Which small freshwater fish should my wildlife class breed?

My wildlife class (high schoolers) are planning to breed endangered freshwater fish at some point in the future. We still have a lot to learn since we’ve only had a tank for a few months (3 painted platies that all turned out to be males).

The students have decided against getting more platies and breeding them but would like to breed something easy that they could sell to lfs or individual folks. We discovered cpds and they are all excited to breed them. They are beautiful and sound easy to breed. Also small so we don’t need as many large tanks.

What do y’all think? We are in California, USA. Do you think we’d be able to sell the offspring? Or is there a different species you’d recommend considering our goal and our newbie status? Thanks for any advice as we figure out how to learn enough to raise endangered fishies!

 

Fish that are easy to breed are hard to sell. Often people trade them for store credit or actually give them away.

Livebearers - endlers, guppies, mollies, swordtails - are easy to breed, often too easy. Livebearers sometimes have aggression issues.

Neocardina shrimp are easy to breed and can maybebe sold more often, from what I read. I started with around a dozen, and within a few months I had many of them. They need a tank that's been running at least a couple of months before they are introduced. All fish eat baby shrimp and those that can eat adults.

You can get neo shrimp in several colors. You could interbreed them and see how many of each you get. Crossing different strains creates a variey of colors but over time the shrimp will revert to their natural brown color.

 

I would recommend that you look into some of the wild betta species, if that sounds interesting. Since you are in Cali, you could maybe contact the guys at BWAquatics (they are in Orange County). They might be able to help since they only sell wild betta species. Your class will learn about dark water tanks, different parameters, and all sorts of things. Some of the wild bettas are bubble nesters and others are mouth brooders. There are a few species that are really endangered, and are worth breeding.

There are other places that sell wild type bettas, too, like Coast Gem USA (in San Diego).

Both BWaquatics and Coast Gem have websites, in case you are interested.

 

I would recommend that you look into some of the wild betta species, if that sounds interesting. Since you are in Cali, you could maybe contact the guys at BWAquatics (they are in Orange County). They might be able to help since they only sell wild betta species. Your class will learn about dark water tanks, different parameters, and all sorts of things. Some of the wild bettas are bubble nesters and others are mouth brooders. There are a few species that are really endangered, and are worth breeding.

There are other places that sell wild type bettas, too, like Coast Gem USA (in San Diego).

Both BWaquatics and Coast Gem have websites, in case you are interested.

You could probly sell wild bettas

 

It seems that you are looking specifically for endangered freshwater species. Maybe you should look into the endangered species first and make a choice. And read up on all that matters for that specific fish species. And commerciallywise, you should check out how the supply and demand is for such fish. For not all fish can be sold that easily.

Painted platies aren't wild species, btw. But there are wild platy species for sure. For I do keep wild platy species myself. But I'm not sure how easy it is to get your hands on wild platy species in your area.

 

I need to clarify my first message as I left something out… while our goal is to eventually breed an endangered species, we have so much to learn before we’re ready for that. So we’d like to breed a pet fish first to learn all about breeding. I’d like one that we could successfully sell so the students have that accomplishment.

This plan only began developing a couple weeks ago so we are in the information gathering stage. I’ll definitely pass along the idea of breeding wild bettas. We are also going to look into endangered fish in Mexico and Central America to see which species they might want to do and see what it’s breeding system is like. That might help us decide on a type of pet species to focus on.

So what pet species do y’all think would be good to sell to folks? Are cpds still popular enough? Or should we start with live bearers before moving to egg layers?

Fish that are easy to breed are hard to sell. Often people trade them for store credit or actually give them away.

Livebearers - endlers, guppies, mollies, swordtails - are easy to breed, often too easy. Livebearers sometimes have aggression issues.

Neocardina shrimp are easy to breed and can maybebe sold more often, from what I read. I started with around a dozen, and within a few months I had many of them. They need a tank that's been running at least a couple of months before they are introduced. All fish eat baby shrimp and those that can eat adults.

You can get neo shrimp in several colors. You could interbreed them and see how many of each you get. Crossing different strains creates a variey of colors but over time the shrimp will revert to their natural brown color.

I was worried that live bearers would be hard to sell since they are so easy to breed…? I like the idea of doing shrimp! The students really want a shrimp tank. I’ll bring them that idea as I think it’d be fun too! Still need to pick a fish to breed too tho.

 

How big is your tank?

 

How big is your tank?

I have money to buy whichever size tank(s) we need!!! Thanks to a wonderful man in our community that did a bunch of fundraising

Right now we have two available tanks: a 20g high and a 25g hexagonal tank. Don’t know that either will be great for breeding fish. So, we’ll buy what we need.

 

Thats a good tank size,long tanks are usually better than tall though. Have you thought about endler livebearers?? they're kinda similar to guppies but a lot of people like them more. CPD's are popular where I am and most places not sure if they are where you are... I thought danios were hard to breed as they notoriously eat their own eggs??

 

Wow!
Have you tried looking into any species of Coeplla (Splashing Tetra)?
They have an intersting breeding strategy. Not sure if they'd be very popular though!

Some other options could be
Keyhole Cichlids
Moanda Jewel Cichlid
Rams
All 4 of the fish i've listed so far can be bred in a 30-40 gallon
Yo could also look into the annual killifish, but would have to provide some kind of dry season!

 

Thats a good tank size,long tanks are usually better than tall though. Have you thought about endler livebearers?? they're kinda similar to guppies but a lot of people like them more. CPD's are popular where I am and most places not sure if they are where you are... I thought danios were hard to breed as they notoriously eat their own eggs??

Yeah, unfortunate that the 20g is high, not long. So it may be a shrimp or pencilfish tank. We’ll see.

From what I’ve read, cpd pairs can be put in a small breeding tank with some moss and they will spawn. Then you just remove the pair and have the eggs hatch and fry start growing up in the small tank. But that’s only from about 3 sources. Will keep researching and checking with folks on here if we go that route.

 

Another thing to consider is how will you sell them. Are you going to try to find a store to sell them to or are you doing individual online sales? Are you going to ship?

I think wild bettas would be easier to sell because they are not commonly available.

 

Many Goodeid species from Mexico are endangered. They’re livebearers and easy to breed. You can frequently find them listed on Aquabid.

 

Another thing to consider is how will you sell them. Are you going to try to find a store to sell them to or are you doing individual online sales? Are you going to ship?

I think wild bettas would be easier to sell because they are not commonly available.

We are looking into which lfs will buy or trade fish from us. The nicest one doesn’t do that tho. Have another to call. And will look into what’s required for shipping. Anyone know if the chain pet stores trade or buy?

We’ll definitely check into the wild bettas. I think the students would enjoy adding healthy-raised bettas - as opposed to the ones in 1 cup of water

Many Goodeid species from Mexico are endangered. They’re livebearers and easy to breed. You can frequently find them listed on Aquabid.

Ooo, those looks like ones we’ll have to look into! Thanks

 

Another for goodieds, research and contact local studies or keepers around you. They may not be able to be sold on ( unsure of your areas rules ) BUT any projects like that will take them back from you and release them back into the wild to repopulate the species. I’m sure they’ll tell you the process but your students may get the sense of achievement from helping a species that was known as extinct in the wild.

Not endangered but very cool and unique to breed are Medakas . Could work in a tall tank too if you get the students making spawning mops.

 

Some thoughts from Australia.

Adding any fish back to the wild is not something to be done without lots of care. It’s totally illegal in Australia without permits.
Your class however could get involved with your local fishing club . Stocking species native to your area gives a “ warm fussy “ feeling. My local fishing club have days with the public where native species are added to wild waterways. For religious reasons church groups get involved . Those people who have a religion that in the past have been illegally returning shop brought species from anywhere without knowing the damage they were doing have been welcomed to these public stocking days. As well as school groups like yours. Its likely California is up to speed on this modern approach?

By all means breed CPDs and sell them to the aquarium trade. Neocaridina shrimp ( cherry) are fun. Forget about breeding an endangered species to return. It’s often habit loss that is the lesson to learn.


You ask about a project to breed an endangered species of fish. However It would be simple to breed monarch butterfly. Growing the necessary plants from seed would be more logical. Even from the other side of the world we are aware of the issues your species of monarch face this season.

 

in California there are many roach fish species of concern from small streams and stuff that are losing habitat.

I'd find one that isn't at all threatened that stays small, and start them on that, and then work to the other small roach fish species that are on the "special concern" list

Anyways just a thought, there are plenty of native fish of no concern, and then variations in isolated populations, that are concerned or endangered, and I think to stay on task while not risking actual concerned or endangered fish, until everyone is up to speed on the no threatened fish.

if you do your research, you might be able to find something very local and make a field collection trip out of it even, reproduce and then wild releases maybe establish new populations outside of then limited area ensuring their species continues.

 

Just to be clear , I wasn’t suggesting anyone release any fish into the wild. I was talking about becoming part of a breeding programme that’s controlled

 

Just to be clear , I wasn’t suggesting anyone release any fish into the wild. I was talking about becoming part of a breeding programme that’s controlled

I'm also supporting a breeding program of goodeids.

 

I'm also supporting a breeding program of goodeids.

That’s awesome ! Amazing to hear. I watched a video of a place that was doing the same and it was great to see the passion, research and care that went into the whole process.

You’re doing something amazing ! kudos to you

 

Another vote for looking into goodeids, as long as there is a plan for what to do with the offspring...If looking for something even easier, you could get N class (pure-line) endlers, which I believe are also endangered in the wild?

 

Another vote for looking into goodeids, as long as there is a plan for what to do with the offspring...If looking for something even easier, you could get N class (pure-line) endlers, which I believe are also endangered in the wild?

apparently endlers are thought to be extinct in the wild.

 

My wildlife class (high schoolers) are planning to breed endangered freshwater fish at some point in the future. We still have a lot to learn since we’ve only had a tank for a few months (3 painted platies that all turned out to be males).

The students have decided against getting more platies and breeding them but would like to breed something easy that they could sell to lfs or individual folks. We discovered cpds and they are all excited to breed them. They are beautiful and sound easy to breed. Also small so we don’t need as many large tanks.

What do y’all think? We are in California, USA. Do you think we’d be able to sell the offspring? Or is there a different species you’d recommend considering our goal and our newbie status? Thanks for any advice as we figure out how to learn enough to raise endangered fishies!

Have you looked at Polar Blue Parrot Cichlids? They are a hybrid between parrot and convict cichlids. They are absolutely beautiful, iridescent fish with bold black zebra stripes and almost rainbow fins. They stay pretty small too, my adults are about 3”.

I bought a pair at CK Fishworld in Covina, CA and they almost immediately bred. Unlike most fish, they do not eat their eggs, and they are wonderful parents who protect and foster the fry. It’s a blast to watch the process! The fry will grow quickly and you would most likely be able to sell them to a local fish shop. (Especially since you’re a local school, just for the sake of community I bet they’d buy anything from you haha.)

I totally recommend them, but I would just get a male and female in a tank together with no other tank mates to ensure your success! They just need sand, rocks to lay the eggs, and clean water. No plants (they’ll eat them haha).

I attached a photo of my breeding pair, they are so beautiful I love them!

Have fun!

 

apparently endlers are thought to be extinct in the wild.

It’s the Miata answer for a reason.

Small, quick, colorful and easy to source parts / breed and resell later easily because people want them.

Bonus, you can setup two tanks. One fresh and one salt for additional science

 

Look at limias. Some are endangered, but most are not, and there are breeding programs for some of the endangered species. Their a have live fry so no worries about eggs. Good luck with your classes project.

 

Another vote for looking into goodeids, as long as there is a plan for what to do with the offspring...If looking for something even easier, you could get N class (pure-line) endlers, which I believe are also endangered in the wild?

You can stil find endlers in the Cumana region but not from Lake Campoma. Lake Campoma has been dredged.

apparently endlers are thought to be extinct in the wild.

No, just the endlers from Lake Campoma are considered being extinct. In the Cumana region they're still to be found.

Look at limias. Some are endangered, but most are not, and there are breeding programs for some of the endangered species.

Correct, most Limias are not endangered.