Which fish to breed?

[Fishfanatic16]

I was wanting to breed some fish to trade to the local pet store for store credit, but I would like to know what fish to breed. I would have to be cheap(within a $7 range), fish that are prolific breeders and are not to big(2inches or under). Any ideas?

 

[New]

livebearers would be the easiest IMO

 

[Fishfanatic16]

I know of only 2 livebearers guppies and mollies do u know of any more? Thanks much.

 

[Galligak]

Endlers livebearers! (my favorite) There are also platys and swordtails. Those are some of the few that I know

Oh and Welcome to AA

 

[New]

swordtails, platies, endlers, and im sure theres more but not on the top of my mind

 

[ozmo]

It depends on what family of fish you are referring to but in my experience Convicts are the rabbits of the Central American Cichlids. Once they start breeding there's no stopping them. They are highly aggressive during this time though.

They are attractive and interesting little guys but I'm not sure you would find an LFS to buy the offspring as the LFS would most likely have plenty of them.

BOL
ozmo

 

[New]

It depends on what family of fish you are referring to but in my experience Convicts are the rabbits of the Central American Cichlids. Once they start breeding there's no stopping them. They are highly aggressive during this time though.

They are attractive and interesting little guys but I'm not sure you would find an LFS to buy the offspring as the LFS would most likely have plenty of them.

BOL
ozmo

nice thought! they're prolific breeders

 

[Fishfanatic16]

I would like fish that aren't very aggressive though. Fish that could be put in a community Aquarium with other nonaggressive fish

 

[Galligak]

Well with all of these fish, you must be aware that you must either separate them or have lots of hiding places for the fry because they will be eaten!

 

[Bubble_B0y]

are you trying to Profit from fish breeding?

if so, most local fish stores only accept rare and uncommon fish.
Livebearers require almost zero skill - and most LFS will already have a large stock. So they probably won't accept it, or give minimal credit.


Fry from cichlids are pretty valuable - especially discus!
and
"Flowerhorn" fry

 

[tulip55555]

You should see what the stores don't have a lot of. I'd also check to see what they already get locally. If they are getting a certain species from someone else locally and they are happy with those fish they might be unlikely to buy the same type of fish from you.

 

[m0stUniQue]

Yeah if you really want store credit breed discus it`s a big investement but boy will the fish store love you

 

[Bubble_B0y]

rarer tetras are a good idea!

Bleeding heart tetras are fairly hard to find and are pretty expensive in my town ($20 bucks each!)
Not to mention - they are in my opinion, the most beautiful tetra in the hobby!


corydoras would be a worthwhile trade too - panda cories are more expensive than other cory species.

 

[Galligak]

The endlers are really expensive up in Columbus Ohio! $10 a fish! And they're prolific! That's what I'd go for!

 

[ozmo]

Discus, Flowerhorn, why not have a go at Festae and rare plecos?

Come on people. The OP was obviously only interested in guppies and such.

 

[jetajockey]

In order to do it well, you'll need some tanks dedicated to breeding/growout etc. If you are just looking to add some fish to a community tank and hope they have fry then the only options you really have are livebearers.

 

[absolutangel04]

I agree with Bubble Boy. Some stores will take these common babies, but not for much, if any, credit. Adult angels are the only fish I have ever gotten any significant amount of money for.
How big is your tank? What tankmates? Aquakai is right that many of the eggs/fry will be eaten in a community.
You could always take these ideas to your lfs and see what they say about the amount of credit they could give you....

 

[absolutangel04]

Oops, I only read one page of this thread before responding. My bad.

 

[barterking85]

I breed GBR and gold rams and I cross breed them too but jeta is right you need a breeding tank a lot of fish won't mate if they are crowded or stressed in the least bit but after they breed the male can go back to your dt and after you female has her babies/eggs she can go back too the rams are very peaceful go great in a community and make me good money they almost pay for my expensive hobby but I do have 3 proven pairs of each ram and 4 breeding/grow out tanks not the easiest but it's worth the effort

 

[Fishfanatic16]

Thanks a lot everybody I will take all of what you all said into consideration