By BETH ANN BATES
Why try to breed fish? There are a couple of reasons why hobbyists be-come interested
in breeding their fish. The first is the pleasure and fascination you feel when observing
your aquatic pets. Few things are more interesting to watch in the fish world than
breeding behavior and baby fish
(called fry). Will the eggs hatch? Will
the fry survive? It’s an underwater
drama played out in your living-room.
A number of teachers have fish tanks
in the classroom as educational tools
for biology class. Watching the drama
unfold is an excellent way to learn
about and enjoy nature.
Another reason some fish-keepers get
involved in breeding is for the challenge.
Like any hobby, fish-keeping often progresses in a predictable way. Usually, hobbyists
begin with species that are hardy and easy to keep. Once they learn how to keep these
fish healthy in the home aquarium, they may become interested in trying other species
that are larger and/or more demanding. Assuming they are successful, the hobbyist may
now be looking for the next challenge, and that will probably be trying to breed their fish. If
you are involved in your local aquarium society, which I hope you are, your club probably
has a competitive program for this. In my club, it’s called Breeder Award Program or BAP
for short. Club members breed their fish at home and bring the offspring in to be
auctioned off. The club member is awarded points based on the difficulty level assigned
to each species. The total, cumulative points are tracked for all the people in the
program, and recognition is given for milestone levels. This way, the club recognized the
breeding expertise of its members. Clubs all over the country have similar programs, and
people who are highly ranked earn respect everywhere they go in the fish community by
revealing this fact. It’s something like being the high scorer in a challenging video game.
Another reason you may be thinking about breeding fish is for profit. When browsing your
favorite fish store, you may find the prices for some fish to be rather expensive. It’s easy
to start seeing dollar signs when you think that you may have eager fish parents at home
in your tank. I want to discourage you from this idea. Like any business, breeding fish
has plenty of costs associated with producing the “product.” These include additional
tanks, food and utility expenses to run the equipment to heat and filter the water. Many
hobbyists before you had the same idea but very few have made money doing it. At best,
you may be able to subsidize your fish hobby expenses by occasionally selling offspring,
but please don’t quit your day job!
Some advanced hobbyists get involved in breeding a particular species in order to show
their fish competitively. Clubs often sponsor fish shows, which are just like the dog
shows you see on television, only the fish stay in tanks and the judges have to walk
around to see them. The most beautiful and interesting fish win titles including Best of
Species and Best in Show. You may be laughing, but there are many people who are very
serious about this stuff. They will ship fish across the country to compete in the most
prestigious shows. Personally, I think all this competition is kind of a male thing, but
women are involved too. I have been to fish shows, and it is fun to walk around and see
all the beautiful species. Often the competitors are many times more beautiful than their
average cousins in the local fish stores. The breeders achieve this by selectively pairing
the fish according to the traits they want in the off-spring, such as the color and size of the
fins and the health and strength of the fish. You can get into some serious science here,
if you are so inclined.
If you are interested in trying this, how might you begin? Well, there are a few ideas to
consider. If you are open to trying different types of fish, you could try the easiest fish first
and work your way up to the more difficult species. If you are in love with a particular
species, then you may choose to attempt to breed just that species, however difficult that
might be. Either way, I suggest you begin with gathering knowledge on how the species
breeds. When it comes to parenting skills, fish vary widely in their ability and inclination.
In some species, both the mom and dad are devoted parents, but in others, both parents
are downright delinquent. I will try to cover some basic concepts here, and you will need
to research your particular species more in depth.
Basically, the breeding behaviors of freshwater fish can be broken down into three types:
livebearers, egg-layers and mouth-brooders. Livebearers, which I wrote about in this
magazine several months ago, are by far the easiest fish to breed. In fact, you may have
trouble stopping them from multiplying like aquatic bunnies. As the name implies, they
give birth to live babies. This makes it much easier for their offspring to survive.
Examples of livebearers include guppies and mollies. The challenge comes when adult
fish eat the fry. This includes the parents. The fry need some protection or places to hide,
if they are to survive this cannibalism.
Egg-layers are much more difficult to breed. When your fish produce eggs in the tank,
there is no guarantee that the eggs will hatch, or that they will thrive if they do. Mouth-
brooders can be viewed as a type of egg-layer. The difference is that after the eggs have
been fertilized, the fish (usually the female) will hold the eggs in her mouth to protect
them as they develop.
Naturally, to breed your fish, you need males to pair with females. How do you tell what
gender your fish are? This is not always easy, and it varies from one breed to another.
Some have different finage, with males often more colorful than the females. For other
species, the size and shape of the fish is the only clue. One simple way to get started is
to put a group of fish-say six or eight-in the tank together, and hope that you will have
some of each gender. With this method the fish will hopefully pair off on their own.
Now, here comes the real secret to success with breeding your fish. It’s basically this:
whatever that species likes, it is critical that they have it exactly that way, for them to
spawn successfully. Often beginning fish-keepers can house their fish successfully but
fall short of breeding them. The fish will exist in the aquarium, seemingly happy and
healthy, but they don’t spawn. Why not? The answer is that the quality of their care is
good, but not exactly good enough. They need to have everything in their surroundings to
their liking to the extreme if they are to spawn. Included in their aquatic surroundings are
water, food and décor. Water parameters, like hardness, temperature or ph, and water
quality (i.e. how often do you perform partial water changes) are critical to success. The
fish may well tolerate less than ideal conditions, but will not spawn in them. This is
where your research will help you ascertain what qualities that species wants.
Hobbyists interested in breeding usually keep species-specific tanks. If you have a
community tank with various species,
it becomes difficult to provide the ideal conditions for the fish you want to spawn without
making the others uncomfortable. But it could be done, depending on the mix you have.
Regardless of the species, you will probably need to step-up your schedule of partial
water changes.
Food choice is hugely important to breeders. Here again, high quality may be required to
turn your fish into parents. I know several hobbyists who swear by live food for this
purpose. The basic canned flakes may not do the trick.
Even if the fish do spawn, the fry will probably need specialized and/or live foods to thrive.
I have successfully raised livebearers without using live food, but I think most other types
of fish do need it. Your local fish store will probably carry some live foods. Your club will
likely have members who culture worms or other live foods for this purpose. One of the
best reasons for joining a club is to have access to serious hobbyists who will give you
advice and may even be willing to share their stash.
The other aspect is décor. To get in the mood, your fish need the aquatic equivalent of the
honeymoon suite at the Hilton.
Whatever that species wants, you should provide. Some fish want caves, some like lush
plants, others are not so fussy. Egg-layers vary in where they like to deposit their eggs.
Some like rocks, shells or caves, some like vertical surfaces like large plant leaves.
Some egg-layers such as betas, make nests of air bubbles on the surface of the water.
Some species like spawning mops, little mops of yarn designed to hang in the tank like
a big plant. Again, your research will help you out here. Your local fish store will likely
have some products designed to encourage breeding in particular species.
You need not spend a lot of money, but you do need to create the environment that works
for that species.
Breeding fish can be rewarding, but it can also be hard work. If you decide to try this, be
prepared to spend some time and effort on your fish. You will likely need at least one
additional tank to separate the parents and/or raise the off-spring. You may need to
culture live foods and you will certainly need to monitor and care for your tanks.
It’s a good idea to keep notes on what you try in regards to the aspects discussed above.
It may take you some time to find the combination that will work, but if you are up for the
challenge, you will enjoy the effort.
First published September 2007 in The Animal Companion.
Why try to breed fish? There are a couple of reasons why hobbyists be-come interested
in breeding their fish. The first is the pleasure and fascination you feel when observing
your aquatic pets. Few things are more interesting to watch in the fish world than
breeding behavior and baby fish
(called fry). Will the eggs hatch? Will
the fry survive? It’s an underwater
drama played out in your living-room.
A number of teachers have fish tanks
in the classroom as educational tools
for biology class. Watching the drama
unfold is an excellent way to learn
about and enjoy nature.
Another reason some fish-keepers get
involved in breeding is for the challenge.
Like any hobby, fish-keeping often progresses in a predictable way. Usually, hobbyists
begin with species that are hardy and easy to keep. Once they learn how to keep these
fish healthy in the home aquarium, they may become interested in trying other species
that are larger and/or more demanding. Assuming they are successful, the hobbyist may
now be looking for the next challenge, and that will probably be trying to breed their fish. If
you are involved in your local aquarium society, which I hope you are, your club probably
has a competitive program for this. In my club, it’s called Breeder Award Program or BAP
for short. Club members breed their fish at home and bring the offspring in to be
auctioned off. The club member is awarded points based on the difficulty level assigned
to each species. The total, cumulative points are tracked for all the people in the
program, and recognition is given for milestone levels. This way, the club recognized the
breeding expertise of its members. Clubs all over the country have similar programs, and
people who are highly ranked earn respect everywhere they go in the fish community by
revealing this fact. It’s something like being the high scorer in a challenging video game.
Another reason you may be thinking about breeding fish is for profit. When browsing your
favorite fish store, you may find the prices for some fish to be rather expensive. It’s easy
to start seeing dollar signs when you think that you may have eager fish parents at home
in your tank. I want to discourage you from this idea. Like any business, breeding fish
has plenty of costs associated with producing the “product.” These include additional
tanks, food and utility expenses to run the equipment to heat and filter the water. Many
hobbyists before you had the same idea but very few have made money doing it. At best,
you may be able to subsidize your fish hobby expenses by occasionally selling offspring,
but please don’t quit your day job!
Some advanced hobbyists get involved in breeding a particular species in order to show
their fish competitively. Clubs often sponsor fish shows, which are just like the dog
shows you see on television, only the fish stay in tanks and the judges have to walk
around to see them. The most beautiful and interesting fish win titles including Best of
Species and Best in Show. You may be laughing, but there are many people who are very
serious about this stuff. They will ship fish across the country to compete in the most
prestigious shows. Personally, I think all this competition is kind of a male thing, but
women are involved too. I have been to fish shows, and it is fun to walk around and see
all the beautiful species. Often the competitors are many times more beautiful than their
average cousins in the local fish stores. The breeders achieve this by selectively pairing
the fish according to the traits they want in the off-spring, such as the color and size of the
fins and the health and strength of the fish. You can get into some serious science here,
if you are so inclined.
If you are interested in trying this, how might you begin? Well, there are a few ideas to
consider. If you are open to trying different types of fish, you could try the easiest fish first
and work your way up to the more difficult species. If you are in love with a particular
species, then you may choose to attempt to breed just that species, however difficult that
might be. Either way, I suggest you begin with gathering knowledge on how the species
breeds. When it comes to parenting skills, fish vary widely in their ability and inclination.
In some species, both the mom and dad are devoted parents, but in others, both parents
are downright delinquent. I will try to cover some basic concepts here, and you will need
to research your particular species more in depth.
Basically, the breeding behaviors of freshwater fish can be broken down into three types:
livebearers, egg-layers and mouth-brooders. Livebearers, which I wrote about in this
magazine several months ago, are by far the easiest fish to breed. In fact, you may have
trouble stopping them from multiplying like aquatic bunnies. As the name implies, they
give birth to live babies. This makes it much easier for their offspring to survive.
Examples of livebearers include guppies and mollies. The challenge comes when adult
fish eat the fry. This includes the parents. The fry need some protection or places to hide,
if they are to survive this cannibalism.
Egg-layers are much more difficult to breed. When your fish produce eggs in the tank,
there is no guarantee that the eggs will hatch, or that they will thrive if they do. Mouth-
brooders can be viewed as a type of egg-layer. The difference is that after the eggs have
been fertilized, the fish (usually the female) will hold the eggs in her mouth to protect
them as they develop.
Naturally, to breed your fish, you need males to pair with females. How do you tell what
gender your fish are? This is not always easy, and it varies from one breed to another.
Some have different finage, with males often more colorful than the females. For other
species, the size and shape of the fish is the only clue. One simple way to get started is
to put a group of fish-say six or eight-in the tank together, and hope that you will have
some of each gender. With this method the fish will hopefully pair off on their own.
Now, here comes the real secret to success with breeding your fish. It’s basically this:
whatever that species likes, it is critical that they have it exactly that way, for them to
spawn successfully. Often beginning fish-keepers can house their fish successfully but
fall short of breeding them. The fish will exist in the aquarium, seemingly happy and
healthy, but they don’t spawn. Why not? The answer is that the quality of their care is
good, but not exactly good enough. They need to have everything in their surroundings to
their liking to the extreme if they are to spawn. Included in their aquatic surroundings are
water, food and décor. Water parameters, like hardness, temperature or ph, and water
quality (i.e. how often do you perform partial water changes) are critical to success. The
fish may well tolerate less than ideal conditions, but will not spawn in them. This is
where your research will help you ascertain what qualities that species wants.
Hobbyists interested in breeding usually keep species-specific tanks. If you have a
community tank with various species,
it becomes difficult to provide the ideal conditions for the fish you want to spawn without
making the others uncomfortable. But it could be done, depending on the mix you have.
Regardless of the species, you will probably need to step-up your schedule of partial
water changes.
Food choice is hugely important to breeders. Here again, high quality may be required to
turn your fish into parents. I know several hobbyists who swear by live food for this
purpose. The basic canned flakes may not do the trick.
Even if the fish do spawn, the fry will probably need specialized and/or live foods to thrive.
I have successfully raised livebearers without using live food, but I think most other types
of fish do need it. Your local fish store will probably carry some live foods. Your club will
likely have members who culture worms or other live foods for this purpose. One of the
best reasons for joining a club is to have access to serious hobbyists who will give you
advice and may even be willing to share their stash.
The other aspect is décor. To get in the mood, your fish need the aquatic equivalent of the
honeymoon suite at the Hilton.
Whatever that species wants, you should provide. Some fish want caves, some like lush
plants, others are not so fussy. Egg-layers vary in where they like to deposit their eggs.
Some like rocks, shells or caves, some like vertical surfaces like large plant leaves.
Some egg-layers such as betas, make nests of air bubbles on the surface of the water.
Some species like spawning mops, little mops of yarn designed to hang in the tank like
a big plant. Again, your research will help you out here. Your local fish store will likely
have some products designed to encourage breeding in particular species.
You need not spend a lot of money, but you do need to create the environment that works
for that species.
Breeding fish can be rewarding, but it can also be hard work. If you decide to try this, be
prepared to spend some time and effort on your fish. You will likely need at least one
additional tank to separate the parents and/or raise the off-spring. You may need to
culture live foods and you will certainly need to monitor and care for your tanks.
It’s a good idea to keep notes on what you try in regards to the aspects discussed above.
It may take you some time to find the combination that will work, but if you are up for the
challenge, you will enjoy the effort.
First published September 2007 in The Animal Companion.
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