Intro to breeding?

[Navcab4422]

So I'm about 9 months into fish keeping and I'm addicted, one of my favorite parts is raising my Molly fry and I am interested in trying to breed some of my other fish.

Currently once my Molly's give birth I catch the fry and place it in a hang one box with an air lift for a week or so and then they get moved to my 15 gallon to grow for the next few months. I then sell them to whichever local fish store will buy them. This is fine currently where I only have 20 fry per month but I've kept some and have 7 females at a min of 10 - 20 fry per month.

I just bought a 40 breeder that I plan to divide into several section to expand the room for fry and to also be able to breed some other fish like my Pearl Gouramis.

My questions are:
How do I move a large amount of fish if the LFS can't take them?
I have rather hard water and would like to breed things like my GBR, what would be the best way to do this.
Is it possible to actually make some money doing this (at least enough to fuel my addiction hobby) or is this just something I should do for the fun and enjoyment?

 

[Andy Sager]

So I'm about 9 months into fish keeping and I'm addicted, one of my favorite parts is raising my Molly fry and I am interested in trying to breed some of my other fish.

Currently once my Molly's give birth I catch the fry and place it in a hang one box with an air lift for a week or so and then they get moved to my 15 gallon to grow for the next few months. I then sell them to whichever local fish store will buy them. This is fine currently where I only have 20 fry per month but I've kept some and have 7 females at a min of 10 - 20 fry per month.

I just bought a 40 breeder that I plan to divide into several section to expand the room for fry and to also be able to breed some other fish like my Pearl Gouramis.

My questions are:
How do I move a large amount of fish if the LFS can't take them?
I have rather hard water and would like to breed things like my GBR, what would be the best way to do this.
Is it possible to actually make some money doing this (at least enough to fuel my addiction hobby) or is this just something I should do for the fun and enjoyment?

The only way to move large amounts of fish is through wholesalers. If you don't have any near you, you are going to have to get into shipping. That requires air, styro boxes, large bags, packing tape, etc.

Dividing a 40 breeder for livebearers is okay but for a fish like the Pearl Gourami, the fry would need at least that whole tank and possibly another depending on how many fry you save.

Is it possible to make money doing this? Yes, if you sell enough fish and raise enough. It's not cheap. 1 pair of fish will not make you much money.
You also have to realize that the 3 fish you mentioned all breed differently so their requirements are going to differ. I strongly suggest you go to places like Amazon or Ebay or your local book store and get yourself some good books on breeding tropical fish. The internet isn't going to give you all the answers you are going to ask or need to know. I am a commercial fish breeder. Been one for over 40 years. I have stacks and stacks of books just about breeding fish. And now, with many of the fish being tank raised, it's a whole new dynamic. But you need to know what creates the ideal breeding environments for the different fish as well as how they breed. To make money, you need to breed on a different level than accidentally finding fry in a tank. Every fry you lose is lost money.

So if I haven't scared you off yet , I have a thread here titled " Wigglers 2: Birth of a hatchery...." which is chronicalling my new fish hatchery for Angelfish. This is actually the smallest one I've ever done just so you understand what it takes to make money at this. Feel free to look through it then figure out what you need to do.
More people will tell you you can't make money at it but it's usually because they breed like a hobbyist and not like a breeder. There IS a difference.

Hope this helps

 

[Navcab4422]

Thank you very much for the reply, with dividing the breeder tank I was going to make the dividers removable in order to be able to adapt the tank however I needed. For right now I I really want to get more of the experience and learn how to breed the different fish so definitely getting one of those books would help. The stand that I got for the 40 breeder can allow me to have four 40 breeder tanks eventually if this experiment tank works.

 

[coralbandit]

Breeding fish is great!
I loved breeding my swordtails for years.
Even created my own showas!
I breed (well try) GBRs now.
Your choice in fish is all different as far as water goes and the conditions they prefer but are good choices.
I breed Pearls also!
I don't "make money" ,but also haven't spent money at my LFS in years!
I turned swordtails into thousands of dollars worth of marine fish and creatures!
I never would have spent +$200 on a fish,but trading in 200 swords for an Emperor angel.....
It is the pleasure,the challenge ,and store credit that make it all worth while IMO.
I also hold strong to if we can just put back more then we take we are not "the problem".