Breeding Fish

[Sharpy1987]

I might be being totally dumb but I ask a serious question. I'm wanting to buy a pair of fish from a shop with the intention of breeding. Are the fish in the tank in the shop brother and sister?

 

[Tuxyu3]

There is a good chance of it, you would be better to get them at different times or from different places. I plan on attempting to breed my pearls one day so made sure to get them at a staggered pace, i think i got one every month or so until i had all three.

 

[fluttermoth]

Yes, they most probably will. Although inbreeding isn't normally a problem with fish, get your breeding stock from different shops (with different suppliers!) if you can.

 

[Sharpy1987]

I thought as much. Thank you for your response guys. I'm basically wanting a pair of Bolivian Rams. Looks like I'm going to have to get them from different shops. I now have the headache of which sex to add first and the timings between them?

 

[Tuxyu3]

Beware of the rams, they are not guaranteed to pair. As fluttermoth said inbreeding isn't as much of a problem with fish but causes more and more trouble down the line.

 

[Sharpy1987]

Yeh that's another issue I have mate. Getting a pair. Obviously it would be nice to add say 2-3 males and 2-3 females all from different shops and hope that I get at least a pair and then get rid of the others. However this is going to cost. It would be nice if you could return the fish for store credit. This is going to be harder than I thought

 

[Tuxyu3]

I think Rams do have quite a high chance of pairing as a pose to things such as Angelfish. If it was me I would be tempted to just get a male and a female and risk it. You could always buy a couple that have already paired, may be hard to find and more expensive though.