Breeding and Rearing Live-bearing Species of Fish

Live-bearing species of fish like guppies and swordtails are notorious for breeding in the community tank. If you want to breed these fish on purpose, however, there are a few tips you might want to know.

 If you have a community tank stocked with guppies, swordtails or other live-bearers you should not be surprised to find baby fish swimming around at some point. Live-bearing species of fish are known for reproducing in the community tank with little to no effort on the part of the aquarium hobbyist. Unlike many species of fish which lay eggs, live-bearing species of freshwater fish produce fully-formed fry. These species may reproduce as often as once every few weeks, but they generally produce fewer fry than egg-laying species of fish. If you are interested in trying your hand at breeding freshwater aquarium fish, you may want to start with live-bearing fish. To get started with breeding live-bearing species of fish, you should first learn the basics about what type of fish belong to this group, how to prepare the fish for breeding and how to care for the fry once they do.

How to Breed A Livebearing Fish

 

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Just started keeping fish? Fancy breeding some? Aquariums And Fishes introduces you to some tropical’s which take zero encouragement to get frisky!

You've just set up for tropical fish and your tank is either cycling or just cycled. First fish would have typically been half a dozen Zebra danios, all doing well, and soon your shop will allow you to stock a few of the species you really took up the hobby to keep - the colorful ones.

High on your list will be guppies, Siamese fighters, angels and Neon tetras. Why they aren't a good idea to keep together is the subject of another article, but if you do get your hands on some guppies, platies, mollies, Swordtails or Endler's, you will more than likely start to breed them.

Aquarium Water Temperature

For the vast majority of tropical fish, an aquarium water temperature of 76 to 78º Fahrenheit will be fine. Some species like cooler water and some prefer warmer water, but as a compromise, this range works well.

If you are having difficulty deciding what fish to buy, it wouldn't hurt to choose fish that prefer the same temperature range. Goldfish are not tropical fish and fare better at temperatures closer to 65º Fahrenheit.

It is very important that the water temperature be consistent. Rapid fluctuations in temperature, particularly down, may cause physical stress to fish that often leads to disease. The solution to maintaining the correct water temperature is an aquarium heater and thermostat.

Aquarium heaters are available in a variety of types, sizes, and prices. When it comes to aquarium heaters, trying to save money is not a good idea. The reliability of a heater is too crucial to risk buying an inexpensive one.

The weak link in any heater is the thermostat, which regulates the heater, turning it on and off to maintain the desired temperature. The quality of design, materials, and construction of the thermostat is one of the things that separate unreliable heaters from good ones. In cheap heaters, the thermostat often sticks -- either open or closed -- and this can be disastrous.