Stupid Club
We need a good acronym though.
MGR - MikroGeophagus Ramerezi (sorry about the spelling)?
DRC - Dwarf Ram Club?
BCC - Butterfly Cichlid Club?
BSC - Bolivians are Stupid Club
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408 Posts
I don't think our bolivian members are going to appreciate that!naegling23 said:BSC - Bolivians are Stupid Club
Alright - I'm in...
Until this last week I was very disappointed with my Blue Rams... Mine are young and therefore not as intensely coloured up as adults and they were extremely shy with very little in the way of personality... I was strongly considering switching back to Bolivians (only because my tank is not large enough to hold both species). I have 1 male and 2 females.
However I made a few changes and the results have been fantastic - I am loving my Blue Rams more each day! I will list my changes below in an effort to help other aquarists get the most out of their Rams (I don't know if one or all of these were the difference maker so to speak).
1). I raised the temp from 79 F to 82 F.
2). I added more dithers (now hove 3x the number I started with)
3). I added some friendly competition 1 Male Apisto Cockatoo.
From what I have read 82 F was the suggested temperature - because my heater was old and finnicky changes often resulted in in big swings... Once set it could hold that temp indefinately, but I opted to switch it for a Stealth heater that I set to 82 and bam the temp is always constant.
The addition of dithers seems like a no-brainer as well... I always had dithers (5 Rummy nose tetras), but I added 10 cardinal tetras and 2 sterbai cories (they can handle the temp - many cories don't do well at this temp). This weekend I plan to add more Sterbais. I think the sheer number of other fish not only coaxes the rams out into the open, but it also reduces the number of 'calm' spots in the tank.
The male Apisto was a great addition in my mind. He is territorial - but not aggressive (probably due to lack of females). He has his area of the tank - which he will share with the male ram, but for whatever reason he won't let the females come in... strange?
I'll try to get some pics of my trio and post 'em here... 1 of my females has really coloured up and looks ready to spawn - unfortunately my male seems clueless and uninterested... The coloured up female has great squabbles with the other female and they do some mock charging and the occassional lip-lock - but the tank is roomy enough that no one gets hurt and no one hides with fins clamped - so I assume a little squabbling is okay.
Until this last week I was very disappointed with my Blue Rams... Mine are young and therefore not as intensely coloured up as adults and they were extremely shy with very little in the way of personality... I was strongly considering switching back to Bolivians (only because my tank is not large enough to hold both species). I have 1 male and 2 females.
However I made a few changes and the results have been fantastic - I am loving my Blue Rams more each day! I will list my changes below in an effort to help other aquarists get the most out of their Rams (I don't know if one or all of these were the difference maker so to speak).
1). I raised the temp from 79 F to 82 F.
2). I added more dithers (now hove 3x the number I started with)
3). I added some friendly competition 1 Male Apisto Cockatoo.
From what I have read 82 F was the suggested temperature - because my heater was old and finnicky changes often resulted in in big swings... Once set it could hold that temp indefinately, but I opted to switch it for a Stealth heater that I set to 82 and bam the temp is always constant.
The addition of dithers seems like a no-brainer as well... I always had dithers (5 Rummy nose tetras), but I added 10 cardinal tetras and 2 sterbai cories (they can handle the temp - many cories don't do well at this temp). This weekend I plan to add more Sterbais. I think the sheer number of other fish not only coaxes the rams out into the open, but it also reduces the number of 'calm' spots in the tank.
The male Apisto was a great addition in my mind. He is territorial - but not aggressive (probably due to lack of females). He has his area of the tank - which he will share with the male ram, but for whatever reason he won't let the females come in... strange?
I'll try to get some pics of my trio and post 'em here... 1 of my females has really coloured up and looks ready to spawn - unfortunately my male seems clueless and uninterested... The coloured up female has great squabbles with the other female and they do some mock charging and the occassional lip-lock - but the tank is roomy enough that no one gets hurt and no one hides with fins clamped - so I assume a little squabbling is okay.
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4 Posts
Can I join? I have too many of both blues and bolivians. The bolivians are outgrowing the blues and the longfins spawned again. I don't have enough tanks!.
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1,313 Posts
I got no GBR so I won't join the club BUT,.....I think it is a great initiative!!! :thumb: I do suggest to choose a diferent name becouse this is quit confusing. The specie is known as GBR (German Blue Ram) so maybe this name suits the club,..the GBR-club. Good to see people are enthusiastic abouth your initiative and I hope this club also contributes to knowledge abouth the Microgeophagus ramirezii. They sure are an interesting and stunning specie and enough info to gather abouth their special needs.
Good luck with GBR-club or GRC (German Ram Club) :thumb:
Good luck with GBR-club or GRC (German Ram Club) :thumb:
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55 Posts
I'm in. I have one pair and will move them to a 20 L breeding tank soon once I get it planted and settled. My male is in prime plummage and if I knew how to post pictures, i would. Even with my cameraphone I took a great shot of him. Anyone want to take the initiative and rename the club?
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1,501 Posts
BSC - :lol:
Blues are lovely fish but when it comes to intelligence they're the blonde of the fish world, don't you know that's why they're so pretty.
I used to have GBR's but I don't any more, however they are very cool fish and I think Illy-d is on the right track with the discussion topic.
You guys can really turn this into something so why not start off by discussing your methods of keeping them, how you've had the most success, what you would recommend to others, what you WOULDN'T recommend, what do you feed them, what are your water parameters, water change regime, whether you tried something unusual and if it was a success or a failure, have you bred them - how did you go about inducing spawning, what were the success rates, in what parameters did you have the most success/frequent spawns etc etc etc - it all adds up to the shared mine of knowledge....
My female (when I had them)
![]()
Here they are with some fry:
http://s100.photobucket.com/albums/m15/ ... GBRFRY.flv
I found that the best parameters, or at least those which resulted in the most success (for me), were as follows:
pH 5
KH 2
GH 4
Temp 30C - 86f
I kept them in a 10/15 gallon tank to themselves as they were a strong pair which were incredibly prolific when left to their own devices in this way. If I found the aggression to be increasing (usually about a week into the fry free swimming stage) I would add a few RummyNose Tetra - Hemmigrammus bleheri, to the tank.
It is very important to acclimatise the dither fish to the tank in this situation as they will be spending a week or two in water temperatures that exceed what they would normally tolerate. I found the Hemmigrammus to be particularly hardy and they even seemed quite happy in there (metabolism was through the roof so they were eating a bit more than usual), the bright red of their faces a good indicator of their health and the water quality. I would rarely leave them in the tank for more than a few weeks however as it will burn them out in the long run, so once aggression had calmed back down I would remove them to another tank which was better suited to their everyday needs.
Water changes were performed weekly, bi-weekly when inducing spawning, and daily when fry were present. Water changes would be around 50% on average, re-filling with parameter matched water. With fry present and daily water changes it was only necessary to perform 10% changes - this is because we don't want to risk stressing the fry too much.
I had a great deal of success in terms of breeding these fish but I was never in a position to raise their fry - I believe I was breeding my P. taeniatus at the time and so all tank space was chock full. Like the majority, it was not uncommon for the male or female (I found it was usually the female) to eat the fry/eggs, initially they took several practice runs before successfully rearing fry to a couple of weeks free-swimming, but left to their own devices after this the pair would inevitably end up eating them all, every time.
So really to have a strong chance of raising the fry properly, it will usually be necessary to remove them, using a large pipette or turkey baster type implement and then place them into their own, bare bottomed, gently lit tank (if at all - preferably not), parameters MUST be exact in the fry tank - ie fill up the fry tank from the main GBR tank so that there is guaranteed to be no difference in parameters. It is recommended that you give them a good few practice runs to see if they can't pick it up themselves and successfully raise them, so don't edge your bets on spawns resulting in fry, certainly not for the first few attempts.
I fed my Blues on NLS (new life spectrum) as their staple and although not necessary I found it an incredibly strong trigger and catalyst (as with 99% of fish) to supplement their diet with (whole) krill broken up and daphnia when I wanted to really induce spawning.
Spawn sizes would average around 70-100 eggs, out of which 50-70 fry would develop successfully.
That's all I can think of for now. That's my 2c to kick start your new club.
:thumb:
Blair.
Blues are lovely fish but when it comes to intelligence they're the blonde of the fish world, don't you know that's why they're so pretty
.I used to have GBR's but I don't any more, however they are very cool fish and I think Illy-d is on the right track with the discussion topic.
You guys can really turn this into something so why not start off by discussing your methods of keeping them, how you've had the most success, what you would recommend to others, what you WOULDN'T recommend, what do you feed them, what are your water parameters, water change regime, whether you tried something unusual and if it was a success or a failure, have you bred them - how did you go about inducing spawning, what were the success rates, in what parameters did you have the most success/frequent spawns etc etc etc - it all adds up to the shared mine of knowledge....
My female (when I had them)
Here they are with some fry:
http://s100.photobucket.com/albums/m15/ ... GBRFRY.flv
I found that the best parameters, or at least those which resulted in the most success (for me), were as follows:
pH 5
KH 2
GH 4
Temp 30C - 86f
I kept them in a 10/15 gallon tank to themselves as they were a strong pair which were incredibly prolific when left to their own devices in this way. If I found the aggression to be increasing (usually about a week into the fry free swimming stage) I would add a few RummyNose Tetra - Hemmigrammus bleheri, to the tank.
It is very important to acclimatise the dither fish to the tank in this situation as they will be spending a week or two in water temperatures that exceed what they would normally tolerate. I found the Hemmigrammus to be particularly hardy and they even seemed quite happy in there (metabolism was through the roof so they were eating a bit more than usual), the bright red of their faces a good indicator of their health and the water quality. I would rarely leave them in the tank for more than a few weeks however as it will burn them out in the long run, so once aggression had calmed back down I would remove them to another tank which was better suited to their everyday needs.
Water changes were performed weekly, bi-weekly when inducing spawning, and daily when fry were present. Water changes would be around 50% on average, re-filling with parameter matched water. With fry present and daily water changes it was only necessary to perform 10% changes - this is because we don't want to risk stressing the fry too much.
I had a great deal of success in terms of breeding these fish but I was never in a position to raise their fry - I believe I was breeding my P. taeniatus at the time and so all tank space was chock full. Like the majority, it was not uncommon for the male or female (I found it was usually the female) to eat the fry/eggs, initially they took several practice runs before successfully rearing fry to a couple of weeks free-swimming, but left to their own devices after this the pair would inevitably end up eating them all, every time.
So really to have a strong chance of raising the fry properly, it will usually be necessary to remove them, using a large pipette or turkey baster type implement and then place them into their own, bare bottomed, gently lit tank (if at all - preferably not), parameters MUST be exact in the fry tank - ie fill up the fry tank from the main GBR tank so that there is guaranteed to be no difference in parameters. It is recommended that you give them a good few practice runs to see if they can't pick it up themselves and successfully raise them, so don't edge your bets on spawns resulting in fry, certainly not for the first few attempts.
I fed my Blues on NLS (new life spectrum) as their staple and although not necessary I found it an incredibly strong trigger and catalyst (as with 99% of fish) to supplement their diet with (whole) krill broken up and daphnia when I wanted to really induce spawning.
Spawn sizes would average around 70-100 eggs, out of which 50-70 fry would develop successfully.
That's all I can think of for now. That's my 2c to kick start your new club.
:thumb:
Blair.
Joined
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289 Posts
First off, sorry I dont have any pictures, I will be working on getting a few shots of mine.
I have had GBR's twice. A few years ago I had a 10gal tank with a breeding (not successfully) pair. After I moved to a new house, the male got sick and died, the female followed shortly after. Since it happened when I moved from an apartment to a house, I could finally get one of those tanks that are too big to move easily. So, my christmas present last year was a 55gal. I was debating apisto, bolivian, and blue rams for the tank, and left it up to what my LFS was going to have.
Of course, who could pass up two pair of wild caught blue rams?
During introductions to the tank, I have had two fatalities. One just never adjusted to the tank, and the other I think is my fault. I noticed it struggling after a water change, and moved it to the hospital tank, but by the time I got it into the tank, it had deteriorated very quickly. It died shortly after getting into the hospital tank. I think it was just stressed about the cleaning I just made it worse, live and learn.
So, I have two males and 1 female in my 55 (I hope to add another female...possibly today, but soon). They share a tank with 1 pair of apisto iniridae, 1 male bitentiata, 1 pair silver angelfish, 10 neon tetras, oto catfish, and 1 BN pleco. I still want to add some corydoras to the tank, and I would like another smaller school of tetras, but I think the tank is pretty crowded as it is, so the tetras are out for the moment. I'll see about the cory's.
The tank is heavily planted, pH 6.5, 50ppm hardness, 80degrees F. I run peat through the filter to bring the pH down, as well as stain the water. I think both the angels and the rams show much better coloration in the slightly darker water.
I have had GBR's twice. A few years ago I had a 10gal tank with a breeding (not successfully) pair. After I moved to a new house, the male got sick and died, the female followed shortly after. Since it happened when I moved from an apartment to a house, I could finally get one of those tanks that are too big to move easily. So, my christmas present last year was a 55gal. I was debating apisto, bolivian, and blue rams for the tank, and left it up to what my LFS was going to have.
Of course, who could pass up two pair of wild caught blue rams?
During introductions to the tank, I have had two fatalities. One just never adjusted to the tank, and the other I think is my fault. I noticed it struggling after a water change, and moved it to the hospital tank, but by the time I got it into the tank, it had deteriorated very quickly. It died shortly after getting into the hospital tank. I think it was just stressed about the cleaning I just made it worse, live and learn.
So, I have two males and 1 female in my 55 (I hope to add another female...possibly today, but soon). They share a tank with 1 pair of apisto iniridae, 1 male bitentiata, 1 pair silver angelfish, 10 neon tetras, oto catfish, and 1 BN pleco. I still want to add some corydoras to the tank, and I would like another smaller school of tetras, but I think the tank is pretty crowded as it is, so the tetras are out for the moment. I'll see about the cory's.
The tank is heavily planted, pH 6.5, 50ppm hardness, 80degrees F. I run peat through the filter to bring the pH down, as well as stain the water. I think both the angels and the rams show much better coloration in the slightly darker water.
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289 Posts
got my female ram.
Now I have two pairs!
I'll keep you posted if any magic happens, but they are all still pretty young.
What would be the age that they even start breeding? I've had them since February, and I havnt seen any spawning or even pairing up behavior yet, and none of them have the look of a mature ram either, so I'm guessing they are still young.
Now I have two pairs!
I'll keep you posted if any magic happens, but they are all still pretty young.
What would be the age that they even start breeding? I've had them since February, and I havnt seen any spawning or even pairing up behavior yet, and none of them have the look of a mature ram either, so I'm guessing they are still young.
^awesome naegling! My young rams recently coloured up and looked ready to spawn but nothing actually came of it... I'm encouraged that they are going through the motions but I feel they are still pretty young!
Excellent advice (and photo) Blair! If my rams grow up to be half that stunning I'll be stoked!
Excellent advice (and photo) Blair! If my rams grow up to be half that stunning I'll be stoked!
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55 Posts
I have a 20L set up and want to know if i could keep two breeding pairs in it with or without a divider, or just go with one pair?
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289 Posts
Do you mean a 20gal?
If its a 20gal, then you could keep 1 pair in there
if you mean a 20L=~5gal, then you wont even fit a pair in there. You might get 1 ram in a 5gal, but I dont recommend it at all. Those small tanks are much too succeptable to water quality swings which the rams cannon handle.
If its a 20gal, then you could keep 1 pair in there
if you mean a 20L=~5gal, then you wont even fit a pair in there. You might get 1 ram in a 5gal, but I dont recommend it at all. Those small tanks are much too succeptable to water quality swings which the rams cannon handle.
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55 Posts
It is a 20 Gallon Long. I have it set up so that it can be cut in half with a tank divider if need be, but both halves have wood with java fern and java moss, slate, and some other plants as well as a sponge filter on both sides. It is cycled and I am ready for breeding, but was just wondering if I have enough space for 2 breeding pairs.
Joined
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289 Posts
you might, but I would recommend giving 1 pair the full 20.
a pair in a 10 is possible, and some people use them for breeding, but your going to eventually need to remove the female to save her life.
a pair in a 10 is possible, and some people use them for breeding, but your going to eventually need to remove the female to save her life.
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