How to Breed Fish in a Tropical Aquarium
Seeing your aquarium fish reproducing is perhaps the height of tropical fish keeping. Multiple generations of fish mean that you have provided natural-enough conditions to induce your fish to procreate, and the excitement of seeing the growth and development of young animals in your care can be immensely rewarding. While the exact steps may vary from species to species, there are a few basic steps to help breed your tropical fish in the aquarium.
Other People Are Reading
Instructions
-
-
1
Determine whether the fish you are seeking to breed are live bearers or egg layers; live-bearing fish, such as guppies and mollies, will require a breeding box or net, while egg-laying fish require the use of an egg trap or mop.
-
2
Make sure that you have at least one male and female of the species. With some fish, this is easily discernible, but for fish that show no outward differences between male and female, the best way to get a male and female is often to purchase a small group of the fish together.
-
-
3
Condition the adult fish for 1 to 2 weeks on high quality live and frozen food. Flake food is a poor breeding conditioner, and the addition of live food really is critical to getting your tropical fish primed for breeding.
-
4
Set up a smaller aquarium with a mix of half tank water and half fresh water. If your fish are egg layers, place a piece of craft mesh across the bottom to act as an egg trap. Alternately, you can use a handful of clean yarn to provide the parents with a place to lay the eggs. The reason for the egg traps is to prevent the parents from consuming the eggs after the spawn.
-
5
Place the male and female (or the small group of fish) into the breeding tank at the end of the conditioning period. Most fish, if properly conditioned, will react to the change in water chemistry by breeding or spawning. If your fish are egg layers, move the adults back to the main tank once they have spawned. If they are live bearers, the male can be moved back to prevent him from harassing the female while she carries the fertilized offspring.
-
6
Care for the female live bearer in the separate tank until she is a day or so away from giving birth, and move her into the breeding box at this point to keep her from eating her young. Gestation period will depend on the species of fish you are breeding; guppies, for instance, usually carry young for about 28 days. Once the female gives birth, remove her to the main tank.
-
7
Care for the fry by feeding high quality fry food or infusoria, and perform 25 percent water changes each week until the fry are large enough to return to the main tank.
-
1
References
- Photo Credit baby fishes image by Roman Gureev from Fotolia.com
