Please give your suggestions...easiest (non-livebearer) fish to spawn

[GaryE]

I'm basing the low survival rate on what I've heard online (a lot of celebrations of receiving coccina types, and then...) and observations in my local club. In that - no sensible person buys just one wild betta, and losing part of a pair or group is considered losing them to me.
In the similar albimarginata, when I've bred them, I did a couple of generations, but not one of the fish I distributed in our club was ever bred. The fact I was still breeding them says they were healthy stock, but while people got excited about getting them, six months later they were nowhere to be seen.
About a week ago, I was looking at a list like the one you posted, and decided to spend my Canadian dollars on other fish. Those bettas and licorices were soooo tempting. But the availability is there, and people buy them or they wouldn't be listed. I think you'll find you've chosen a difficult specialized corner of the hobby. I also think you'll do well. I expect you'll be that one in ten.

 

[betta4ever!]

I'm basing the low survival rate on what I've heard online (a lot of celebrations of receiving coccina types, and then...) and observations in my local club. In that - no sensible person buys just one wild betta, and losing part of a pair or group is considered losing them to me.

Yeah I see those '' well they jumped out'' posts way too often too... so you might be right on 1 in 10...

In the similar albimarginata, when I've bred them, I did a couple of generations, but not one of the fish I distributed in our club was ever bred. The fact I was still breeding them says they were healthy stock, but while people got excited about getting them, six months later they were nowhere to be seen.

That's too bad knowing that you put all this effort in them and they're just lost! yikes.

I think you'll find you've chosen a difficult specialized corner of the hobby. I also think you'll do well. I expect you'll be that one in ten.

That means a LOT coming from someone like you... Thanks... I really hope I can live up to your expectations then

 

[GaryE]

My expectations don't matter! hey, it's the internet and you could claim to breed millions and who would know? I could be an 11 year old tightrope walker from Antarctica with a frozen goldfish in a waterproof hat.

But you have a studious eye for these things, and while that guarantees nothing, it increases your chances greatly. They aren't fish for impulse buyers.

 

[betta4ever!]

My expectations don't matter! hey, it's the internet and you could claim to breed millions and who would know? I could be an 11 year old tightrope walker from Antarctica with a frozen goldfish in a waterproof hat.

Haha true enough I guess!

But you have a studious eye for these things, and while that guarantees nothing, it increases your chances greatly. They aren't fish for impulse buyers.

Only time will tell... but it still means a lot to me, I'm pretty sure you're not an 11 year old tightrope walker from Antarctica with a frozen goldfish in a waterproof hat, but a very very experienced fishkeeper, lol

 

[davros]

Haha true enough I guess!

Only time will tell... but it still means a lot to me, I'm pretty sure you're not an 11 year old tightrope walker from Antarctica with a frozen goldfish in a waterproof hat, but a very very experienced fishkeeper, lol

Well, maybe a 55+ yr old tightrope walker ( describes teaching good enough) from somewhere almost as cold...

 

[betta4ever!]

Well, maybe a 55+ yr old tightrope walker ( describes teaching good enough) from somewhere almost as cold...

 

[ChasingFish]

When I was down to just one male and one female Bristle before one of them died, the final spawn was over 100 eggs and most of them were viable.

I work with Hypancsitrus now and having sold three of my 7 breeding groups last year and I still have over 200 assorted size offspring. The nl;y produce about 15 eggs per spawn with most being viable. 20 is a big deal and a dozen is not that rare either.

I never set out to spawn my fish. It just turns out my well water apparently contain a natural aphrodiseac for softer water fish. I have anegel, discus, 3 different danio species, 3 small rainbow species, rosy barbs, bristlenose, one farlowella species, P. nicholsi, sterbai, aeneus, and a couple more corys, P, compta, 5 species of Hypancistrus all spawn. And only 10 of them were species I was hoping and trying to get to spawn.

A lot of being successful at spawning fish depends on the parameters of your water. Pretty much all fish want to spawn. So our job is not to do things that might discourage or prevent this. After that it is diet. We control it and for most fish it need to be good quality and the right food. After water params diet is likely the most important factor for getting spawns for fish.

Farlowella vitatta dad keeping the eggs clean. This was my high tech CO2 added planted tank. I just got 3 farlos because they look so neat and they eat algae. The spawns were a bonus.

View attachment 310361

Spawn something you like and that is happy to be in your water params. Feed them a high quality diet and give them the proper living conditions and you can watch them multiply

Great advice, thanks!

 

[ChasingFish]

Why "easiest"?

Thinking about it, if you want a fish to breed, you first find out if it can breed in captivity, or in your water. And then, if you really like that fish, you go for it. Easy success with a boring fish is dull. You get a lot of them, and so what? You're emptying the tank out before you know it. It's more fun if things are a little difficult, but possible.

If you get Betta coccina, uou may have a 1 in 10 chance of keeping them alive, and 1 in 100 of breeding them. But what a test of skill if you succeed. That's a good feeling. You should go for good feelings, and all the frustrations of failure that lead to them.

Why easiest? Because I'm new to breeding/spawning egg scatterers...and it would be nice to know which ones will just do it if they are in a heavily planted species tank. I do plan to try the more challenging ones, and totally agree that they are probably most fulfilling. Also, agree with the person who said to "breed what likes your water parameters"...

Long story short, I now have 22 tanks and need to get serious about trying to make some monthly income from my hobby.

 

[Alice B]

I don't own killifish..

ooops

 

[Ellie Potts]

My triple red cockatoo apistos (beautiful fish) bred like crazyyy in a community tank with a cave, good water parameters, and a lot of plants. But I don't know if that's the norm

 

[ChasingFish]

Love to hear that, added to my list, thank you.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

@ChasingFish

When I had bristlenose spawning like crazy it was a losing proposition. Most people may want to get one or two bn very few want 6 or more. And most of them are inexpensive fish depending on which co;or or fin morph is involved. If you cand out a box of fish and you are being paid $30 ($10 each) for 3 bn, what do you really make? What was the cost to get the fish being sold> Lets say it was $2/fish. So that $10 price is now $2. You can charge for shipping but most do not charge for the box and styro let alone a heat or cold pack. I make my own boxes and it it will cost you at least $4 for a small box. That leaves $4. Now you have spent a nymber of hours of your time so in the end you are making $2/hour.

Even if you have boxes from fish sent to you and you charge for heat or cold packs, you have to buy bags> I add a piece of Poly Filter to all my bags as it absorebs anmmonia and organics amoung other things. But even if you had 0 cost you have still spant at least 2 hour to get the fish out the door. That works out to $5/hour. Any more time and it is even less. It makes more sense to work part time at Burger King (or similar) and use the greater amount of money you would make to pay for the hobby.

What I have had spawning in my tanks since 2006 are expensive Hypancistrus plecos. One box of six fish going out brings in more profit than a year's worth of bn. But the problem is how much it costs to acquire the fish to spawn. To buy my first grop of proven breeding zebra plecos I had to break into my IRA to pay for them. So there were income taxes and a penalty on top of the cost of the fish.

It is fine to learn on the "cheap" fish, but hard to make an money on them. Also, it helps if you work with fish which you keep for yourself as well. I had zebra plecos for a few years before I even considered spawning this species. I have a weakness for the smaller B&W Hypans and could never help myself when the next even more expensive ones would become available. I just got them.

Besides figuring out what you want to try to spawn, you also need to have a plan for how and where you will sell them. And part of this involves how many offspring are in one spawn and how often will you get a spawn.

The most important part of it all is that you enjoy doing it. Part of what edge me into spawning things was my curiosity about the different ways fish spawn and how the young go from egg to free swimming. Pairs, egg scatterers, caves spawners, mouth brooders, bubble nests, live bearers etc. were all things I wanted to see in person. The two things I never got to see were discus fry eating the slime coats off of their parents and splash tetras which leap out of the water to spawn on an overhanging leaf.

One last observation. Fish have been reproducing in my tanks almost from day one. I still remember how excited I was when I saw a pair of tiny eyes staring up at me from the floating plants. It was a baby swordtail. That was the first time I did the happy fish dance. 23 years later when I shine my flashlight into a pleco cave and see the dad is on a new bacth of eggs, I stlll do the dance, just a bit slower and more carefully. Have fun with it.

 

[ChasingFish]

@ChasingFish

When I had bristlenose spawning like crazy it was a losing proposition. Most people may want to get one or two bn very few want 6 or more. And most of them are inexpensive fish depending on which co;or or fin morph is involved. If you cand out a box of fish and you are being paid $30 ($10 each) for 3 bn, what do you really make? What was the cost to get the fish being sold> Lets say it was $2/fish. So that $10 price is now $2. You can charge for shipping but most do not charge for the box and styro let alone a heat or cold pack. I make my own boxes and it it will cost you at least $4 for a small box. That leaves $4. Now you have spent a nymber of hours of your time so in the end you are making $2/hour.

Even if you have boxes from fish sent to you and you charge for heat or cold packs, you have to buy bags> I add a piece of Poly Filter to all my bags as it absorebs anmmonia and organics amoung other things. But even if you had 0 cost you have still spant at least 2 hour to get the fish out the door. That works out to $5/hour. Any more time and it is even less. It makes more sense to work part time at Burger King (or similar) and use the greater amount of money you would make to pay for the hobby.

What I have had spawning in my tanks since 2006 are expensive Hypancistrus plecos. One box of six fish going out brings in more profit than a year's worth of bn. But the problem is how much it costs to acquire the fish to spawn. To buy my first grop of proven breeding zebra plecos I had to break into my IRA to pay for them. So there were income taxes and a penalty on top of the cost of the fish.

It is fine to learn on the "cheap" fish, but hard to make an money on them. Also, it helps if you work with fish which you keep for yourself as well. I had zebra plecos for a few years before I even considered spawning this species. I have a weakness for the smaller B&W Hypans and could never help myself when the next even more expensive ones would become available. I just got them.

Besides figuring out what you want to try to spawn, you also need to have a plan for how and where you will sell them. And part of this involves how many offspring are in one spawn and how often will you get a spawn.

The most important part of it all is that you enjoy doing it. Part of what edge me into spawning things was my curiosity about the different ways fish spawn and how the young go from egg to free swimming. Pairs, egg scatterers, caves spawners, mouth brooders, bubble nests, live bearers etc. were all things I wanted to see in person. The two things I never got to see were discus fry eating the slime coats off of their parents and splash tetras which leap out of the water to spawn on an overhanging leaf.

One last observation. Fish have been reproducing in my tanks almost from day one. I still remember how excited I was when I saw a pair of tiny eyes staring up at me from the floating plants. It was a baby swordtail. That was the first time I did the happy fish dance. 23 years later when I shine my flashlight into a pleco cave and see the dad is on a new bacth of eggs, I stlll do the dance, just a bit slower and more carefully. Have fun with it.

I hear ya. Unlikely to be profitable, but if enjoyable, and a little less costly....still worth it

 

[WhistlingBadger]

I've had good breeding success with pearl gouramis, firemouth cichlids, Betta imbellis. Give them what they want in a species tank, and you're likely to get babies growing up.

 

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Angelfish.