# my german blue rams just laid eggs! and i have questions



## pandamonium (May 14, 2012)

also should i worry about the parents getting enough food? or will they still feed normally?


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## rainbuilder (Sep 21, 2011)

They are actual eggs. I have a ram who has laid eggs but since she doesn't have a mate they didn't hatch. They look great and you're lucky you have a local breeder to buy from!


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## CatB (Jan 29, 2012)

if this is your rams' first time laying eggs, a lot of times they don't know what to do and eat them. don't be too surprised/upset if this happens, they'll probably lay again...


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## Higher Thinking (Mar 16, 2011)

Here's an old thread of mine. Might be a little useful:
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/fish/140543-just-got-gbr-eggs.html


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## pandamonium (May 14, 2012)

rainbuilder said:


> They are actual eggs. I have a ram who has laid eggs but since she doesn't have a mate they didn't hatch. They look great and you're lucky you have a local breeder to buy from!


yeah i found him on craigslist and i was getting them for 2.50 to 3.50 per ram. the spawning ones were in the 3.50 group. im hoping my eggs are fertile. both rams look female which is what concerns me (pink belly very noticeable) but i guess we will see  they are about 4 months old at the moment. 



CatB said:


> if this is your rams' first time laying eggs, a lot of times they don't know what to do and eat them. don't be too surprised/upset if this happens, they'll probably lay again...


im expecting this to happen. i read that captive bred rams may do this more often so if that is the case the next spawns, i will remove the eggs. but i really want to see and document the stages of fry growth and such 



Higher Thinking said:


> Here's an old thread of mine. Might be a little useful:
> http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/fish/140543-just-got-gbr-eggs.html


i just read the thread and its really helpful. i may post a series like that on this thread just in case i encounter any issues. i dont have the setup to raise newly hatched BBS. i have java moss and such though so im hoping that it houses some microorganisms. if not i read that you can grind up flake food and mix it with water to squirt into the fry shoal. 

but yeah anything other advice is welcome for sure


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## Msoar16 (Aug 2, 2011)

2 pink belly are 2 females


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## shrimpNewbie (May 6, 2011)

You can succeed easy just start dropping in live worms with tweezers for the parents, look into live fry food also, all my breeding fish take care of their young till they move on from the nest so I can't be of much help, best of luck to you


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## shrimpNewbie (May 6, 2011)

When spraying desolved flake make sure it is a very high quality flake And don't use much, ocean nutrition prime flake is a good one


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## pandamonium (May 14, 2012)

Msoar16 said:


> 2 pink belly are 2 females


i thought that this was true as well but when i did research, the only 100% way to figure out the sexes was to look at behavior. the reason had to do with inbreeding rams to show certain colors/traits/etc. being that i got my rams from a local breeder, not from the wild, i thought maybe this was the case. but after laying the eggs, im pretty sure they were 2 females (physical and behavioral characteristics)



shrimpNewbie said:


> You can succeed easy just start dropping in live worms with tweezers for the parents, look into live fry food also, all my breeding fish take care of their young till they move on from the nest so I can't be of much help, best of luck to you. When spraying desolved flake make sure it is a very high quality flake And don't use much, ocean nutrition prime flake is a good one


thanks for the advice shrimp  unfortunately, i think the rams were both females and they abandoned the eggs as well. if i get a pairing later on i will do this. i read about using dissolved flakes though i didnt know that i should use a high quality one. are hikari first bites good too? i saw that somewhere.


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