Re: Rams de-selection

[joel and angie wasdyke <joel_ang@visi.com>]

Mike,

Don't get me wrong either.  I am by no means a commercial breeder.
Currently there is no species that is getting me excited other than dwarf
pikes and teleocichlas and there aren't that many species available.  I hate
to see a couple of dozen tanks idle and seeing as I have had some success
spawning rams I might as well take a chunk of tanks as use them as a
hatchery until I get excited over another group of fish.  

As was stated by the person breeding angels, I take the young until the
growout tanks are full and then the parents get to take over the hatching.
Some have no problems, other won't.  Some of the young that I have given to
friends have shown themselves to be very good parents, so it isn't
necessarily a learned trait.  My original stock came from a person who let
the adults brood the young. When I started playing with the ones I had were
horrible parents. I have lost count of the number of spawns that the three
pairs ate.  Finally I started pulling them.  Environment is not necessarily
an indicator.  I think that some of the problems with rams are due to the
general weakness of the blood lines.  Not enough new blood has been bred in.  

As a side note, a wholesaler friend is going to Brazil this winter and I put
in a request for some wild rams.  It will be interesting to try crossing
some of them back to the German Blues and see if there is any improvement in
the line.

Joel


Date: Tue, 03 Nov 1998 20:06:51 -0700
From: Mike & Diane Wise <apistowise@bewellnet.com>
Subject: Re: Rams de-selection

Joel,

I for one don't condemn any kind of breeding except for most purposeful crossing
of species and their sale (Red Parrot Cichlid, Yuck!! Red Velvet Sword are
great.
I just wish you could find them that looked like they did in the 60s & 70s.).
Rams were messed up long before you got into raising them, unless you've been
doing it for the past 50 years. The original Rams were imported to Florida in
1947 or 48 and were bred just like angels. Hobbyists had no problems breeding
these fish. Around 1955 - 1960 aquarium articles mention increasing difficulties
in breeding these fish at home with the parents. Five to 10 years of pulling
eggs
seems to have removed the parental instincts in commercial fish. Commercial
breeders, like you, do this for a valid reason. There's nothing wrong with this.
We have to realize that 99%+ of all Rams sold are not for breeding, but for show
just like angels. For me, however, I've had more success with wild Rams than
domestic, both breeding and healthwise (mostly because of the preponderance of
problem Asian bred fish in commercial circles). If I want Rams for breeding I
will always buy wild or search out parental raised offspring from a
hobbyist/breeder.

Keep up the good work.

Mike Wise


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