Best fish to breed for someone getting back into hobby

[AlexT]

I used to have floating plants for that with my guppies and platys as I found for the first few days/week that was the best chance to survive. You have lots of options for that. Elodea densa is usually cheap (ish) and can be used as a floating plant. Hornwort as well I believe is easy and cheap. Amazon frogbit might work as well if you can get some in and grow it first for the roots, check @seangee tanks for how that looks. I ordered amazon frogbit 2 weeks ago and it has doubled in size with lots of long roots.

 

[BigJfish12]

Thanks Alex appreciate your help

 

[seangee]

To your original question, since you mention bristlenoses in your other thread, why not BNs?

 

[BigJfish12]

Would that be a suitable tank size for BN's to breed along with guppies? And also like a mentioned before I found them very good at uprooting plant. Also want to go down a different path of fish to what I have had before

 

[AlexT]

In terms of plants to protect livebearer fry, you could also consider water sprite as a floater. @Colin_T just made reference to this plant in another thread. Blanket weed / silk weed is another option on substrate base. A biggish clump.

 

[10 Tanks]

Hello. Floating plants will work for sheltering fry. The best way to ensure a large number survive is to feed all the fish a little more and more often. If the adult fish are getting enough food, they're much less likely to go after the fry. And, the added food will allow the fry to grow faster. Just make sure you remove and replace more tank water to maintain good water conditions.

10 Tanks (Now 11)

 

[Oddball59]

Hello all,
I was into fish keeping some years ago and active on this forum before getting out of the hobby as I decided it was getting too expensive and wasting too much time as I had 5 tanks. I am now looking at getting back into the hobby on a smaller scale. I am wondering what fish you recommend if a begginer to intermediate hobbiest wants to breed? Still yet to work out what water parameters and such but just want a few ideas thrown out there. Am even going with a small pond which in that case it would be goldfish or a 64 liter tank I have stored away.

Kia Ora, Welcome back. Live breeders will always be the best, and if you go for say a couple of pair of endler tiger guppies,

https://aquariumfishonline.com.au/product/tiger-endler-guppy-male-female-pair-2-3cm/

which are beautiful, they fly off the shelves you would be able to sell them or take shop credit at your LFS. Easily done, when the female is ready to give birth buy a cheap floating or hang on breeder tank to float in your main tank, and the fry will survive and grow, if not and you have a community tank there'll just be a lot of small free food swimming around ;-) and you can remove the female as soon as the fry are free swimming. Just research your fry foods one people often miss is egg yolk boiled and crushed into water and added as a starter food. But the other suggestions the guys have said are all good.
If you want to keep the fry then give them something quite dense to hide in.

 

[Oddball59]

Would neon tetra or rummy nose tetra eat the fry of other fish such as guppies or white cloud Mountain minnows

Yes mate.

 

[BigJfish12]

Thanks @Oddball59

 

[Oddball59]

Yes mate.

It all depends on your goal mate. I've made a bit of cash selling bred fish, look around the LFS if you want to do that and see what is a good price on the shelf, and if you can go and breed them. As I said before The Endler Tiger Guppies are really popular and really easy to breed and go for a good price. If you want to sell them then you have to minimise your losses, so a breeding tank in the main tank is good to mature them a bit before letting them into the main tank, or you could buy a nano tank and set it up just for bred fish, or to breed fish that may not make it in some tanks.

LOL if you started with a couple of dozen guppies in a tank, with good plants for the fry to hide in you'll have hundreds by the end of a year! if you have a good quality a lot of shops will buy them, but they have to want them!
Somethings are easier than you might think and sell ok, like rams, Cory's, any live bearer. Check out this guy...

https://www.youtube.com/@KeepingFishSimple

He's really good at breaking things down, and he isn't "shy" with his methods. Probably a good channel to give you an idea or two.

But if you really want to keep them all get something like this..

Amazon.co.uk

Thats just an example of dozens, some stick on with suckers, some clip on the side of the tank. Some like this one which I prefer floats. As I say give them chance to be beyond lunch size before releasing them. I love it.... it's great fun watching the cycle and seeing the little wrigglers come from eggs, or live ones been born. You can spend hours just glued to the tank. I think you have to be much more careful with egg layers as they are like Macdonalds for a lot of fish! But again you can move the eggs if you're careful and put them safely in a breeding environment. Some fish just lay their eggs and clear off... like Cory's, other fish like Rams are very protective and can be territorial and aggressive, but it only takes one time for both parents to leave the hatching spot, like half a coconut or a little cave where they can keep the fry safe, and thats that! I know I probably sound technical a wee bit, but I sincerely don't believe we have tank systems... We must have tank habitats. They're little lives and we are responsible. Hope this helps and I hope I'm not teaching you to suck eggs... apologies if I am. But as with anything... research, and then research some more. Good luck BigJ... and welcome back. Don't get bogged down with technicalities it's all about enjoyment, and peace and a great hobby with great people around in it. Kia Kaha. Phil.

 

[BigJfish12]

Thanks very much

 

[Gamegurl564]

Kribensis, very easy to breed but be prepared for a lot quickly

 

[AlexT]

How are you getting on @BigJfish12 ? Have you made any decisions yet?

 

[BigJfish12]

Going to start with something very simple...which will be guppies and red cherry shrimp and maybe bristlenose plecos

 

[BigJfish12]

Plan on getting them within the next week