Breeding method for different fishes.

[pandaxiong]

Hi all,

I would like to explore breeding fishes like tetras..and others..

Hope to hear from you ppl about your experiences.

[Aquaculture]

I'm interested to know of anyone whom managed to breed Tetras. I've heard of shrimps, plecos & apistos .....recently am also surprised that a bro managed to breed otts too. But so far no tetras.

[WaterH2O]

I think you need a Biotope type tank that simulate the natural environment of tetras but just my guess only. Cannot confirm until someone tries it.
Yup it is rare to hear any one mentioning that they have breed tetras.

[Savant]

Tetras are apparently easy to breed, although the fry may not survive in a community setup. They are usually egg scatterers.

I have read of many tetra spawnings in the past. They are usually done in dedicated breeding tanks with soft water.... loads of java moss to hold the eggs and to provide infusoria for the fry to feed on...

The parent fishes are usually removed after the spawn to prevent them eating the fry or eggs.

[pandaxiong]

Cool...What the eggs looks like?

So as breeeders..we must monitor closely once the eggs are spotted and remove them?

1 problem is that the male and female is hard to be define..I am not the wiser.

[zoggin eck]

I've never had trouble getting tetras to breed. I have neons and rosy tetras - Hyphessobrycon rosaceus and often have fry, but as I don't remove them, they get eaten by my larger fish (empire gudgeon - Hypseleotris compressa) and the tetras themselves. The rosy tetras scatter eggs everywhere, as the others of thei kind eat them!

I believe soft water (which all my tanks have) and decent food is the key

[Quixotic]

When you are talking about tetras, you are actually referring to a rather large group of fishes, so breeding them may be quite different. However, if you are talking about small, schooling characins, the same methods can pretty much be used for breeding them.

It can be easy or can be difficult, some species may require some specific conditions to breed them. For example, Paracheirodon axelrodi (cardinal tetra) has always been considered the holy grail, it is very difficult to breed them until recent years.

Tetras are egg scatterers, they will eat their own eggs and fries. These are the general steps in preparing to breed them.

1. House a group of them in the main tank.

2. Condition them by providing good clean water, feeding variety of food - live, frozen, dry, even prepared vegetable or fruits. Do this for about a week (or two).

3. Prepare the breeding tank. A few methods can be used to decorate the tank. The bottom can either:
a) be left empty with some form of netting (nylon, plastic) in the middle (this allows the eggs to drop to the bottom without fear of being eaten)
b) be decorated with marbles (or any larger sized gravel) (this allows the eggs to drop into the cervices, so the fish cannot reach and eat them)
c) decorated with thick fine leaved plants (e.g. Myriophyllum, hornwort, moss) or spawning mop

4. A sponge filter can be used for the breeding tank. Provide subdued artificial lighting, or make use of natural sunlight (tank can be placed near the window to receive sunlight). Use good clean soft water and low pH. This simulates the rainy season, when the rivers and plains are flooded, which provides low level of hardness and abundant food.

5. Identify the best male and female(s). Males are generally slimmer and more colourful, females have a rounder profile, and stockier due to the eggs they carry.

6. Place the male and female into the breeding tank the night before breeding. Sometimes, if the male is overly aggressive to mate with the female, consider housing one or two additional females in the breeding tank.

7. The female will normally lay the eggs during twilight. Some will spawn when it gets dark, while some will spawn once the first morning sunlight hits the tank (the reason why breeding tanks are placed near the window).

8. After spawning, remove the fishes from the breeding tank and return them to the main tank.

9. Do not expose the eggs to light as they are sensitive to bright lighting. The time required for the eggs to hatch into fries will vary depending on species, but typically it can take a few days up to a week or two.

10. Fries are generally smaller and need fine food. Green water, infusoria, copepods and similar fine food may be needed as starting food, graduating to daphnia, newly hatched brine shrimp or some commercial food. Moss is sometimes used heavily as decoration as they generally contain a good amount of infusoria for the fries.

It has to be noted that some will have specific requirements not discussed above, and some may need tweaking here and there. If I am not mistaken, cardinal tetras are difficult to breed because it is discovered only in recent years that they only spawn in total darkness, so covering the entire tank and blocking from lighting totally would be required.

Have fun in the breeding projects, there may be interesting observations that can be learnt from them. Unfortunately, breeding them don't seem to interest most local aquarists.