How to Breed Aquarium Fish Successfully

For aquarium hobbyists, few things compare to seeing the wonder of a selected pair of fish mating, producing fry, and raising them to maturity. It produces a sense of accomplishment as well as extra fish to keep or share. Read on to discover how to select, feed, and house aquarium fish for breeding.

Know Your Fish’s Needs

Different fish require different aquarium setups. One of the challenges of breeding aquarium fish—not simply keeping them healthy and robust—is developing an environment that’s as similar to the fish’s natural habitat as possible. Find literature on the fish you want that goes into great depth about aquarium setups, foods, and types of plants to include. The books should also include information about things such as the number of hiding places fish require and their specific water needs.

Select the Breeding Pair

Choose one adult fish of each sex. Make sure they’re healthy, and look for the most vibrant colors. The first step—determining the fish’s biological sex—can be trickier than spotting the genitalia differences in other animals. The biological differences can vary greatly among species, but a few common traits do exist. Take cichlids, for example. The females tend to possess rounded bodies and vents that are less pronounced, while the males are more vibrantly colored and occasionally have little head humps. Look for your breeding pairs in late winter or early spring. On fish farms, a spring feeling is introduced to entice fish for spring breeding.

Choose Food for the Mood

Fish that are about to spawn need plenty of protein to build up their reserves for the arduous time to come. Females become loaded with greater amounts of eggs or spawn. Provide breeding fish with an abundance of nourishing food that is high in protein, and feed them more often than the fish in your community freshwater aquarium. Optimally, feed the male and frozen Mysis shrimp, a food loaded with Hufa3 and packed with rich proteins. This food has been used in hundreds of successful breeding laboratories around the world. Make sure to feed at least twice to three times a day. Another food to supplement every third to fourth feeding is Sustainable Aquatics Dry Hatchery Diet. https://www.aquaticwarehouse.com/food-for-fish-and-invertibrates/sustainable-aquatics-dry-hatchery-diet-12mm

Keep the Spawning Fish Separate at First

Keep the male and female in the same tank, but divide them with a partition, preferably a clear glass one so they’re in full view of each other (decorations aside) at all times. This process is called conditioning, which builds up the need to breed when the opportunity arises. During this time, keep the temperature of the spawning tank about four degrees Fahrenheit above the temperature at which the community aquarium is generally maintained (+ 2-3 degrees above normal for saltwater). Make necessary adjustments gradually from the community tank to the spawning tank, allowing the spawners time to acclimate.

Breeding fish can be a rewarding experience for any fish lover. If you follow the steps above, you may soon find yourself with healthy new generations of finned friends to love. The experts at Aquatic Warehouse, San Diego’s premier aquarium supplier, can answer all your questions about setup, feeding, and anything else you need to know about breeding your fish. Stop by our store in Kearny Mesa or call us today at 858-467-9297.