# Easy Egglayers?



## P.senegalus (Aug 18, 2011)

Is there an egglaying fish that is easy to breed? I was thinking zebra danios may be easy? or rosy red minnows?
The only fish I ever got to breed that lays eggs were killifish, I don't have any of them right now.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

convicts! Let me send you a breeding pair.


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## P.senegalus (Aug 18, 2011)

lol, I know nothing about them. How big do they get?


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## platies pwn (Nov 29, 2010)

i bred cories on accident


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

convicts are aggressive.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

hemichromis bimaculatis.....jewel cichlid...


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## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

In terms of ease of egg layers I would have to say that Zebra Danios are pretty dang easy. Or at least mine where. Let them get used to the tank together, do a large water change with an addition of slightly cooler water than was there... and watch. 

I believe that there are a lot of cichlids that are also easy to breed. emc really wants to sell people her breeding cichlid pairs. That there is an overabundance there tells you it's fairly easy. emc is also good with fish so that helps with ease of breeding. If you go that route I am sure she will tell you what you need to do in order to breed them successfully. I would also trust any fish she sends you, if they are not good fish, she won't sell.


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## BV77 (Jan 22, 2005)

kribs come to mind


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## P.senegalus (Aug 18, 2011)

I was trying to hold off on the cichlids because I don't have a tank big enough for them and when I get one I was going to try African cichlids.They're easy to breed too, right?

I bred cories once on accident too. I bought two, got another 1 from my friend and ended up with 30! I didn't even know it happened until I seen the fry.


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## Betta man (Mar 25, 2011)

Brichardi. I think you can keep a pair in a 10 gal.


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## iheartfish:) (Jan 19, 2011)

Shellies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They are the shell dwellers of lake Tangyanika (sorry if I spelled it wrong :chair Anyway, they're awesome!!! Or maybe I just really want some.....


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## P.senegalus (Aug 18, 2011)

If my fish store had them I would get some


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Convicts and jewels are, IMO, about the easiest egg-layers to breed. The fish do all the work. They chase/kill other fish to protect the spawn, clean a site, fan the eggs, pick out the fungused ones, lead the fry to food, chew up big food and spit out pieces for the fry, even lay another batch of eggs just for the first set of fry to eat, and guard to spawn from other fish for up to a year. 

They can be aggressive to other fish and to each other, more so as they get older and larger. Convicts can breed at a year old and the size of thumbnail, but keep growing. Males can get fist-sized or larger. Introducing older singles to each other is dangerous and people often use a divider. But my little pair didn't even hurt their 2 other siblings in a 10 gallon tank. The smallest jewel I know of is Hemichromis christatus which I let spawn in 15 gallon and 20 gallon high tanks. They don't spawn again as long as there are fry in the tank, even after 2 years. 

The main issue with both these fish is that they are so prolific that finding new homes for the fry becomes a real chore. Some stores will take them, but they won't even give me store credit. Some people won't even use them as feeders because a smart few will escape, grow up and start breeding.

Because they protect their eggs and fry, other tank mates are a problem in small tanks. They have been known to hunt them down and kill them. Usually, you have a few days of a fish hiding in an upper corner to remove to target to another tank. But having no tank mates means most of the fry survive.

They are amazing to watch leading fry around with fin signals. Every one should see it once. Other fish that spawn like this, such as kribs and apistos, are also fun to watch, but are often shier and do more out of sight.


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