# Sticky  WELCOME to Breeding!



## TheOldSalt

Well, it's finally here; a forum dedicated to the breeding of freshwater fish. Here we can discuss the various needs of individual species and families of freshwater fish in regards to their optimal health and breeding. How to condition the breeders, hatch the eggs, and raise the fry are only the beginning. Sexing the breeders, finding the triggers which make them spawn, and discussing the best breeding arrangements in male/female ratios and tank conditions are also going to be a big part of this forum. There's also feeding the fry, culture of live foods for fry and adults, culling, marketing, and much more. 

Breeding is what has kept this hobby alive for the past century, and the way things are going in this world, we are certain to depend upon it more and more each year. This forum is designed for the purpose of helping to transform the casual hobbyists into the true fishkeepers who will keep the hobby going for future generations. One learns a great deal more about the hobby after having bred several species, and the hobby as a whole benefits.

We'll probably get a bunch of stickys in this forum, and it may even split into subforums for the various families of fish, but maybe not. The success of this forum depends completely on the traffic it gets, and indeed the same is true for all the new forums, so let's get posting!


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## Damon

Well I'll get started on some breeding profiles but I can't sticky here T.O.S.


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## Z Man

I have bred over 100 different cichlids; African and South American. Also well over 100 different 'other' species such as livebearers, cory, barbs, killiefish, rainbows just to name a few. Maybe I can help someone.


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## fishfreaks

awesome, its nice to finally have one!


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## TheOldSalt

You zee man, Z man!

Simpte, I can't sticky, either, but I'm sure the mods will sticky the good stuff they find.


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## shev

I've bred gouramis, (blue and gold) guppies (obviously) and buenos ares tetras (on accident).

I video taped my gouramis breeding, maybe I could do a profile with some video, if I could figure out how to post videos.and I could re-breed my buenos aires tetras with video too.

edit: oh, and thats quite impressive z man! I cant even name a hundred cichlids. =)


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## Osiris

z-man have u bred aulo. lwanda's?


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## Z Man

Sorry MPro but I only did some of the 'old' Haps and then turned to mostly Apistos and other dwarf SA's.


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## Osiris

ah i gotcha, Am getting in some nice group sizes of lemon jakes and Lwanda's was told that Lwanda' tend to be harder to breed and need extra attention(whatever that means lol)


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## Cichlid Man

*Simpte*

Just a suggestion but I think that Simpte would be a good mod for this Forum. Ask Shaggy.


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## Larry-T

Hi, folks,

I've been breeding various egg-laying fish since 1962. My first two species were Blue Bouramis and Tilapia Mosambique. I've bred hundreds of species, pririmarily cichlids, killifish, anabantoides, gobies, and catfish. 

I'm looking forward to sharing and learning with everyone here.


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## TheOldSalt

I can see Simpte as a mod for sure. He's always here, he's smart and personable, and knows a thing or three about fishkeeping.


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## shev

looks like we have a whole team of fish breeders here. glad to see a section devoted to breeding fish.


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## Osiris

It's funny how some people think wild fish should always look better then tank bred ones, but they forget that imported fish go through a pretty rough ride to get here...


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## TheOldSalt

Tank bred can look every bit as good as wildcaught if grown outside in pools where the sunlight can hit them, but I guess I don't quite grasp what you mean by that, MalawianPro. Do you mean that tankraised fish don't get exposed to the rigors of travel, and as such should look better than wildcaught, or that people should prefer tankraised over wild because it save the fish the rough trip, or that wildcaught fish would look even better if they didn't have a rough trip before we saw them?

Yes, shev, I had a feeling that there were a bunch of breeders around here who could make a breeding thread interesting. I'm sure we've only heard from a few so far.


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## shev

I could probably write one about breeding guppies, but thats it. 



> It's funny how some people think wild fish should always look better then tank bred ones, but they forget that imported fish go through a pretty rough ride to get here...


well, tank raised fish are often juiced up with hormones before sold off to fish stores.

I agree though, lots of fish die before reaching the US. but its pretty hard to find a farm bred spiny eel, or clown loach.


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## Damon

I think its more about not letting nature work. There really isn't survival of the fittest in fishfarms. In nature, not every fish gets to breed and there is much less inbreeding than on farms who mass produce fish for sale. For example, some species of cories don't have the large dorsal fin once they are bred in a tank.


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## ALFA WOLF

Dont they switch fish from diffrent tankes to another tank to make room for breeding fish.


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## fishboy

I'm going to start breeding! I'm skipping livebearers and goning straight for elementary egg layers. When I grow up and get a good job(hopefully) I want to breed large and small oddballs and natives


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## Lara

I only know how to accidentally breed fish, lol


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## 1stfishies

*Pregnent Black Molly*

I have a black molly, we got her a week ago and the place we got her from said shes pregnant. I want to know if I should do anything to protect the eggs or to protect her. My friend said to isolate her from the babies or she'll eat them :S is this true?


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## Cichlid Man

Mollies and other livebearing fish produce live young (and quite big at that) so you don't have to worry about eggs or hungry parents. Only isolate the pregnet mother from the main tank if there are any fish in the tank other than mollies. Even platies and swordtails will have a go at new born mollies.


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## 1stfishies

I've bred my Black Mollies not too long ago, I got 27 fry and I'm hoping to sell them


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## GupLove

Lara said:


> I only know how to accidentally breed fish, lol


 LOL cute!


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## GupLove

I know how to breed by accident too..
but I would love to breed my sunburst platies or my guppies.

Right now I have a 20 gal set up for my fry. I am trying to get a 10 gal off of a used ad. So far no luck.


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## elvis332

I know im like monthes late posting this but i have breed fish too


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## blackheart_21

How do you breed fancy guppies and what do you need, and where can you find it. im thinking about breeding fancy guppies and i wanted to know how so im prepard. i want to get a ten gallon tank set. Where can i get that for the cheapest price. a few people told me walmart but i went to there website and it was a five gallon. so do they really have a ten gallon set in the stores?


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## TheOldSalt

usually, yeah. 
For breeding fancy guppies and doing it RIGHT, you'll need several tanks. To just get the hang of the basics, though, two will do nicely.


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## emc7

http://www.ifga.org/guppy_beginners.htm


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## baileysup

is there any money to be made here?


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## TheOldSalt

That depends.
Fish which are very prolific and easy to breed won't make you as much as the hardcases, and the overall desirability of the species in question is a big factor as well, as it determines demand.
Guppies can actually make you some dough, but you'll never get rich at it. The selling point is quality. Petstores like locally grown fish IF THEY LOOK GOOD over fish brought in from hither, dither and yon, simply because they have a better survival rate in local water. Homegrown fish also tend to be disease free, which is another big mark in their favor. On the downside, they're still just guppies, so they won't make you very much each. Luckily, you can make a LOT of them.
Danios breed in the hundreds each batch, and they are very cheap. not worth it, almost, unless you have one of those newly discovered species still rare in the hobby.
African cichlids are always solid performers. They are a bigger pain to breed and raise, but they sell very well.
Pre-1986, Angelfish weren't worth the bother, but now you can make a bundle. The price skyrocketed after a worldwide angelfish plague nearly wiped them out, but the price never dropped again once things got back to normal. LOL
Discus are good on a per-fish basis, but volume is very very low.

You best bet? Find some really uncommon, very desirable species which isn't too easy or too hard to breed, and specialize in that for awhile. Rhombo Barbs, for example, could be huge for you since the farms don't grow them despite their awesome looks. They're still just barbs, though, and should be easy enough to produce.


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## lynmccoy

It depends on how involved you want to get into breeding your fish. I have a 55g for my male guppies,a 20g tank for my 12 females, and a 10g nursery tank. I keep my males and females separated because I don't want to be constantly having pregnant fish. I 'd rather choose when and which 2 guppies to put in my 2g tank that my granddaughter calls the "party tank". I am looking for some albino females if anyone has some for sale. From what I've read online they aren't supposed to have any color pigment to pass on to their fry. Then I can put any one of my boys with one of them.


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## pj1218

> I 'd rather choose when and which 2 guppies to put in my 2g tank that my granddaughter calls the "party tank".


lol thats too funny. the " party tank "


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## zhahn

*Baby platy problem*

My platy gave birth to 4-5 fry and they are just hiding under the frame of the breeding net and not eating the food I gave them. What should I do?


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## TheOldSalt

Remove the mother and feed flakefood ground into dust.


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