German Blue Rams spawning?

Some help would be appreciated.

It appears that one pair of my GBR have spawned.
There is a shallow hole dug into the substrate, with whitish granules / eggs.
Both fish are hovering in the vicinity of the nest...

I got the fish 2 days ago, and they are still young, about 4cm in length.

Is it a nest? Are they spawning?
What are the chances of survival? They are in a 3ft community tank with a few guppies, and another pair of GBR.

 

Definitely a "nest". They might have laid eggs on a leaf of one of the plants, as they move their fry to pits they dig out. Check closely to see if they are wriggling. In community tank their chances aren't too well, but it will also depend on what food is available for the fry. You might be super lucky that they laid eggs the day you got them...

 

Thanks @Jaco83.
There is a nice big Amazon Sword with big leaves overhanging the nest.
The eggs a lying on the substrate though, and I can't see anything on the plant leaves.

 

Might have hatched already, and wrigglers dropped into the pit.
Rams will almost always lay eggs on flat surface, and once they hatch, they are moved to a pit in order to keep them all together.
Either way, congrats on the spawn!

 

They have definitely spawned. But the eggs looks white from the photo? If so they are infertile. They will be amber when fertilised. It takes the eggs about 40-48 hours to hatch and then after that the fry only becomes free swimming after 4-5 days, at which point you have to start feeding it. The parents will most probably consume the eggs within a day. But don't worry. They need a few go's at it before they will become good parents and have a successful attempt. They will also consume the eggs when they feel threatened in any way.And in a community tank, there are lots of perceived threats. I have 4 pairs in my community tank, and they take turns laying eggs. Will have to move them to my breeding tanks once they become more skilled and or a bit older.

 

Thanks @Jaco83.
There is a nice big Amazon Sword with big leaves overhanging the nest.
The eggs a lying on the substrate though, and I can't see anything on the plant leaves.

@Gnl Jakes most of the eggs have been eaten by the male, but there are still a few that are being guarded.
This was very unexpected, as the 3 pairs I have are still very young, but seem to have paired up already.
I assume he will be firing blanks for a while until he is more mature, and this is a practice run.

 

@Pezulu , the problem seems to be definitely with the males. They are the dumb ones that doesn't really know what to do when the time comes.

 

The other pair are at it.
This time they prepared the nest over 2 days, and this evening started spawning.
Waiting to see what happens.

 

Cool. Just add a small piece of flat rock. A small piece of slate or flat river pebble or something.

 

First GBR fry are being hidden by the parents.

 

Congrats bud!

 

They are hidden in a small hollow in a piece of driftwood under some Anubias.
One of the parents is always near.
I have no idea how many there are.

What is the best food to start them off with?
Any other words of advice?

 

Survival rate in a community is close to Zero.
Best you can do is seperate them in their own grow out tank with a sponge filter, and feed them BBS, or micro worms.
In a pinch you can also use hardboiled egg yolk. Just hard boil an egg, take a small, very small, piece of yolk, and add a little bit of their tank water. vigorously shake it, until all the yolk is "dissolved". squirt some of this solution in their vicinity.
Obviously, live foods like live BBS or Microworms will be better for them...

 

These fish are in their own 3ft tank.
I am trying to get hold of some Artemia eggs, but they are extremely expensive...

 

Well done.. congratulations!!!

They are beautiful fish

 

Yes they are.

Microworms works well, and is more cost effective.
And as I said, you can use egg yolk as well.

If they are in their own tank, it will be perfect. Just check, cause sometimes the parents can eat the fry after a week or two.
And remember to keep up with water changes, as the fry is fairly sensitive to water quality, and egg yolk can QUICKLY foal the water.

 

Got some BBS eggs from Aqua Empire.
Now I have to figure out how to de-casulate them, and breed them.

 

What was the price and grade of the egges obtained?
Here is a nice DIY BBS hatchery

 

I made a hatchery from a plastic 2 litre bottle, plastic straw, air hose, air pump and a desk lamp to provide heat and light.
The plastic straw was used instead of rigid airline tubing, which I don't have.
Eggs were decapsulated before hatching, and should start breeding out within the next 6-8 hours.