Here is my personal experiences with breeding for the sole purpose of using the fry for food for my predator tanks. Your experience may differ
In the past i have tried guppies, mollies, platies and sword tails as well as convicts. So i will give a little info for each.
All info given is assuming you have a well cycled aquarium with decent filtration. That will handle the end result of the breeding.
GUPPIES - MOLLIES - PLATIES - SWORDTAILS
THE LIVE BEARERS
Guppies are a very popular and easy to breed feeder option for anyone that needs feeders in the 1/2"-3/4" range. It is a simple process and all you need is a tank around 10 gallons or so and 3+ females to every male. It is important to stay within the male to female guide lines because if the females have to much breeding pressure on them they will not produce as many fry. For a 10g tank I would see no problem with having 2 males and 6 females. i have never used a heater in a guppie tank but I am sure you could with no problems if your area is a colder climate. After you have your breeding tank stocked all it takes is some time for the breeding to happen.
Once the females become impregnated you will notice there gravid spot becomes dark and there belly region will start to grow. The gestation period is around a month and then the fry are born live. And this is where the trouble starts with breeding guppies. New born guppie fry are just about irresistible to adult guppies and they will readily eat the fry at the first chance. They sell all kinds of contraptions that you can put pregnant females in to try and separate the fry from the adult stock and they work with limited success. The best way i have found to keep more of the fry from being eaten is to have one side of the tank filled with something that they can hide in. I have successfully used java moss, yarn, old fishing line balled up and fake or live plants. I prefer the old fishing line method. You just take any old mono filament line and put enough of it in the tank to fill at least around 1/3 or more of the tank on one side or across the top.
After you have completed all of that it is time to start raising the fry. Any live bearer will be ready to eat with in a few minutes after birth. The whole point of the operation is to get fry to a size that is good for feeding. I have found the best growth rates to be had from feeding live brine shrimp a couple of times a day as well as finely crushed flake foods. But pretty much any flake or pellet can be used as long as you crush it into a powder. After about a week you can start to give it a coarser crush as they have grown a little. It will take about 2 months for your fry to reach a good feeder size of around 3/4".
All in all guppies are a good feeder breeding choice. The down falls are that the adults will eat the new born fry . And that it takes a couple of months to get them to a good feeder size.
CONVICT CICHLIDS
Convicts are my personal favorite for feeder that can be breed easily at home. Mostly because the parents take care of the fry and do not eat them so it equals less work. My personal program consist of 2 breeding tanks that are 20G. The first grow outs are 5g tanks and the second is a 30g and the final feeding station is a 55g tank.
Convicts are the rabbits of the fish world it is said that if given enough time that they would breed in a zip lock bag. All you need to successfully breed convicts is a tank around 20g with a temp of 78 degree's plus and a healthy male and female. And a place for them to lay the eggs. I prefer a 4" terra cotta flower pot on its side but any old flat rock laying against the glass will work. As long as both fish can get behind it. Your chances are increased when starting with bigger adult fish. I have found that around 2" plus are best choices to start as breeders. And always a bigger male than the female. But I have found eggs layed in my growout tank that houses 3/4-1.5" fish. The females have a reddish coloration on the belly area that makes them easier to tell apart from the males.
After you have all of that sorted out just feed a good quality food and let nature take its course. I have had better results and stronger fry populations when feeding the parents frozen blood worms for a few weeks between batches of fry. Once you notice that the female is staying in one area of the tank or flower pot for most of the day get your flash light out and start looking for eggs. The will etheir already be there or they are about to be.
After the eggs have layed it will take a few days for them to hatch. New parents may eat the first batch or 2 of fry before learning parental skills but it is rare. After the fry have hatched you have what is called wigglers, which are fry that still have there yoke sack connected to them. And they will absorb this as food in the first few days of life. After they have become free swimming you can start feeding crushed flake food or live brine shrimp.
Now is the point where you have to decide what to do with them next. You can leave them in the tank with the parents for as long as needed. But the parents will not lay another batch for quite some time if the fry are left with them. I always remove the fry at around 1 week after they become free swimming and place them in a 5g grow out tank with some bio media from the parent tank. I use a hose and siphon them into a bucket as it is easier than chasing them with a net.
If you remove the fry the parents will continue to look for the fry for a day or 2 and then act as if nothing ever happened. This is when i do a big water change with cold water only to cause a dip in tank temp to induce breeding. They usually lay another batch about 2-3 weeks after the fry have been removed.
I cycle my fry from the parent tank to a 5g for the first month and only feed live brine shrimp. At the end of the month they are around 1/2-3/4" long and they then get moved to a 30g tank for another month and fed flake food. And then finely after 2 months of power feeding they get moved to a 55g feeder tank where the are fed from. After 2 months they range from 3/4"-1.25" and for me that is a good feeder size.
WAYS TO INDUCE CONVICT BREEDING
If you have trouble getting you breeders to pair off and start breeding I have found that if you turn the temp up to 80-84 degree's and then wait a week and do a cold water only water change of around 40-50% that most of the time this will induce breeding. If this does not work I have also used oak leaves to stain the water to induce breeding as well. The tannic acids in the oak leaves have worked wonders for me in this area.But most of the time there will not be any problems getting them to breed
Down falls to breeding for feeders
About the only down fall to breeding your own feeders is the amount of time it takes to grow them out to a usable size. For most fish it will take a 2-3 months for fry to reach 1-1.5". Which I consider a good feeder size for me. This is why I use the multiple tank set up and also why i strip the fry from the parent tank at 1 week old. For egg layers this will produce more fry and sooner.
So there you have it. I hope this helps at least someone produce more feeders and faster.
In the past i have tried guppies, mollies, platies and sword tails as well as convicts. So i will give a little info for each.
All info given is assuming you have a well cycled aquarium with decent filtration. That will handle the end result of the breeding.
GUPPIES - MOLLIES - PLATIES - SWORDTAILS
THE LIVE BEARERS
Guppies are a very popular and easy to breed feeder option for anyone that needs feeders in the 1/2"-3/4" range. It is a simple process and all you need is a tank around 10 gallons or so and 3+ females to every male. It is important to stay within the male to female guide lines because if the females have to much breeding pressure on them they will not produce as many fry. For a 10g tank I would see no problem with having 2 males and 6 females. i have never used a heater in a guppie tank but I am sure you could with no problems if your area is a colder climate. After you have your breeding tank stocked all it takes is some time for the breeding to happen.
Once the females become impregnated you will notice there gravid spot becomes dark and there belly region will start to grow. The gestation period is around a month and then the fry are born live. And this is where the trouble starts with breeding guppies. New born guppie fry are just about irresistible to adult guppies and they will readily eat the fry at the first chance. They sell all kinds of contraptions that you can put pregnant females in to try and separate the fry from the adult stock and they work with limited success. The best way i have found to keep more of the fry from being eaten is to have one side of the tank filled with something that they can hide in. I have successfully used java moss, yarn, old fishing line balled up and fake or live plants. I prefer the old fishing line method. You just take any old mono filament line and put enough of it in the tank to fill at least around 1/3 or more of the tank on one side or across the top.
After you have completed all of that it is time to start raising the fry. Any live bearer will be ready to eat with in a few minutes after birth. The whole point of the operation is to get fry to a size that is good for feeding. I have found the best growth rates to be had from feeding live brine shrimp a couple of times a day as well as finely crushed flake foods. But pretty much any flake or pellet can be used as long as you crush it into a powder. After about a week you can start to give it a coarser crush as they have grown a little. It will take about 2 months for your fry to reach a good feeder size of around 3/4".
All in all guppies are a good feeder breeding choice. The down falls are that the adults will eat the new born fry . And that it takes a couple of months to get them to a good feeder size.
CONVICT CICHLIDS
Convicts are my personal favorite for feeder that can be breed easily at home. Mostly because the parents take care of the fry and do not eat them so it equals less work. My personal program consist of 2 breeding tanks that are 20G. The first grow outs are 5g tanks and the second is a 30g and the final feeding station is a 55g tank.
Convicts are the rabbits of the fish world it is said that if given enough time that they would breed in a zip lock bag. All you need to successfully breed convicts is a tank around 20g with a temp of 78 degree's plus and a healthy male and female. And a place for them to lay the eggs. I prefer a 4" terra cotta flower pot on its side but any old flat rock laying against the glass will work. As long as both fish can get behind it. Your chances are increased when starting with bigger adult fish. I have found that around 2" plus are best choices to start as breeders. And always a bigger male than the female. But I have found eggs layed in my growout tank that houses 3/4-1.5" fish. The females have a reddish coloration on the belly area that makes them easier to tell apart from the males.
After you have all of that sorted out just feed a good quality food and let nature take its course. I have had better results and stronger fry populations when feeding the parents frozen blood worms for a few weeks between batches of fry. Once you notice that the female is staying in one area of the tank or flower pot for most of the day get your flash light out and start looking for eggs. The will etheir already be there or they are about to be.
After the eggs have layed it will take a few days for them to hatch. New parents may eat the first batch or 2 of fry before learning parental skills but it is rare. After the fry have hatched you have what is called wigglers, which are fry that still have there yoke sack connected to them. And they will absorb this as food in the first few days of life. After they have become free swimming you can start feeding crushed flake food or live brine shrimp.
Now is the point where you have to decide what to do with them next. You can leave them in the tank with the parents for as long as needed. But the parents will not lay another batch for quite some time if the fry are left with them. I always remove the fry at around 1 week after they become free swimming and place them in a 5g grow out tank with some bio media from the parent tank. I use a hose and siphon them into a bucket as it is easier than chasing them with a net.
If you remove the fry the parents will continue to look for the fry for a day or 2 and then act as if nothing ever happened. This is when i do a big water change with cold water only to cause a dip in tank temp to induce breeding. They usually lay another batch about 2-3 weeks after the fry have been removed.
I cycle my fry from the parent tank to a 5g for the first month and only feed live brine shrimp. At the end of the month they are around 1/2-3/4" long and they then get moved to a 30g tank for another month and fed flake food. And then finely after 2 months of power feeding they get moved to a 55g feeder tank where the are fed from. After 2 months they range from 3/4"-1.25" and for me that is a good feeder size.
WAYS TO INDUCE CONVICT BREEDING
If you have trouble getting you breeders to pair off and start breeding I have found that if you turn the temp up to 80-84 degree's and then wait a week and do a cold water only water change of around 40-50% that most of the time this will induce breeding. If this does not work I have also used oak leaves to stain the water to induce breeding as well. The tannic acids in the oak leaves have worked wonders for me in this area.But most of the time there will not be any problems getting them to breed
Down falls to breeding for feeders
About the only down fall to breeding your own feeders is the amount of time it takes to grow them out to a usable size. For most fish it will take a 2-3 months for fry to reach 1-1.5". Which I consider a good feeder size for me. This is why I use the multiple tank set up and also why i strip the fry from the parent tank at 1 week old. For egg layers this will produce more fry and sooner.
So there you have it. I hope this helps at least someone produce more feeders and faster.
