What's next?

[GuppyBreeder180604]

or maybe in the 20 gallons, you could do a pair of betta macrostoma, a paternal mouthbrooder with excellent baby care, they are better kept in pairs that they form naturally (like angelfish, discus, or snakeheads) they will not fight nor be aggressive towards each other and even tho the male is the only one who cares for the brood the female can (and should) be left in the same aquarium and the male will not chase nor attack her and she won't eat the babies, so you would only have to take the babies out once their dad starts to kick them out.

 

[itiwhetu]

I know a guy who breeds Koi Angels with HIGH orange coverage and they go for quite a bit. Unfortunately, I do not have the tank space to breed Angelfish or I definitely would. I need to breed something a bit smaller.

Can you explain your recommendation for breeding whiptail catfish? Looks like they are pretty easy to breed and have a wide range of acceptable water tolerance and a lower price point which to me would make it a less appealing fish to breed. They are very cool looking!

In New Zealand whiptails retail for between $40-60 a fish. They are easy to breed, don't bother their young so you can breed them and raise the young with a single tank.

 

[kribensis12]

In New Zealand whiptails retail for between $40-60 a fish. They are easy to breed, don't bother their young so you can breed them and raise the young with a single tank.

I see. Unless I did not do my research properly, it looks like they range in price from $10-20 per fish.

They are pretty cool looking!

 

[kribensis12]

oh, then go for some of the rarer plecos, if you can fit a 30 gallon in your fish room then you could try going for some hypancistrus contradens or some hypancistrus debillittera l129, they are the same to breed as bristle noses but with more meat and fewer veggies in their diet

or maybe in the 20 gallons, you could do a pair of betta macrostoma, a paternal mouthbrooder with excellent baby care, they are better kept in pairs that they form naturally (like angelfish, discus, or snakeheads) they will not fight nor be aggressive towards each other and even tho the male is the only one who cares for the brood the female can (and should) be left in the same aquarium and the male will not chase nor attack her and she won't eat the babies, so you would only have to take the babies out once their dad starts to kick them out.

Thanks for the suggestions.

The Contradens are super cool looking, but it seems that they only breed 3-4 times per year and are very slow growers. I'm not sure that's something I'd want.

The debillittera are also unique, but around here they don't seem to be going for enough to make much profit.

The macrostoma are SUPER cool but I am afraid the high price is more than I can invest at this time - and it appears that the males are notorious for eating their eggs and that these fish are hard to come by due to the threatened species status.

I'm thinking that these options are not the right fit for me.

 

[GuppyBreeder180604]

The macrostoma are SUPER cool but I am afraid the high price is more than I can invest at this time

that's understandable, they can cost a pretty penny maybe in the future you could try them.

and it appears that the males are notorious for eating their eggs

that is the reason why the female should be left in the tank even after mating, a lot of breeders take her out after the eggs have been taken up by the father just like we do with betta splendens and that is when the mistake happens. The males tend to be quite nervous when holding the eggs in their mouths so any sign of "danger" (even if there is no real one) makes them swallow them since they think "id rather my eggs become food for me and fuel me than to become food for predators and fuel them" which is something quite common amongst animals.
As such when you scoop the female out the male just witnessed his wife get swooped out by a strange object and so he thinks that with such a "predator" lurking around his babies won't make it anyways so he swallows the eggs. Just keep the female in the tank (since they choose to be life-long partners they will not attack each other when not breeding unlike B. splendens and the female will not attempt to eat the fry once again unlike B. splendens), make the tank species only and keep their aquarium away from doors, windows, hallways, TVs, or any other foreign object that causes lots of movement and noise, and be careful and stealthy when working or being near the aquarium, this should stop the male from eating or dropping the eggs, the same applies for other paternal mouthbrooding bettas like B. channoides.

 

[kribensis12]

that's understandable, they can cost a pretty penny maybe in the future you could try them.

that is the reason why the female should be left in the tank even after mating, a lot of breeders take her out after the eggs have been taken up by the father just like we do with betta splendens and that is when the mistake happens. The males tend to be quite nervous when holding the eggs in their mouths so any sign of "danger" (even if there is no real one) makes them swallow them since they think "id rather my eggs become food for me and fuel me than to become food for predators and fuel them" which is something quite common amongst animals.
As such when you scoop the female out the male just witnessed his wife get swooped out by a strange object and so he thinks that with such a "predator" lurking around his babies won't make it anyways so he swallows the eggs. Just keep the female in the tank (since they choose to be life-long partners they will not attack each other when not breeding unlike B. splendens and the female will not attempt to eat the fry once again unlike B. splendens), make the tank species only and keep their aquarium away from doors, windows, hallways, TVs, or any other foreign object that causes lots of movement and noise, and be careful and stealthy when working or being near the aquarium, this should stop the male from eating or dropping the eggs, the same applies for other paternal mouthbrooding bettas like B. channoides.

Thanks for sharing that information! They seem super cool! I looked up the channoids and they are awesome!

Any other suggestions from my fellow forum-ers? Looking to solidify my choice by the first/second week of January.

 

[otterblue]

Not cichlids, but I LOVE my scarlet badis. If you can actually find a female and breed them, I think a lot of hobbyists would pay $20+ for a female since they are almost impossible to find. (Josh's Frogs is selling "probable females" for $15.)

They have quickly become my favorite fish: interesting, "smart", social and unique. They're great fish just to own and observe.

 

[kribensis12]

Not cichlids, but I LOVE my scarlet badis. If you can actually find a female and breed them, I think a lot of hobbyists would pay $20+ for a female since they are almost impossible to find. (Josh's Frogs is selling "probable females" for $15.)

They have quickly become my favorite fish: interesting, "smart", social and unique. They're great fish just to own and observe.

I've seen that these are growing in popularity!

So it seems that males, at an LFS, might sell for $5 but females can go for $20?


It sounds to me like demand of females is low (because of coloration) but demand of males is high, but they are worth less. Is that accurate?

 

[GuppyBreeder180604]

Thanks for sharing that information! They seem super cool! I looked up the channoids and they are awesome!

Any other suggestions from my fellow forum-ers? Looking to solidify my choice by the first/second week of January.

I just got another idea!
Reticulated hillstream loaches.
They are easy to breed and easy to keep and they can live in a 20 gallon long.
you just need a sandy substrate with big round river rocks and some wood, some strong lighting, cold water, and a river manifold filter.
they are herbivores and eat like otocinclus, they can live in a colony and they will not eat their eggs or their fry

 

[otterblue]

I've seen that these are growing in popularity!

So it seems that males, at an LFS, might sell for $5 but females can go for $20?


It sounds to me like demand of females is low (because of coloration) but demand of males is high, but they are worth less. Is that accurate?

Scarlet badis males are far more colorful but I think the lack of females is purposeful - so that they can't be bred and have to be imported. I might be wrong, but there are plenty of other fish with drab females that are readily available.

Since the supply of females is so low, demand could be high. I would gladly pay $20+ for a confirmed female & people that have scarlet badis seek females like it's the Holy Grail.

A sexed pair sold on Aqua Bid for $85.

 

[otterblue]

If I bred scarlet badis I would sell the males to the LFS and sell the females on-line to hobbyists because some of them would pay a lot.

 

[kribensis12]

So here I am, resurrecting this old thread. I have not decided yet.

Any thoughts on breeding harder to find, high dollar guppies? My first thought is "they are so easy to breed, there is no way" but then I start to look online and man there are some super cool ones out there that do sell for quite a bit.

I'm particularly partial to ones such as the 24k Gold Guppies and quite a few others.

It seems to me that people see really pretty guppies and are more willing to spend the money on them than some more diverse types of fish because at it's very basis, guppies are "familiar" and for the average aquarist makes them think that they can keep exceptionally beautiful fish without having to do the maintenance to match. Just trying to understand the market more.

Thoughts?

@emeraldking