What are some easy fish to breed?

Hey fishlore.

My uncle recently got a pair of bettas to breed and seeing the fry got me inspired for my own breeding project. What are some fish that are easy to breed? And I'm not talking guppies. I want something fun and lively. I would like to do nano fish but up to medium size could be ok

 

Mollies and platys

 

I've only had guppy, molly and cory fry that I have raised up. Cory cats are especailly fun IMO cause if you set up a small 5-10 gallon and take the eggs from a bigger tank that the school is in you can literally watch them transform into their parents right before your eyes. Others i'd like to try eventually would definitely be Plecos, Rams, Angels and possibly other cichlids and maybe even some tetras.

 

If you have the space, I always thought it would be awesome to breed a species of Apistogramma. They make excellent parents

 

Corydoras.

 

Honey gouramis.

But to breed fish you will need a lot of time.

 

Honey gouramis.

But to breed fish you will need a lot of time.

And potentially spare tanks

 

My Cory's have doubled in population from breeding.

 

Platies, mollies, guppies. Swordtails I think too. They breed constantly

 

Pretty much any common livebearer honestly. They should also be fairly easy to sell. Just get a 10-20 gallon tank with some guppy grass, water wisteria, or other easy 'bushy' plants for the fry to hide in and you're good to go. Live plants are technically optional, just make sure you have something giving fry plenty of spaces to hide.

 

Hey guys. For everyone that answered, thanks for the great ideas.

I honestly am not a big fan of the livebearers, I had guppys and it was fun but now I'm thinking something that will let me explore a new side of the hobby.

I do have the time and the spare tanks for it.

Corydoras.

I've only had guppy, molly and cory fry that I have raised up. Cory cats are especailly fun IMO cause if you set up a small 5-10 gallon and take the eggs from a bigger tank that the school is in you can literally watch them transform into their parents right before your eyes. Others i'd like to try eventually would definitely be Plecos, Rams, Angels and possibly other cichlids and maybe even some tetras.

I've had cory cats before but how do I get them to spawn? I'm not sure mine ever did or maybe the other fish ate the eggs.

 

Shell dwellers! Not sure which species is best but they tend to community raise fry. You can start with a pair or trio and let them do their thing.

 

Shell dwellers! Not sure which species is best but they tend to community raise fry. You can start with a pair or trio and let them do their thing.

Now THAT is a good one.

 

Now THAT is a good one.

You'll just have to make sure your water is hard enough or add minerals.

I say BN plecos. I always always have baby plecos around. The only trouble with them is they are pooping machines, so you have to be diligent about changing water, but aside from that, I don't do a thing!

If you want fish to spawn, make sure they are well fed and water conditions are perfect. Perfect is not hard to achieve with water changes. For cories, after you have conditioned them, sometimes a water change with slightly cooler water to mimic the stormy season can send them into spawning mode.

 

I think the question you want to ask is - do you want fishes the just breed (like molly, plattys, corys,...) or do you want fishes that actually care for the frys ?

 

I think the question you want to ask is - do you want fishes the just breed (like molly, plattys, corys,...) or do you want fishes that actually care for the frys ?

Plecos take care of their babies, but I don't usually see it because they are in a cave. Agree though, it's amazing to witness parent fish caring for their young.

 

I think the question you want to ask is - do you want fishes the just breed (like molly, plattys, corys,...) or do you want fishes that actually care for the frys ?

I think it would be cool to see a fish that care for the fry but I'm up to raise the fry separately.

 

I just started breeding guppies but wanna try breeding white cloud mountain minnows, I hear they're easy and don't really have a problem with eating their fry plus they don't need a heater. I also wanna try breeding pea puffers and just about every other fish I have lol.

 

Kribensis chiclids (Pelvicachromis pulcher ) are fairly easy to breed and the parents take care of them.

 

Now THAT is a good one.

Prime Time aquatics does some videos on shell dwellers they're pretty big on them. They've got a 40 low boy for shell dwellers and it's such a cool tank. I'd check out his channel if you're thinking about it. Really great information and species profiles on lots of different shell dwellers.

 

I hear convicts are good parents n breed like crazy but I also hear they are hard to get rid of cause they are such prolific breeders and everyone has em n no one wants em. Never tried them. How about shrimp colonies, African dwarf frogs, the Cory’s once mature will usually splatter eggs all over the glass it’s hard to miss a cluster of Cory eggs usually... how about mystery snails... I think with a lot of research and time and effort you can breed a big majority of the fish we see and hear of on an everyday basis

 

I just started breeding guppies but wanna try breeding white cloud mountain minnows, I hear they're easy and don't really have a problem with eating their fry plus they don't need a heater. I also wanna try breeding pea puffers and just about every other fish I have lol.

Fortunately I don't have a problem with heaters. It's pretty tropical here in Brazil. Heaters are usually only needed on very cold years.

 

I hear convicts are good parents n breed like crazy but I also hear they are hard to get rid of cause they are such prolific breeders and everyone has em n no one wants em. Never tried them. How about shrimp colonies, African dwarf frogs, the Cory’s once mature will usually splatter eggs all over the glass it’s hard to miss a cluster of Cory eggs usually... how about mystery snails... I think with a lot of research and time and effort you can breed a big majority of the fish we see and hear of on an everyday basis

I'm pretty sure the frogs are illegal here in Brazil. I've had a very sucessful shrimp colony but for some reason I always end up loosing them once the colony is large and thriving. It's just incredibly bad luck. One time was due to a 4 day long power shortage while I was travelling and the other was due to a heater malfunction. I have around 8 in my community tank but I'm pretty sure the fish are eating the few babys that they produce.

 

Prime Time aquatics does some videos on shell dwellers they're pretty big on them. They've got a 40 low boy for shell dwellers and it's such a cool tank. I'd check out his channel if you're thinking about it. Really great information and species profiles on lots of different shell dwellers.

Thanks for the tip. I'll look them up to see if it peaks my interest.

 

Gouramis?

 

Gouramis?

Surprisingly gouramis are not the always easy to find. I see the blue ones quite often but I've only seen honey gouramis a couple of times.

I think I could go for them but I'm not the biggest fan. I would love sparkling gouramis but I've actually never seen one for sale anywhere.

 

Gouramis?

Now you got me thinking that maybe I can get sparkling gouramis special ordered. I'll check with my LFS and report back.

 

Hey fishlore.

My uncle recently got a pair of bettas to breed and seeing the fry got me inspired for my own breeding project. What are some fish that are easy to breed? And I'm not talking guppies. I want something fun and lively. I would like to do nano fish but up to medium size could be ok

Mollies, guppies, swordtails, etc. Pretty much any livebearer. + gouramis. LOL.

 

Mollies, guppies, swordtails, etc. Pretty much any livebearer. + gouramis. LOL.

I did breed guppies at a point. However, I'm not a big fan of the lifebearers. That's why I started the thread

 

I did breed guppies at a point. However, I'm not a big fan of the lifebearers. That's why I started the thread

I don't really like them either, I just know they breed like crazy. Zebre danios, firemouth cichlids, amaca splendens, and kribensis cichlids all breed pretty well

 

I don't really like them either, I just know they breed like crazy. Zebre danios, firemouth cichlids, amaca splendens, and kribensis cichlids all breed pretty well

Kibrensis would be a good option. I'm now thinking Blue Rams. I've seen them today at my LFS and they looked amazing. Still waiting on the answer for the sparkling gouramis

 

Mouth brooding African cichlids are fun because they keep the babies in their mouth.
Cheap cories breed like rabbits. If you want nano fish consider hastatus, they are good looking, small, and reproduce like cories.
Discus are cool because their babies feed off the parents body slime coat so you get a cloud of babies around the parent.
The mentioned shell dwellers seem cool. There are some at the LFS but I do not have a tank to put them in right now.
Hoplos. catfish that lay eggs in a bubble nest like a betta. They are inordinately aggressive while breeding so keep 1 male and 1 female alone in the breeding tank and remove her once the eggs are laid. By "inordinately aggressive" I mean "Do not put your arm in the tank."
My peas haven't bred yet so I can't tell you how well that works.

Are you prepared to go baby killer? I ask because some fish have higher cull rates than others. If you are against culling uglies, stay away from things like bettas. If you are just against culling any baby fish, even defectives, stay away from breeding... or again there are fish like your mouth brooder Africans, I suspect they cull their own defectives. No fuss, no muss, as long as you do not ask the fish too many questions about where Nemo went. I do not know if plecos do the same because what happens in cave, stays in cave.

Do keep in mind that cichlids have the hate in them to one degree or another and once they start breeding this can get turned up to 11.

 

Ricefish are fairly easy from what I've heard, cories are a blast as others have said. You could try some type of danios

 

Mouth brooding African cichlids are fun because they keep the babies in their mouth.
Cheap cories breed like rabbits. If you want nano fish consider hastatus, they are good looking, small, and reproduce like cories.
Discus are cool because their babies feed off the parents body slime coat so you get a cloud of babies around the parent.
The mentioned shell dwellers seem cool. There are some at the LFS but I do not have a tank to put them in right now.
Hoplos. catfish that lay eggs in a bubble nest like a betta. They are inordinately aggressive while breeding so keep 1 male and 1 female alone in the breeding tank and remove her once the eggs are laid. By "inordinately aggressive" I mean "Do not put your arm in the tank."

Are you prepared to go baby killer? I ask because some fish have higher cull rates than others. If you are against culling uglies, stay away from things like bettas. If you are just against culling any baby fish, even defectives, stay away from breeding... or again there are fish like your mouth brooder Africans, I suspect they cull their own defectives. No fuss, no muss, as long as you do not ask the fish too many questions about where Nemo went. I do not know if plecos do the same because what happens in cave, stays in cave.

Do keep in mind that cichlids have the hate in them to one degree or another and once they start breeding this can get turned up to 11.

I thought about Discus but I'm not sure about getting such a large tank right now. I rather stay with a smaller species.

As far as mouth brooders go I'm trying my luck in saltwater with banggaI cardinalfish however the clownfish are going really territorial and disrupting their normal behaviour.

And yes I'm ready to be a baby killer, I'm pretty sure a couple predator keeping friends would love a batch of babys to feed their monters.

 

Ricefish are fairly easy from what I've heard, cories are a blast as others have said. You could try some type of danios

Unfortunately ricefish are ilegal in Brazil. I assume it's because of the easy breeding. I thought about Danio margaritatus (Galaxy Rasboras) since they are so small I wouldn't need to allocate a lot of space for them.

 

Mouth brooding African cichlids are fun because they keep the babies in their mouth.
Cheap cories breed like rabbits. If you want nano fish consider hastatus, they are good looking, small, and reproduce like cories.
Discus are cool because their babies feed off the parents body slime coat so you get a cloud of babies around the parent.
The mentioned shell dwellers seem cool. There are some at the LFS but I do not have a tank to put them in right now.
Hoplos. catfish that lay eggs in a bubble nest like a betta. They are inordinately aggressive while breeding so keep 1 male and 1 female alone in the breeding tank and remove her once the eggs are laid. By "inordinately aggressive" I mean "Do not put your arm in the tank."
My peas haven't bred yet so I can't tell you how well that works.

Are you prepared to go baby killer? I ask because some fish have higher cull rates than others. If you are against culling uglies, stay away from things like bettas. If you are just against culling any baby fish, even defectives, stay away from breeding... or again there are fish like your mouth brooder Africans, I suspect they cull their own defectives. No fuss, no muss, as long as you do not ask the fish too many questions about where Nemo went. I do not know if plecos do the same because what happens in cave, stays in cave.

Do keep in mind that cichlids have the hate in them to one degree or another and once they start breeding this can get turned up to 11.

Discus fish do that? Ew. Should be called disgust fish. I do not understand how you think that is cool. No offense+LOL

 

Discus fish do that? Ew. Should be called disgust fish. I do not understand how you think that is cool. No offense+LOL.

If you hate that, you really do not want to know how baby humans feed. It will give you nightmares.

 

Mouth brooding African cichlids are fun because they keep the babies in their mouth.

Finally! It really took til the second page for someone to mention them?
Mbuna are like Guppies. Just in big, mean and with character.

 

If you hate that, you really do not want to know how baby humans feed. It will give you nightmares.

I'm sure it will, but eating slime off of someone, no thank you.

 

Get rams man ! Nothing will compare IMO ..
You breed and raise rams and everything else falls in line !
Discus are easier once you get the parents straight but will need bigger tanks every month .
Rams need to work through their issues in the beginning like disc but they require much smaller sets..
Live food isa must for raising the fry ..If you can do them I say go rams man !