Breeding Project: German Blue Ram

Finally, the first in a little while, its the first blog that is not entirely on the Cherry Barbs. As mentioned in the previous blog, I bought a pair of German Blue Rams and with feeding of frozen bloodworms, they've nestled themselves comfortably in my 5 gallon. With colors more fantastic than I could ever imagine, these little buggers have began demonstrating to me that it may be nearing time for them to surprise me.

When I got home today and turned on the lights, a lot of chasing around was observed. It was almost a non-stop pestering from the male as the female attempted to dart away with him pecking her when contact was made. His aggression levels have also risen quite considerably as he angrily tried pecking at me if my finger or camera neared him on the other side of the glass.

This increased aggression could also be from the signals or visual cues given off by the female. She's grown considerably plump since yesterday after feeding her a bit. With the rounder appearance, she has more of a violet-pink coloration added to her near her belly region which, in breeding females, is quite the prominant feature. Her ovipostor tube is also jutting out like a fresh splinter in someone's finger. That may quite possibly also be releasing pheromones into the water which may be driving the male as crazy as is.

Once the pair calmed down from the strenuous chasing, they were tediously pecking at certain spots in the tank. This cleaning behaviour could only lead to potential spawning sites. I was almost disappointed that they did not choose the base of the sponge filter like my original pair, simply because it would've been easier for picture taking and whatnot for observational purposes. However, the two sites they have been cleaning out also appear to be pretty good as they are easy visual access and aren't exactly hidden enough to be bothersome.

Continual feeding of frozen bloodworms will definitely be strictly followed, however, I still have to figure out the perfect amount in which to feed them for one sitting. They aren't particularly fast eaters, and I can't seem to gage very well how much they can eat for one sitting. Since they can get very sensitive to nitrate levels, its best if I just do a lot of water changes and keep low on the feeding size. If only I had a better camera which could capture their true beauty as my digicam is not of the best quality.