easiest feeders to breed?

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GobyGuru

Gambusia
MFK Member
Oct 10, 2010
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Hello everybody!

I am looking to breed some feeders for my Cichlids, and I was wondering what the best feeder fish to breed would be?

I currently have: Green Terror, Jack Dempsey, Managuense, Jeweled, Kenyi, Auratus, and as of today, a Flowerhorn. (all in a 65 gallon tall.. 3 ft long, 18 inches wide, 2 feet tall)

The flowerhorn is significantly bigger than the other tank mates, especially the GT, Auratus and Kenyi.. the Jeweled too.. maybe.

So.. I am hoping they will get along just fine.. but we'll see what happens. So far, nobody has been consumed or bitten, so far so good (actually, the Flowerhorn has only shown mild aggression so far.. just chasing other fish out of his new flat stone cave :) )

Anyways, I bought a few guppies and two of the females died over night for some reason. I have at least 2 males left and 4 females, so not too big of a loss.. besides the fact that they were full grown adults and now I have babies and sub adults..

Should I stick with the guppies? If so what are some good tips or advice you guys could offer? I have them set up in a 14 inch long, 8 and a half inch high, 8 inch wide tank. It is being filtered with a submersible 10 - 20 gallon filter.

It also has a relatively large plant floating at the top/middle of the tank, which provides cover for the smaller guppies, and for any fry that result from breeding)

But, what happens when they do breed? I heard you put them in a net or something until they are big enough to feed out..

Any more info on the breeding of guppies (provided that is the best option for me) would be greatly appreciated!

Any suggestions on OTHER feeders that are easy to breed, easy to keep (so not taking up a huge aquarium) and worth the money (aka.. not so expensive to breed that buying them is cheaper..) would be appreciated

I like giving my fish that natural enjoyment of hunting, so I would love to breed my own feeders so I don't have to worry about disease or parasites. I intend on picking up a small bottle of general parasitic treatment (and other treatments) that I can use on my cichlids in case they have anything going on, and the breeder feeders I get from the store, to remove any issues with them as well.

Thanks in advance for any tips/advice! (pictures of the ballin aquarium and fish are guaranteed upon request :) )
 
a really easy fish to breed is pink convicts. just get a mating pair and once a month you will get another couple hundred. once the eggs become wigglers you need to move to a sponge filter so as to not loose the babies. convicts also grow bigger then guppies so they are more filling to your fish. just to let you know feeding your fish live food will make them more aggressive so don't be suppressed if you notice fins and scales beaten on.
 
Thanks a ton Those1! I will definitely look into pink convicts, what size tank would they need? I have 25 bucks to go out and purchase the biggest tub I can for the feeder fish to breed in so I can pretty much get any size I want/need

I also dont plan on feeding live exclusively, only as a treat. I feed Hikari carnivore pellets as a staple to my cichlids.. but the flowerhorn has shown no interest in them, unlike the other cichlids who go mental for them even over the cichlid pellets...

So hopefully if live feedings are sparse they wont have that aggression problem?

Thanks again Those1!
 
those1 said:
for breeding the smaller the better so as to allow the fry to find food easier
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Ahhh I thought bigger would be better, thanks Those1! I guess ill grab a 10 - 20 gallon equivalent tub and pick up some pink or regular convicts (Thinking 2 females one male?).

Is there a difference in breeding between the regular convicts and the pink convicts?

Thanks again Those1!
 
not that i know of and go with 2 males 1 female. the males will battle for her affection and the nice thing is if you keep the other male after they pair off you can rekindal the spark a lil bit down the road by reintroducing him in with the couple. :P:ROFL:
 
those1 said:
not that i know of and go with 2 males 1 female. the males will battle for her affection and the nice thing is if you keep the other male after they pair off you can rekindal the spark a lil bit down the road by reintroducing him in with the couple. :P:ROFL:
Click to expand...

LOL sounds like a good idea! I never thought about stimulating breeding behavior with 2 males and 1 female :D any tips you could offer on picking out males and females? I heard pink convicts are the same as regular convicts, besides the colour, so If I can't find the pink ones what should I look for in the normals?

Thanks again, I appreciate all the help!
 
convicts..while they breed fast don't always grow fast..it takes a few months.

Paradise fish breed fast..and grow fast you can get 100 fry every two weeks and grow them from hatching to 1 inch in about a month.

i breed guppies convicts and paradise fish ..paradise grow the fastest, followed by guppies..and than convicts.

Cons also take some looking after so the male does not kill the female.
 
Kaosu said:
convicts..while they breed fast don't always grow fast..it takes a few months.

Paradise fish breed fast..and grow fast you can get 100 fry every two weeks and grow them from hatching to 1 inch in about a month.

i breed guppies convicts and paradise fish ..paradise grow the fastest, followed by guppies..and than convicts.

Cons also take some looking after so the male does not kill the female.
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Would it be worth it to try both convicts and Paradise fish? I was pretty set on the convicts until you told me about the paradise fish.

Any more info about them (aquarium size for a breeding pair or two, food, ect) would be greatly appreciated.

If anything, I can always just get two 10 - 20 gal tubs, and two - 4 small sponge filters (2 for each tub so the fry don't get owned by the filter I am running) and put a pair of convicts in one set up, and the paradise fish in the other? That would provide a good variety between the pellets :)

Thanks again Kaosu! (I love having multiple options!)
 
no problem..you need one male and 2 females...a tub devided in half would work..food is anything they go crazy for lakes, pellets, live black worms, frozen krill and frozen black worms. dump one female in to the males side they will build a bubble nest and breed with in a few days.

once breeding is done.. (you can see lots of eggs in the bubble nest) remove the female to her side..when fry hatch dad will take care of them for a while...move the fry to a grow out tub and dump in next female.

10 gallons for a pare is fine so 20 gallon tub would be perfect.
Iv had allot of success with feeding the fry smashed up boiled egg yolk..strained to get the chunks out as food for the newborns..mixing in ground of flakes or first bites.

this is a good over view of it.
http://iramjohn.hubpages.com/hub/Breeding-Paradise-fish
 
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