Good day Justin, I laughed a tad when I saw your "NEW LOOK" after watching Nick the other day with a mustache... LOL As an Educator on summer break (which ends in 10 days) I also have my face filled with hair! LOL I found this quick informative video super important because you mentioned the Bolivian Ram and the GBR difference. A few years ago I purchased a few Rams and I did not realize that the shop keeper placed these two very different species in my order. I got 6 in total 4 GBR's and 2 Bolivian Rams... They were juveniles at the time. But once I had them in their tank I noticed the infighting... or bickering between them. Both were very territorial and fought over one particular area. I was able to remove the 2 Bolivians and rehouse them without losing anyone. Still, I was stuck with 6 males. The GBR's lived together just fine after that. The Bolivians was another story. They continued to bicker and eventually one died. Wow, this is longer then I wanted it to be!!! Thanks again Justin for the clarification and teaching a teacher a new lesson!
Yes, it is so very common and I am glad you were able to learn something from the video😄👍 Yes, my facial hair is the result of a Uni student who forgets to look into a mirror for a week 😂 I wouldn’t be keeping it, that’s for sure 😆
Thanks for the info, Justin. I've been a live-bearer hobbyist for some years. We moved last year, and there's no "market" for Guppies / Platies / Mollies. 2 LFS managers are "needing" Rams, so I'm doing my homework before getting into a new line. They're quite interesting, beautiful fish. Looks like the toughest part is keeping fry healthy right after they hatch. I'm excited to get going on these guys, but gonna keep watching so I know how to best provide what they need!
Hi there, Dustin! Well, you are definitely in the right place, my friend. Breeding rams is a hard and laborious task. Contact me on any of my platforms if you want any help or advice - always happy to help:)
Hello from Washington, USA! I’m currently working on a 4x4x2 bio active enclosure for my ball python and I’m including an aquarium within it. Been thinking about putting some rams into it, so needless to say, I was searching for some information on them and came across your video. I appreciate your videos and information you provide!
Hello from Pakistan. It's great to see that you are doing this business with so much knowledge behind you. It definitely requires a lot of time and devotion. Thank you very much for sharing your knowledge.
Hi there, Emmanuel! Glad you found it informative and I agree! The blue blacks are stunning fish. I was happy to show everyone footage of the blue blacks next to normal GBRs
You asked at the begining for us to introduce ourselves and I know we've chatted in comments on some of your videos before but I've never introduced myself, so here goes!... Hi, I'm Beth 👋 I live in the UK and joined the aquarium hobby about a year ago. I currently have a large cold water indoor tank with goldfish (including some of their own babies that I raised 😊), Sakura Cherry shrimp tank and a tropical 8gal planted tank for a male Betta 😊 I really enjoy yours and nick's videos, keep it up guys! 😁
Hi there, Beth! A HUGE thank you for introducing yourself to the channel! Your aquarium setups sound amazing! Sakura goldfish are really awesome and I will definitely have to get some down the line. I also have cherry shrimp and I must say, they are too cool for school!! I just love them. My betta that I have is very very old but he is doing okay and living life to the fullest with his snail friends🤩 Again, thanks for introducing yourself. Great to see people from all around the world too!
Dankie oom! I am glad you found the video helpful. The rams are doing very well. Checkout my FaceBook page @Aussie Ram Farm. It’s a new page but I will be posting all of my latest updates on the black ram lines there👍
I'm starting my first community aquarium. It's a 20 gal. And so far I have an albino pleco and 10 zebra danio. Really thinking about the blue ram as my centerpiece fish.
Some more facts for you, Justin. The anterior spines of the dorsal fin are themselves extended as well the lappets, which is unique amongst dwarf cichlids, unlike Apistogrammas where only the lappets are sometimes extended in males of certain species. The sexes are not particularly dimorphic, compared to other dwarf cichlids such as Apistogrammas which tend to be highly dimorphic, because they are biparental fry brooders. Thus the fry will respond to either parent because of the similarity. If the sexes were different, as in apistos, then they would be uniparental brooders. The similarity (near isomorphy) enables one of the parents to remain with the brood whilst the other can go and feed, this way, neither parent loses condition and there is continuous defence of the brood. The fry are unaware which of the parents is guarding them, and respond to signals from both. In their natural habitat, food is not that plentiful nor is it particularly nutritious, so rams spend a lot of their time foraging. You have to be careful not to overfeed your rams on rich foods which can cause digestive problems, fat accumulation, low fecundity and an early death. A varied diet is best. The reason why we need to keep them at higher temperatures than other tropicals is their habitat. One researcher I spoke to found them living in shallow, clear streams less than 30cm deep, in open savannah, in a water temperature of 33˚C.
Very interesting mate! Great to hear about your in depth research and relating wild conditions to our captive bred fish. Thanks for sharing and I hope you have a good one 🙂👍
@@JustinsFishRoom Pleasure! I viewed your video on your food preparation and unfortunately tuna and fresh shrimps are not available where I live. I culture a lot of daphnia, bloodworms, ostracods, Tubifex tubifex and other, larger, tubificids and mosquito larvae outside, but these go down in winter, so I was interested in your formula. Looks like it will have to be white worms again. Thanks for posting, all the best.
@@majorbruster5916 I am sure there are many other alternatives out there but your setup seems very extensive - a lot more extensive of a feeding system than mine:) Thanks mate!
Is this the reason GBR have constantly died on me after about 3 weeks of having them. They'll be doing great but around that 3 week mark they'll start darkening into a more purplish color, starts breathing hard and die within a day. Could the problem be as simple as me overfeeding them.. hmm I do overfeed all my fish
@@christopheribanez7005 Yes, it could be, but it takes longer than 3 weeks for digestive disorders to kill a fish. Depends on what you are feeding them on. One sample of dwarf cichlid juveniles I was sent to examine had distrophied, fatty livers; turned out the owner had been feeding them on minced ox heart. Same went for some Corydoras juveniles I looked at. Breeders had been told that to boost growth they ought to feed high protein diets. Problem is, many fishes can't digest mammalian protein, especially if it is laced with saturated fat. That's why I advocate feeding a varied diet. I recently lost a beautiful pair of wild rams, several weeks after getting them. They were perfect when bought and spawned within two weeks but ate the eggs. They spawned again, but once again they lost the eggs, and after that they started breathing heavy and despite treatment, died shortly afterwards. On autopsy the gills were found to be riddled with bacterial gill disease, which is a progressive disease and is an indicator of previous poor water quality and exposure to the pathogen. So the situation is not down to one cause.
An interesting video Justin, thanks for that. I've always been interested in keeping some of the more peaceful dwarf cichlids in community aquariums. The only problem being that as I live on a small island its often difficult to buy specimens. In the past within community aquariums I've successfully kept; Keyhole cichlids, Flag cichlids (Mesonauta festivus), Sheepshead acara (Laetacara curviceps), and the Golden dwarf cichlid (Nannacara anomala). I always think a community aquarium looks wrong without cichlids bubbling about on the bottom. I tried Kribensis, but they were too aggressive. I must try some Rams again. I tried some many years ago, but they didn't thrive with me and haven't tried again since. The only problem is you generally can't mix these species together as they are trying to live in the same niche within the aquarium.
Hey Justin! Great video thanks. I’ve been a tropical fish hobbyist for 35 years or more. I’ve recently been able to acquire a 4ft tank and would like to have a go at breeding GBR’S… do you think a substrate is necessary, and if so what would you recommend? My main tank is a simple 130lt tank with tetras, angels, plecos , platty’s, Cory Dora’s etc…. It is connected to CO2 as well. I’d obviously like to ensure some nice plant growth and am keen to read your thoughts on what substrate you think is best, if any? Thanks! Love your channel.
Your fish are beautiful, thank you for the information. I plan on getting rams in my 60g. Do people keep all males or all female rams in a tank? I would like to. Thanks again
Hi there! Glad you enjoyed the video:) Yes! You definitely can do a single gender tank and if you have a lot of males there will be some bickering in the beginning but once they settle down they will be a great addition to your tank:)
I'm just wondering since most rams these days are captive bred, do the temperatures and water parameters still apply? most of the information you can find on that is stuff measured where they originate from. Wouldn't rams bred in captivity be used to different paramters?each depending on how they were bred and raised?
I think from personal experience, even though they may be bred in different parameters, and can survive in them, they don't exactly thrive in different conditions and will have a much shorter life span as a result The best way to keep them imo is to use RO/ RO-DI water with a pH of 6.8-7 :) you'll get much more success that way
Thank you 😂😂😂 It is not as a result of me being a facial hair connoisseur but rather a lazy Uni student 😎 Thanks for the positive comment! Always love our fish and non fish related chats 😂
I have electric blue rams with Cardinal & zebra, They occupy middle & mostly botyom, Tetra are in middle & Zebra on top, things are great in my semi planted tank, with lot of wood, stones etc ... I used sand, Rams dig sand, they enoy it
You’re looking great, this is so informative! Keep it up! Also how do you encourage them to breed if like theyre in a community tank with other fish or just a tank of their own?
Great question, Sherwyn! I make sure there is a lot of Cabomba in the tank in a particular area. I make sure this area has a lot of flat rocks for them to lay on and I put Indian almond leaves in too👍😄
They are my favourite tropical fish as they are so colourful, pretty, and have really interesting behaviours. I only wish someone would breed a 'giant' strain of the so I can see them more easily as my eyesight is failing now.
African cichlids tend to have extreme water mineral content and I wouldn’t recommend putting them into the same water parameters by any means. You could add a lot of plants, rocks, drift wood and other botanicals to bring the parameters back to normality🙂👍
Hi there love the video i have two a blue German rams in my tank with testras,mollys,corys, and a flying fox. Two questions how can i tell if one is a female or male. And do i need to have sand with live plants as my base in my tank as i currently have coloured stones.
One thing also you should let people know if that they can not have salt or any meds like api that have salt in them. They will become sick and die very rapidly. They also will have trouble with water conditioners, as I don’t use any water conditioning with my water changes.
Hey quick question, but first off love this video. So glad u mentioned u did have them in a as community fish tank. I have mine with discus and angelfish so far they are good. However, how many can you have in 75 gallon? I have one gold ram, two German, and two Electric blue and one black ram I’m not sure if they’re all males do you think that two much ? Right now their all about one to 1. 1/2inches in size
I would say that is fine as long as you have a lot of plants and cover for the fish as the gudgeons and the corys all are lower substrate dwellers. So just keep an eye out for any aggression 🙂👍
Hey Justin, good video again! Do you ever have fry that start swimming along the bottom around 10 days after free swimming, kind of like their swim bladder doesn't develop correctly. I have several that lay on their sides all of the time, but are eating and darting around otherwise normally:/
Hi there! To answer your question, yes - if you don’t have any of these in a spawn that is unheard of. You can think of it as if a human couple had 300 children. The likelihood of one of those children having some sort of genetic issue goes up considerably. Same principle with these guys. Those particular individuals would not survive in the wild but sometimes we can get them back to good health and normal swimming again. They will always be slightly weaker so that is something to keep in mind. When the swimming issue is too severe it is usually necessary to cull. Hope this answers your question.
Have really learned a lot from your videos! I"ve always been afraid of moving them into a breeding tank, or moving them at all. I've had a bit of a hard time with loss of new fish. Any tips or tricks?
That is great to hear!! Perhaps with moving you could do big water changes on the tank that they are in but instead of pouring that water out you can replace it into the new tank. Make sure the temp is the same too between the tanks and perhaps take a bit more time with acclimating the fish. That’s all I can really think of but if you think of any other questions let me know 😊
cheers nice Rams there, and also 1x male ram and 2x female ram is that recommended and for Bolivian ram i read alot on the net its recommended to have 5 to 6 Bolivian rams together in a tank, how about German rams or other types of rams, thanks
You can definitely do a breeding trio with two females. I personally have no problems keeping multiple rams together but at the end of the day it all depends on the temperament of your fish 🙂👍
Great video, Justin! Found you after watching KFS for quite a while. I'm going to pick up 2 pairs of electric blue rams at the end of the week. I have notoriously hard water from my tap. My plan is to do a combination of RO/tap to get to target parameters on water changes. My question is: what would you consider target parameters? I was thinking: PH ~ 7 .. could go lower but may struggle. TDS ~150? I may end up slightly higher, but if that's disastrous, I'll aim not to. Was thinking of using indian almond extract/dark water extract as par tof my adjustment. My thought was that when I want to condition, I can likely shift the mix to more RO and drop the PH slightly. Thanks in advance!
Hi there Andrew!! Welcome man!😀 You are doing everything I would suggest. Just remember a few things… 1) the pH should ideally be 6.8 but can be as high as 7.2 and as low as 6.5. So your pH seems fine. 2) TDS is always ideally
Great video! I’ve been trying to add GBR’s to my 50 gallon community tank, but no matter what I try it seems to never work :/ I’ve drip acclimated for around 2 hours, added them in and keep the lights off or to a minimum the first few days. They seem to all be adjusting fine, even picking out spots in the tank that they seem to like and swim normally…then after 3-5 days one by one they start breathing rapidly and sitting at the bottom, and by then I know they’ll be dead in a day :( I never have this happen with any of my other fish or tanks, and stay on top of my weekly water changes so don’t know what else to even try at this point
You and kfs have been so helpful with your videos! I have 4 rams in a 10 g w ith 3 emperor tetras two males and 2 females 1 female is a Little smaller than the rest. I have good filtration but I'm more worried about it not being enough space for 2 of them to pair off. There is 2 main territories using terracotta pots and a some good line of sight barriers. Do you think it will be fine and a pair will most likely form. I have more space for the fry to grow too by the way. Thanks amigo
Hi there mate! I only just saw this comment now so sorry about that. I would say that a bigger setup is always better but as long as you are keeping the water quality great then your setup is fine.
Hello! In your opinion, what should be the hardness of the water for growing ramirese. I measured the water in my aquarium with a TDS hardness of 290 to 330 ppm. Is this indicator good for growing Ramirez? Thank you! Is it possible to grow two types of ramires in one aquarium (Apistogramma Ramirezi „Electric Blue“ end German Blue Ram? Is there a possibility that pairs of different species will form and then their offspring will not be a pure breed?
In a 70 gallon planted aquarium should I put a pair of ram as a community fish or should I keep just 1? I have a honey gorami there😅 I have tetras ,rasboras and mollies as their tank mate
I noticed some eggs in a heavily planted area, I dont really have the budget to set up multiple tanks, can I just leave it up to nature and still get some living fry? I have 1 pair of rams and 8 blue tetras in this tank
gday Justin my blue rams have spawned should i remove the eggs or is it worth letting them raise them to free swimmers then siphon them they are in there 2nd day now cheers Ian
i am a bit inclined to let them get them to hatch as i work & only get to do anything in the evening other than a quick feed before going to work cheers Ian
I reckon if you have the option to let the parents raise them then go for it:) Especially because you work and the parents can look after them while you are gone during the day. Hope this helped:)
i keep a variety of fish, but right now im breeding german gold rams and im trying to get my corydoras to breed for me. im having the worse time with it. but iv got 2 pairs of the rams going right now. both are proven by myself which was cool.
@@JustinsFishRoom thanks man i appreciate it. I love both of the channels you and fms have, i watch your videos constantly. I am currently awaiting my other pair of rams, for their spawn to hatch which should be anytime today. they layed them about a day and a half ago
I’m just got a 182L tank I was wondering if I got Bala sharks when they are small if they will grow out of the tank or if they will be fine and if not what fish do u suggest
I personally stay away from Bala sharks as they get very big and can become very incompatible with a lot of peaceful dwarf cichlids and smaller fish. If it is a tank for larger fish then I would go for it🙂👍 What other types of fish are you considering?
Thanks, I always thought all the Rams were colour morphs of the Bolivians. I have a colony of Bolivians & they are a great fish, can be prolific breeders but will predate other fish fry. Any recommendations on what to feed the fry without setting up a brine shrimp hatchery? Frozen daphnia or stuff like that?
Hi there, David! I am so happy I could help you clear up that common misconceptions😄👍 In terms of alternative foods, the first I will say is that BBS is the best food in terms of nutrients and encouraging fry to first consume. However, others that you could try are 1) Hikari first bites, 2) frozen BBS or Daphnia and you could try 3) culturing infusoria. I would do some more research before you trial alternative feedings. It might be that if you did decide to choose say, hikari first bites, then you may need to do more water changes than usual 🤔 I hope this helped and if you have any more questions just let me know 😆
Is there a reason that ram fry couldn't be moved to a small growout tank 2.5g or 5g vs breeder boxes as small fry? Seems I have entirely too many to fit in the Ziss fry box.
Great and motivating videos, thks for that. Are u got any experience at what age the fry need to be removed from the parents if breed naturally? Greetings from Germany. Holger
Welcome to the JFR family!! You can usually remove the fry from the parents once the fry have reached initial juvenile stage. This can be between two to three weeks old. This is due to the fact that the fry are now very hardy and can be raised in a fry box. I hope this helps. Thanks for the great questions 😄👍
Hi Justin - Great videos! I have a pair of GBR's. They have spawned 7 times since this past Christmas. (2021). They're super protective of their clutch, until about the 3rd day. After that, they eat the eggs. Is this normal? From what I have read, they usually do this only a couple of times - and then learn. Doesn't seem like my pair have got a clue. Any advice?
Hi there, Neil! Thanks for commenting and welcome to the JFR community😀 Assuming that you have them in their own breeding tank with no other fish besides probably having some small dithers then the answer is yes! You will just need to be patient and wait for the parents to learn how to raise the fry. It does take time and could take another 7-10 spawns for them to get it right. Hope this answers your question in enough detail.
I need help so bad…. I have over a 100 gallon tank and. I have two electric blue ram chichlids and I caught them lip locking. They were supposed to be a “pair” when I bought them off Amazon. But now I’m having doubts. There’s not a lot of difference between them but there is at the same time !! And one of their bellies get really big n pink at times but not the other . I have no idea what I’m dealing with. Please HELP ME
Hi there, Ruben! Nice to hear from you again:) Great question. I actually spoke about this with a very good breeder from New South Whales who explained to me that fish genetics are already very highly conservative. Essentially what this means is that the fish, unlike a lot of other animals and especially mammals, can interbreed many generations without any considerable negative impact. In fact, interbreeding is the reason we have so many different lines today. In saying this, if you are not line breeding it is probably more ideal to breed non-related individuals in any case:) I hope this answers your question.
I’m looking to start up a 20 with a German blue ram. I’d like to also have 8-10 spotted blue eye RainbowFish. Do you think just a single ram or a pair would be ok? Worried about aggression if they decide to breed.
You could opt to keep just a single fish if you would like. However, I would recommend getting more than one. You could do a pair or two females would be my suggestion.
I have a 45 gallon tank and would love to keep some rams. Most say to keep one pair, so I was surprised to see so many in your tank. As I am not bothered about breeding would I be able to keep say about 6 females in mine without problems?
Hi there Ann! Unfortunately, there is a lot of people on the internet who are quick to say something is impossible or wrong when it comes to rams. But the fact of the matter is that rams are very hardy and very peaceful given the correct environment and conditions. I would say buying a couple females whilst they are juveniles and introducing them at the same time will mean you can have as many as your tank can handle. Hope this helps and thanks for such a great question!!!
Hi All....I'm just going around asking folks who they believe are good Ram Cichlid breeders. I just purchased 2 and both were DOA. Reason I believe is because they were so small. I'm looking to purchase two male juvenile size german ram cichlids. If anyone has any suggestions??? I would appreciate you forwarding me the information Thanks and Happy Fish Keeping 🐟
You could perhaps look at sourcing some rams from Dean who breeds in association with Awuarium coop I believe. If not he will definitely know some people who would breed and ship them.
Do you think a juvenile rainbow shark could live with rams in a 55 gallon planted tank with lots of cover? I just added 2 GBRs to my new 55 and they are the only fish in there currently, I want to give my rainbow shark from my 20 gallon more room to swim/grow. Do you think they could live together long term if i add some more fish to spread out the sharks potential aggression? He's fairly relaxed and leaves my platys alone.
I think the only way to know for sure, is to give it a go and just observe their behaviour and tweak the setup if necessary. Or, if it works out, then it’s a bonus 🙂👍
@@JustinsFishRoom I got 12 black neon tetras and added the juvenile rainbow shark as well. So far he hasn’t bothered the other fish at all. He found the biggest piece of driftwood and made himself a little cave underneath it. So far so good 👌. I want to add a couple of Apistogrammas and some more tetras or danios and I think the tank it will be beautiful. The shark ruins the South American bioscape (I think they’re Asian) but that’s ok he seems happier now.
Hi Justin, Question .. I had an electric blue ram. It was doing fine until suddenly they started hiding and then I found him dead.. but it's pair is chugging along. this has happened a couple of times now.. the hide and then sudden death.. do you know what could be the cause by any chance?
Hi Wanted to know if you have crossed your black rams and GBR’s. Can I keep these 2 types together in the same tank ? Would the cross be a good thing as far as genetics go ?
@@JustinsFishRoom Awesome thank you . Been binge watching your videos . Seriously thanks so much for the in depth ram vids & absolutely love your channel logo 💙💙💙
@@JustinsFishRoom Awesome thank you . Been binge watching your videos . Seriously thanks so much for the in depth ram vids & absolutely love your channel logo 💙💙💙
Thank you, Cristian! A few years ago I started learning some Spanish for recreation. I should probably get on board with it again as my girlfriend’s family have Spanish heritage. Mean while I have learnt Dutch, some German, a bit of Japanese and Scottish Gaelic. Sometimes this can confuse my way of pronouncing some words 😄
@@JustinsFishRoom that's great, personally I only understand languages that are similar to spanish like portuguese and italian. And the only word that I know from scotland is Sassenach jaja
Hi! My balloon german blue ram (the male) keeps chasing the female and is a little too aggressive. Female is smaller than the male, can you give me any advice on what to do?
I used to be a professional breeder, and this is one of my Nemesis-species. I surely had around 400 spawns and managed to raise - TEN fry. Complete failure for me. Then I read about rams in the Cichlid Atlas (the one with dwarfcichlids) and the authors have a theory that rams are actually not bi-parental. They mean that the males have their territory and the females lay their eggs there, then the males do the job of raising the fry. The female takes no or a very small part in this. I have yet to try this out. It is a well known fact that rams often have "parental problems", I failed because I wanted the parents to raise the fry together, but the parents ended up fighting and ate the eggs. I am not saying I am right, but it is a theory from scientists after all. It would be interesting to try out a big enough tank with 4-5 males and 2-3 females and see what happens.
Hi there, great video. I have a pair of GBRs (m/f) and the male is constantly wanting to spar, chase, and annoy the female lol. My intention wasn't to breed, rather just have a couple that get along. Either way, I guess the female isn't that into the male..? If you have any tips on how to curb the chasing and sparring, I would appreciate it. Also, I just started posting videos of them, you can have a look if you like. Thanks!
Hi there mate! I would say this is quite common in scenarios where the store may pick any male and any female out as a pair. The best thing to do for future is to ensure that you watch the behaviour of the available fish and usually you'll see an already bonded pair. For now though, you just have to ensure that there is ample coverage in the tank for the fish to hide from each other and they may just start liking eachother eventually.
@@jojocool555 thanks, I was thinking this exact same thing. No idea how old the make is but he was very shy and definitely not the dominant one at the store
@@jmsadms Can you build a wall of plants in the middle of the tank and have a hiding place in each half, like half a terracotta pot etc in each half. Give lots of obstructions so they can't see each other. I would be carefull, a female will kill a male if she really not into him, but they may get better if the pressure is off and he can hide.
@@JustinsFishRoom I wouldn't out right say no, Flowerhorn cichlids was made using different species, Malawi cichlids often hybridise, so do many other species, it's just that would you really want to, what's the benefit, the only likely is potential species contamination on both parts.
I can't tell the difference in my Rams they are always mouthing/kissing/biting each other, which I thought was a mating but they don't stay near each other in the tank. Help