Below is an article on fish breeding from the August 2013 newsletter. I’m reposting these as blogs so that they are searchable on our website.
Fish Breeding:
This month I’ll talk about how we breed Blue Gouramis (Trichogaster trichopterus). This fish is the easiest of the anabantids to raise. They are eager and prolific spawners when in good condition.
We condition our breeders by placing a couple of dozen mature fish of both sexes in a 55 gallon vat on our system. The constant water flow from our recirculating system inhibits nest building by the males. We feed heavily, primarily with Simple Pet Products’ #200 and #300 Grinds, for about three weeks.
We set up a spawning vat by adding only about six inches of water, putting in a two to three inch layer of floating hornwort (Ceratophyllum demersum), and turning off the water flow and aeration. Then we net out the potential breeders and select a pair to spawn. For a male we pick a healthy well colored fish with nice fins. Females are selected by their girth; fat females are ready to spawn and produce a lot of eggs. The pair is added to the spawning vat in the late evening. The next morning the male should have built a loosely organized bubble nest. For those of you used to the nice compact and well organized Betta splendens nest, it is nothing like that. The nest is large, amorphous, and ragged. The bubbles tend to be scattered. We leave the pair together even after eggs are present. Males are not that aggressive toward the females. Most of the time we don’t bother to check for eggs, but about 3-4 days later we submerge a water plastic disk to see if the tiny fry are visible. If there are fry, we remove the adults. If there are none, we still remove them and place another pair into the vat. This is almost never necessary.
Once the fry are seen, we begin to drip system water into the vat by barely turning on the water valve. We also add a bucket of green-water daily (I’ll write soon about how we produce this easily and without effort) and feed fry powder and finely ground flake foods. To prevent the fry from overflowing into the floor gutters when the vat fills, we add a fry strainer made of open cell foam over the overflow.
That’s it. When the fry reach about a half inch we add #100 Grind food to their diet. At two inches we feed #200 Grind and begin to sell them.
Trascan says
Cum cunosc care este mascul guram si femela guram
charles says
I think you asked, “How do I know who is male and female provide.” At least the translator said it was Romanian and gave me this translation.
Males are somewhat more colorful, but the easiest way to tell the differences between the sexes are the dorsal and anal fins. Males have pointed fins; the back end is pointed. Females’ dorsals and anal fins are rounded. Also, the females are usually plumper (fatter). When ready to mate, the males will build a bubble nest. The females will show a white egg tube between their pelvic fins.
I hope this helped.
Xmegatron10 says
I have a pair of opaline gourami and a blue gourami which I think is a female 2 redtailed tinfoil barbs and 1 single male green severum cichlid. What do you think 😊
Charles Clapsaddle says
Xmegatron10, Sorry for the late reply. Opaline and blue gouramis are the same species so you should have no problem breeding them. You’ll have no luck with the other three fish.
Charles
rickey says
How do you make your green water and why I am ending up so few fry. Fr rickey
charles says
Rickey,
There are many ways to make green water. My favorite is to place a half dozen small goldfish (after making sure they are disease free) in a clean 40 gallon plastic trash can filled with water. Place a bright light over the trash can and have the light on 16 hours a day. Take some dirty filter media and swish it in the trash can’s water or siphon dirt from your aquarium’s gravel and add it to the trash can. This will “charge” the trash can with Paramecium and other small fauna. Place an airstone in the trash can to provide lots of aeration. Feed the goldfish well. After a few days your water should be pea soup green. It will be loaded with organism perfect for small fry. Simply dip water from the trash can and add to your fry tank. I’ll write a more comprehensive blog about green water and post a link here in a few days.
I’ll answer your question about why you get so few fry in the answer to your later question. That will probably be in a day or so.
rickey says
I spawn them so many times and get huge spawnings in a 2 foot tank and cover the top but I end up with 10 fry only .
What do you feed your fry .
How many fry do you get .
What is your first feed .
Fr rickey
South africa
charles says
Rickey,
We use 45 gallon vats that are long, wide, and low. We place about 6 inches of water in each vat along with hornwort or sometimes duckweed. With duckweed it is difficult to see the bubble nest and eggs, but the males seem to like to build in it. We end up with hundreds of fry in each spawn especially if the female is large and well-conditioned. The female should look like she swallowed a marble and her egg tube should be visible between the ventral fins. We usually don’t cover the vat, but if there is a draft of cool, dry air, then covering would be advisable.
If the male spends time away from the nest harassing the female, then you should remove her.
We feed a very fine fry powder and green water.
Once the fry are free swimming, we add gentle aeration. not an airstone but a open airline with slow bubbling.
Do you see fungusing eggs? If so, you could add a few drops of malachite green to slightly color the water to inhibit the fungus. Do you get a lot of fry but have a low survival rate? If so, you might be underfeeding. You might want to remove the adults as soon as the fry are free swimming.
I hope this helps.
rickey says
Thk you sir
Must I leave the gold fish in the can and how long can I keep this water .
How much to feed and how many times with green water .
Fr rickey
South africa
rickey says
Hi sir
Which other way can I make green water without using gold fish .
How many fry do you grow up in one spawning .
Fr rickey
South africa
Durban
charles says
Rickey,
There are many ways to grow green water. Basically you need warm water, bright light, and a food source. Let me explain.
Green water organisms, which include algae, paramecium, etc., grow best under warm conditions. Keeping the water temperatures between 75-85F (25-30C) will allow them to grow rapidly.
Algae, the base of the food chain for your green water culture, need lots of bright light. I recommend at least 16 hours of direct light a day. Gro-lux or similar fluorescent lights are good since they have the wave lengths needed by plants including algae.
You need rich conditions to feed the green water culture. Goldfish are heavy messy eaters and provide the nitrogen algae require. You can also use large snail populations, but they like the goldfish, must be fed. You can directly feed a green water culture with fish food, but the nutrients are best delivered to green water culture by digestion by some other organism such as the goldfish or snails. By the way, I’ve fed green water cultures with brewers yeast with success. But, it is easy to overfeed and turn your culture into a stinking mess.
Aquarium water and detritus from aquarium gravel usually provide an adequate starter culture, but you can also order starter cultures.
Now, as to spawning size, a large pair of blue gouramis should produce several hundred eggs and fry. If fed properly you should have at least 90% survival. If you notice a lot of infertile or fungusing eggs, then you might want to look at your water conditions. Extremely hard water can interfere with sperms’ ability to penetrate eggs leading to infertile eggs. You can overcome that by mixing rainwater to reduce hardness. Also, make sure you don’t have a cold draft across the water surface. This can create problems.
Charles
rickey says
Thk you sir
Must I use filter in the trash can and how long must I keep the gold fish in this can .
If me some tips on cory catfish .
How you breed and feed fry .
God bless you
Fr rickey
South africa
Jutto says
Interesting article, slowly making my way through your catalogue of blogs.
Is this process similar to how you bred your fighting fish when you bred them (minus communal group starts)
Thank you
Charles Clapsaddle says
Jutto,
First, I’m sorry for the tardy reply. Some messages didn’t get to me.
Yes, we breed and rear them just like Blue Gouramis.
Charles