Re: Observations on Blue Ram Parental Behavior

[Frauley/Elson <fraulels@minet.ca>]

David A. Youngker wrote:
> 
> I've been keeping _M. ramirezi_ for some time now, and like quite a few have
> often been disappointed at the initial attempts to induce "proper" parental
> behaviors in new breeding pairs. It's almost like trying to "deprogram" a
> (insert religious sect of choice) convert at times. But in reading some of
> the banter tossed back- and- forth concerning collecting trips, habitats,
> population densities, etc., I seem to have stumbled on a technique that
> works amazingly well on these intended breeders.
> 
> I crowd the (insert expletive of choice) out of the tank.
> 
> The tank I'm working with now is one of my "standard" 15 gal longs,
> measuring 30*12*12 in. Current population: 6 _M. ramirezi_, 4 _M.
> altispinosa_, 22 _P. axelrodi_, 1 _S. nigriventris_ and even a handful of
> Glass Shrimp.
> 
> The results have been similar and easily repeatable for four differing
> groups of Rams now under these conditions. Pair formations seem more
> spontaneous, and breeding behaviors soon follow. From the very first nest,
> the pair make honest attempts to protect the clutch, sharing in normal guard
> and patrol behavior. Naturally at such densities losses are high, but this
> leads merely to another clutch where the choice of location often improves
> along with a better "sense" of the competetion. They seem to be more
> successful at getting the eggs to the fry stage by then and at least one of
> the pairs will end up with a small cloud of fry. But again, it's hard to
> protect them against multi- directional "flash" attacks and you'll lose
> those fry too. Yet the Rams do *try*, which seems all too rare with Rams
> available today.
> 
> I'm assuming it's the crowded conditions that trigger the responses, but I
> haven't collected enough information to be able to fix the cause. Two
> readily- formulated SWAGs easily come to mind, though. Large numbers and
> increased competetion may reinforce an innate territorality where team
> efforts increase the ability to protect scarce resources, to which progeny
> becomes an extension. Or it may boil down to a case of simple stress
> reaction, where paired behavior increases the likelihood of survival for
> your gene pool. Observation of the pairs seems to indicate more of the
> former, as their health and other typical behavior patterns appear
> unaffected.
> 
> But I do know this: A pair of new Rams, after making three attempts in a
> full tank, can be transferred to their own breeder along with a few
> Cardinals for dither/targets, and they become a joy to behold as parents
> again. I'm hoping to continue this through a few clutches for each pair to
> determine if the pattern "sticks". And on subsequent generations for
> possible reinforcement.
> 
> But I was wondering if anyone else had noticed this pattern before? 

Interesting... I've been watching rams at an importers - with hundreds
in the tank, they'll guard and spawn, but when I've taken them home and
set them up in pairs, they've spawned and munched. Logically, I missed
the point.
I'm going to try your system with some wild Colombian rams I got last
week. I have them crowded in the same size tank you're using. I was
doing so to let them sort out pairs, but I'll keep them there. They're
aggressive as could be - I had a dull bluish wild form I lost in a
winter storm last year, and they impressed me with their true
'cichlid-ness'. These wild yellows are unbelievably vivid and rougher
than most guarding apistos would be. This is before they've even
spawned. It'll be interesting to see how they'll respond to the crowding
trick.
By the way, I notice you have S. nigriventris in there. With Nanochromis
parilus a few years ago, I found upside down cats to be very effective
fry predators. They're good at what they do. Do you think the prescence
of a serious fry predator helps in this 'parental training' technique
with rams?
-Gary

By the way, does anyone know if rams are being pond farmed in Colombia?
These are wild form for sure, but they came in in fair numbers. For a
long time, wild rams were never seen, at least around here.
Just wondering.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the apistogramma mailing list, apisto@majordomo.pobox.com.
For instructions on how to subscribe or unsubscribe or get help,
email apisto-request@majordomo.pobox.com.
Search http://altavista.digital.com for "Apistogramma Mailing List Archives"!