75 Gallon Tank What species could I breed in a 75g

Hello!

I would like to discuss what my options are for breeding fish In a 75g tank.
I’ve breed live bearers in the past and worked in a clownfish breeding facility in college and I want to get back into the fish breeding scene.

im curious what my options are
I have a fluval 407 canister filter for the 75 g tank. If possible I’d like to profit off the breeding but I don’t expect to with only one tank set up.
I’m not worried about plants or about secondary containers for the fry just yet, I’ll set that up after I determine a species to breed. I want opinions on what species and how many adults I should get. Preferably freshwater or brackish. I’d like it to be a single species tank as well.

Saltwater i would like to avoid for cost purposes.

 

Quite a few of the mid size cichild like angels, festum, various species of acara and so forth could easily be bred in a 75. There are 100's of options - in terms of purchase - for example angelfishes I would buy 6 dime size grow them out and when a pair forms remove the others. I'd try to get them from different places so your not breeding brother and sister (stronger genetics).

Conversely you could buy 20 cories of your favorite species and breed them; this would require a specific tank layout to keep the eggs from being eaten (and frankly a 20 long would be easier). Some cories are quite expensive (eques, orange/green laser (colour morph of aenus), zebra cory (cw??? - maybe 128)

You could breed swordtails or guppies - there are 1000's of options perhaps narrow the question a bit ?

 

I always recommend Dwarf Cichlid's when you have a decent size tank and are just getting back at it.

-Apistogramma (so many to choose from)

-Bolivian Rams & German Blue Rams & Black Rams

- Nannacara Anomala
(they are complete nut jobs but in large groups in heavily planted tanks they can work and breeding will happen)

Just a couple lol

 

Quite a few of the mid size cichild like angels, festum, various species of acara and so forth could easily be bred in a 75. There are 100's of options - in terms of purchase - for example angelfishes I would buy 6 dime size grow them out and when a pair forms remove the others. I'd try to get them from different places so your not breeding brother and sister (stronger genetics).

Conversely you could buy 20 cories of your favorite species and breed them; this would require a specific tank layout to keep the eggs from being eaten (and frankly a 20 long would be easier). Some cories are quite expensive (eques, orange/green laser (colour morph of aenus), zebra cory (cw??? - maybe 128)

You could breed swordtails or guppies - there are 1000's of options perhaps narrow the question a bit ?

To narrow it down I think I’d want to breed something that is going to breed regularly maybe every couple months but not breed so exesivly that I have a trillion baby guppies taking up all my free time. Maybe more along the cichlid route.

 

You could ask your local shops about the demand for shellies. Neolamprologus multifarious the smallest ( almost) cichlid in the hobby is extremely easy to breed and in my town hold their value with a steady supply of customers wanting them.

Yes a 75 is a lot bigger than necessary to house this species. Yes I have had a colony of dozens in a 22 gallon. However I always wanted to have a long tank set up for these guys with shells at each end of the tank and rocks in the middle. There by having two separate colonies with two separate breeding territories. Just for my enjoyment of watching the interaction between the groups.
These fish move tons of sand around. 5 inches of sand is the minimum if you want to watch them play.

You need to establish your towns ” market “ .
As Linda1234 wrote blue acara can be breed in smaller tanks. But from personal experience there is no point in having 75 or more young fry growing out regularly if your town has no demand for 5 inch species of soft water cichlids?

I have Bolivian ram fry and nannacara anomala fry at the moment . In my town I know there is little demand for the nannacara and Bolivians are sold cheap in all chain stores .
When I had 100s of juvenile neon blue acara I could not sell them for money or store cerdit and was giving them away to shops selling them for $30 Australian.

Short answer.
Find out what your town wants.
Or do it for fun.

Many shops in my town ask me to breed plain old boring BN plecos. I have zero interest in breeding them again and again. Especially knowing I will get very little money for all the work.
BN need multiple tanks however?

I suggest you breed what you enjoy watching. That is why the shellies come to mind?

 

You could ask your local shops about the demand for shellies. Neolamprologus multifarious the smallest ( almost) cichlid in the hobby is extremely easy to breed and in my town hold their value with a steady supply of customers wanting them.

Yes a 75 is a lot bigger than necessary to house this species. Yes I have had a colony of dozens in a 22 gallon. However I always wanted to have a long tank set up for these guys with shells at each end of the tank and rocks in the middle. There by having two separate colonies with two separate breeding territories. Just for my enjoyment of watching the interaction between the groups.
These fish move tons of sand around. 5 inches of sand is the minimum if you want to watch them play.

You need to establish your towns ” market “ .
As Linda1234 wrote blue acara can be breed in smaller tanks. But from personal experience there is no point in having 75 or more young fry growing out regularly if your town has no demand for 5 inch species of soft water cichlids?

I have Bolivian ram fry and nannacara anomala fry at the moment . In my town I know there is little demand for the nannacara and Bolivians are sold cheap in all chain store.
When I had 100s of juvenile neon blue acara I could not sell them for money or store cerdit.

Short answer.
Find out what your town wants.
Or do it for fun.

Many shops in my town ask me to breed plain old boring BN plecos. I have zero interest in breeding them again and again. Especially knowing I will get very little money for all the work.
BN need multiple tanks however?

I suggest you breed what you enjoy watching. That is why the shellies come to mind?

I didn’t even think of that. The two closest small fish stores have some good variety. I’ll ask about cichlids and what species they have a demand for. Shellie’s would be really neat to breed.

 

A 75 is a lot of wasted space for Neolamprologus multifasciatus. The problem with Cichlids in general is that they have an overall reputation for aggression, even when it's not always deserved. If you have very hard water there are a number of smaller Tanganyikan species that would use more of the volume of a 75. Julies are always popular. A breeding colony of Malawi Mbuna can be moderately productive if you have the right species.

If you have access to softer water, perhaps you could set it up as a colony tank for Emperor Tetras. They are not prolific like many Tetras due to their reproductive patterns, but they do produce decent numbers given time. They don't eat their own fry when well fed, and I've never seen any shop that wouldn't take them. They are easy to feed. They grow quickly.

Of course, I can think of hundreds of species that would love a 75 gallon tank. My instinct would be to go with some medium sized species. Geophagus usually bring good prices, even when small. They are mostly peaceful even when mature, with a couple of exceptions.

Lots of options. Good Luck!

 

Pseudotropheus Saulosi is a nice little dwarf Mbuna. The first Malawi I breed, both sex's are super colorful, blue striped males and yellow female and fry, the colorful fry being an extra advantage when selling.