Breeding Fish

By Douglas DuHamel

Anyone who wants to breed Aquarium fish successfully has to know the requirements of the fish in question. Plus you have to create appropriate environmental conditions, in either the maintenance tank or a special breeding tank.

There are various ways for tropical fish to breed. Some are live bearers, such as guppies, where the mother expels live fry that start swimming immediately. Mouth brooders, like most African cichlids, the mother carries the eggs in her mouth for 18 days until they hatch. Egg scatterers, like catfish, will lay their eggs on rocks, plants, and logs in order to allow the water to carry the eggs away for a better chance of survival. Cave layers, such as the blind cave fish, will lay their eggs in dark places. Egg layers, like angelfish or rams will lay eggs on slate or rock or plants and they will protect their eggs. Bubblenest builders, such as gouramis and bettas, secrete a liquid to hold tiny plants together in order to form a nest.

Breeding always implies selection and culling. Sick or malformed juvenile fish should not be raised, but even among mature fish, not all are good bets for breeding!

Selecting the Proper Breeding Parents

One rule for successful breeding is the selection of proper breeding stock. Watch for the following:

• Traits of the species - The fish should conform in body shape, size and markings to the characteristic appearance of the species. In order to pass these traits on to their offspring, it does not make sense to breed fish with deviant traits.
• Health of the parents - Healthy animals are most likely to produce healthy offspring. The most basic rule is that the parents should appear strong and be active as characteristic of the particular species.
• Compatibility of the sexual partners - Sympathy between the partners plays a important role with all fish, regardless of whether they form extended pair bonds or come together only briefly to spawn. That is why you should pick partners that get along well in the regular tank or that may have already shown sexual interest in each other. The courtship rituals, in the course of the fish display special behavior, and even colors will give you the necessary clues! Crossing different species or different color variants of the same species should be avoided at all costs!

What encourages fish to spawn!

• The right kind of food - Some undemanding fish will spawn on a diet of just dried flake, but many others will spawn only if they are given special food that closely reflects their special dietary requirements. Experience has shown that Characins spawn especially well if they are fed Black Mosquito larvae.
• The right environment - Many species need hiding places, while others need to live in small shoals to feel at ease. Breeding efforts are successful only if the conditions in the breeding tank correspond to the species in question. Many Characins, for instance, need a dark tank. If there is too much light, they hover in a corner, frightened and refuse to engage in courtship or to even deposit their spawn even though it has formed.
• Spawning substrates - Except for species that spawn in open water, all fish need some sort of substrates on which to deposit their eggs. Adding plants or rocks ornaments can create a setting for spawning.
• Spawning rhythm - In nature, most tropical fish spawn only during the rainy season. Even in the aquarium, certain signals are needed to bring about the spawning behavior of certain species. The rainy season affects the water temperature, salt content of the water, water level, and PH. By manipulating these factors, it is possible to simulate rainy season signals.
• Altering the temperature - This is enough to make armored and callichthyd catfishes spawn. Change ¼ of the water daily for several days until the tank water is about 6-9 degrees F (3-5 C) cooler than when you started.

Hopefully some of these tips can help you successfully breed your fish. If some of you are breeders already, maybe there is something here that you have found to be helpful. In future articles, I will talk about each type of breeding habit in more detail.

Nothing is more fascinating than to see fish spawn and watch the babies grow!

About the Author:

I have been in the tropical fish/aquarium hobby for the past 44 years. Over the years, I have bred over 300 species of tropical fish ranging from the common guppy to the most exotic African cichlids.

Over the past 15 years, I've raised and tamed various breeds of birds from tiny finches to large parrots. Just like a new parent, I've been up all hours of the night hand-feeding baby birds.

It gives me great pleasure to educate up and coming young people in the hobby. Of course, any age can reap the benefits of the aquatic atmosphere!

I would say that the most fulfilling aspect of raising birds is to take very tame birds to hospitals and let the patients interact with these fascinating creatures.

I live on the west coast of Canada with my collection of tanks, 3 cats, a dog and a fine lady. Besides my aquarium hobby, I enjoy playing chess and browsing the Internet to keep myself updated on "fishy" things.

Douglas may be contacted by email at Doug@lovethemfins.com.

Article courtesy of Suite101.com.