What Makes A Breeder Tank A Breeder?

What makes it different than let’s say a twenty long or high?

 

I asked the same question, and it's mostly because the tank is very short, for ease of maintenance on it, making it easy to breed fish.
The dimensions also allow a lot of space for fish to move around, while the keeper can reach into it more easily than he could on a 20 high.

 

Nothing really. It's just a name. It's a great tank to use not for breeding if that's what you're wondering.

Probably got the name because it's also a good breeding dimension. It's not too deep and has a big footprint. It's good for fish who cover ground rather than swim vertically.

 

There IS a difference. Breeders are much longer than their same gallon counterparts. That also means that they are not nearly as tall.

ETA: The length is particularly good for very active fish, giving them much more swimming room (since most aren't really swimming vertically!).

 

It has to do with its shape. That is, not so much for show like a tall tank, as much as providing better water surface area for a larger population of fish.
Water only exchanges gases at its surface area, or top of the tank. That is it releases CO2 and absorbs O2, exchanging carbon dioxide for oxygen at its surface. The larger the surface area is the better the exchange of gases. Fish need oxygen to breath in the water for survival just like humans need oxygen to breath in the air. So the larger the surface area the faster the water exchanges these gases. Air stones that release bubbles in the water are not putting oxygen directly into the water produced by the air pump. What air stones are doing is providing more surface area for gas exchange. Also to help bring old water up from the bottom to the top to help exchange gases.

So a breeder tank will hold lots of babies until they reach a certain age, and they need lots of oxygen in the water.

In my opinion a breeder tank makes a great home aquarium, better then many show tanks with those tall glass sides.

 

Breeder tanks are shorter than show tanks, and have more surface area, Examples, a 20 gallon long is considered a breeder tank, 12"x12"x30" A 20 gallon show is 12" 17"x 24". so you gain an extra 6" of surface area,

 

Thanks, that never made since to me, so a twenty long essentially is a twenty breeder

 

It’s just a name that people came up with to differentiate from the standard sizes. Wouldn’t a 40 breeder sound a lot more marketable than if it were called a 40 deluxe? I think so.

 

It’s just a name that people came up with to differentiate from the standard sizes. Wouldn’t a 40 breeder sound a lot more marketable than if it were called a 40 deluxe? I think so.

Then my question is why build them, to be so different that they had to be given a special name.
Unless they where build for a purpose, like breeding.......

 

Its a breeder if you're breeding in it.

 

Then my question is why build them, to be so different that they had to be given a special name.
Unless they where build for a purpose, like breeding.......

Maybe we’re both right. I’m looking at things from both a business and marketing perspective.

Thanks, that never made since to me, so a twenty long essentially is a twenty breeder

No, a 20 long is a 20 long, just as a 20 high and 20 standard have their own specific dimensions. The same with a tank called a breeder. Companies are labeling the various dimensions for inventory, sale, and marketing purposes. Like I said before, they probably had to come up with a name for a specific aquarium dimension (40 breeder, for instance), and they picked the word breeder, for whatever reason. Maybe it was indeed made specifically for breeding purposes, but I don’t think so.

 

Maybe we’re both right. I’m looking at things from both a business and marketing perspective.


No, a 20 long is a 20 long, just as a 20 high and 20 standard have their own specific dimensions. The same with a tank called a breeder. Companies are labeling the various dimensions for inventory, sale, and marketing purposes. Like I said before, they probably had to come up with a name for a specific aquarium dimension (40 breeder, for instance), and they picked the word breeder, for whatever reason. Maybe it was indeed made specifically for breeding purposes, but I don’t think so.

After considering what you are saying, you are right.
But more surface area does allow for more gas exchange, that is why I considered the 40 to be a good breeding tank over a show tank of the same basic size.
Correct me if I am wrong, but it seems to me that getting stuff like glass lids with or without installed lighting are much harder to find for a 40 gallon breeder.
This also lead me to believe they where meant more for the commercial breeding market.

 

I agree. Lids and stands are much less common for 40G breeders than say 55Gs, 75Gs, 20G longs, etc.

Most lights are adjustable so those are everywhere.

 

Breeders tend to be used more by reptile owners in the private market, so you can get screen lids and supplies. But yeah, for display aquariums it is HARD to track down deals on everything. I have a complete 40 breeder dsiplay set up, with stand, lid and hood, but it cost a minor fortune (a complete 125 was less on sale!) And it took two months for everything to be special ordered.

 

The original breeder tanks were square, they had measurements like 24"x24"x12" and 30"x 30"x 14". They were used by professional breeders and whole sale because the held a lot of fish and don't take up as much room as a standard tank. I ran a whole sale fish room that had 1000 24"x24"x12" that were stacked 3 tanks high. The 20 long and 40 breeders took on the name "breeder" because it sounds good and they have some of the short wide ratios that the true breeder tanks had, when those tanks first came out they were just a 20l and a 40 gallon and they're very easy to get glass tops and lights for.