# Goldfish Breeding



## FishGuy1564

It is Spring now and I would really like my fish to start breeding. Is there a way I can get my fish to know it is Spring so I know which are boys and which are girls? Also, what is the best way to breed them in an aquarium?
Thank You.


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## TheOldSalt

I've cranked out thousands upon thousands of goldfish outdoors in pools, but never once have I had them spawn in an aquarium. It's doable, but it's a royal pain.
For starters, you need a BIG aquarium. Goldfish are chase-spawners like most other cyprinids, but since they are so big, they need room for that chase.

The process is simple enough, really. You take a bunch of males & females which have been overwintered andput them into a big container of seasoned water & gobs & gobs of floating plants. You give them a 10-11 hour photoperiod to stimulate hormone production, which in turn stimulates gamete production, and you feed them like crazy while keeping the water clean. It's perfectly okay if the water turns green, and indeed if you want to have anything to feed the fry, it had better turn green.

As the water warms up a degree or two every couple of days under these conditions, the goldfishes will go into pre-spawning mode, filling with eggs & sperm, intensifying their colors, and getting their tubercules. oncethey are ready and the temp is high enough, they'll spawn like crazy for a few days.

They will eat the eggs & fry, so after you see them finish spawning, remove them. Alternately, you can remove the plants each spawning day & replace them with some more plants previously held in reserve, and put the egg-laden plants into a hatching container.


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## FishGuy1564

Thanks TheOldSalt, that is plenty of good info! I'll be trying what you said very soon.


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## FishGuy1564

I have a quick question. Do I NEED to have live plants? I put my fish together in the tank and the aren't really doing anything. I fed them A LOT last night to fill them up. I know that one is a boy, and the other one doesn't have tubercles and is round, so I think it is a girl. What else can I do to enhance their breeding?


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## Niki2105

No they shouldnt need live plants. I had my fancys breed in a overstocked 15 gallon tank with only a coulpe fake plants and a big bell ordament. They ate most of the eggs but i was able to get a few off the plants. The best way to try and get them to breed is to lower the water temperature (over a few days) leave it there for a few days then to slowly raise the temperature back up(over a few days). The lowering and raising of the temp. will have the goldfish believe that it is the winter turing to spring and that should help you out in your breeding. How old are your goldfish?? If they are too young they will not be old enough to breed yet. I believe they dont start to breed till they are a year old and they are over 2 inches long. Also you should be careful when you are breeding your fish that your females are not too young or that they dont drop there eggs and become Egg Bound, that can kill them.

Niki


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## FishGuy1564

i already tried lowering the temp. and then heating it back up, but my fish just wont breed! I know the female and the male are old enough (if i would estimate, 2 years old). I have been feeding them more food than usual just to prepare them, but they just aren't breeding! What am I doing wrong? What is the easiest method? What should I do?


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## fish_doc

How long did you leave the temp at the lower temp and what temp did you lower it to?


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## FishGuy1564

my thermometer only goes to 69 degrees and it was way lower than that because of the color of the lowest number. I raised it to 74 degrees! I kept it like that for quite a while.


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## fish_doc

Is quite a while like hours, days or weeks? 

another trigger is to do a big water change as you start raising the temp. This gives them the feeling like in the wild when the spring rains start refilling the ponds, rivers, etc.


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## FishGuy1564

My goldfish just won't breed? What am I doing wrong???? :help: 
I've tried just about everything!!!!!
If anyone looks at this topic, i need info, so post a reply because i need info as soon as possible. Thank You.


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## Niki2105

You cant just want something and have it magicaly happen. Even with the right conditions not everyone can breed fish in their aquariums. Do you even have the space for that many baby goldfish?? .. they dont just lay 2 or 3 eggs they can lay hundreds. What if one of your females becomes egg bound do you know what to do about that?? What do you plan on doing with the babys when they are big enough. Do you have a pet store you can sell them too?? Maybe since your not having any luck you should stop trying to get them to breed. I dont want to sound mean but these are just a few quick questions I was wondering if you could answer.

Niki


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## FishGuy1564

i have planned this out PERFECTLY and I have found out why they aren't breeding... The girl goldfish I have are not fat enough yet. I am going to have to wait and let them become egg bound. I am going to buy a beautiful, fat female since i was going to buy a new fish anyway. Thank you all for the help.


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## FishGuy1564

ok i got a REALLY fat female! She was the biggest one at the store! SHE IS A MONSTER!!!!!!!!!!! She is about 1/2 of an inch bigger than the male. Is that ok?


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## fish_doc

The females are typically a bit bigger than the males.


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## FishGuy1564

I just tried tjem together, then two males together. And none of those worked! Can someone run through the whole breeding process again?:neutral: My male DOES have tubercles, but he isn't going after the female. Actually the female is going after him!


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## TheOldSalt

Well, tell us about your setup, providing all the important details.

Size of tank
Temperature
Filtration
pH
Hardness
Decor
Plants
Size of fish
number of fish
what kinds of foods


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## FishGuy1564

I have a 35 gallon (inside my house) the temperature is 76, but i usually lower it to 68 and then raise it again to enhance breeding, I have a power filter, but when the babies come i have a sponge filter ready for them, my pH is 7.0, I have two fish and sometimes i throw in another male to help the other one out a little, one of my males are about 2 inches without the tail, the other male is about 2inches without the tail, and the female is about 2 and a half inches without the tail. I have three plants at the bottom of the tank that look like Spring plants, and one huge floating plant at the top. I don't have any gravel because the babies always get caught and die in the gravel. Well, that's about it. Should I have a 10 gallon instead so they are more near each other at all times?


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## fish_doc

Before I asked how long did you take lowering the temps and raising it back up. Now I know for sure you are not allowing enough time for this to occour. This is a couple month process and you are saying you bought a new fish and have already done this within a day. 

Here is a link that might help http://www.fishpondinfo.com/gfish3.htm#bred and some text from Robyns site


The keys to breeding goldfish are temperature change and providing a place to spawn. A gradual increase in temperature from say 50 to 75 degrees F over a few months should excite the fish. The females need soft, coldwater plants in shallow (under a foot) areas to spawn. Plants such as anacharis, cambomba, hornwort, java moss (in tanks), etc. work. You can also buy artificial spawning mops for her to lay the eggs. If you want any (in tanks) or more than a few (in ponds) fry to survive, remove the eggs as soon as they are laid. Both fish will eat the eggs immediately. Keep the eggs in similar water with light aeration if possible. When a female goldfish is full of eggs, she will release pheromones into the water. The males will probably harass her at other times too but once she sends out the message, the males go crazy. The males will chase the females around very quickly and slam her into any soft vegetation around. If no soft spots are present, she will be most likely be injured in the males' excitement. Most people on first seeing goldfish spawning in a pond say that they fish have "gone crazy." In an aquarium with less swimming room, the activity will not seem as frantic. A female will lay thousands of eggs and all fish present will eat as many as they can get. The eggs hatch in 4 to 7 days depending on temperature. After a few days of hanging around (they seem to suction themselves onto glass in tanks), the fry will begin to feed.

Back to my words. - Fishkeeping is a hobby of patience. You have to do things on the fishes timetable not your own. If you are looking for fish that are quick and easy to breed you may want to try guppies. They are called the millions fish because they multiply so quickly. Although I suggest you try breeding other fish so you get some instant satisfaction It would be great for you to continue trying to breed some of the more difficult fish for experience. I have breed Live bearers, mouth brooders, and egg layers or egg scatterers. and each one has their own magical sense of accomplishment when you finally get fry. 

egg scatterers like goldfish tend to be the hardest of these to accomplish for a beginner. Here is a good link explaining this http://centralpets.com/php/search/storiesdisplay.php?Story=517

Hope this helps out a bit. One more link on breeding goldfish.
http://www.bristol-aquarists.org.uk/goldfish/info/breeding-fs.htm


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## FishGuy1564

Wow!!! Thanks Fish_Doc! That is the kind of info I've been looking for all along. Thank You VERY much!!:-D :-D :-D


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