How long is breeding season? (Males attacking females)

[MaggstAa]

I have a tank with 9 common goldfish, and about 6 months ago I realized that of those 2 of them are females and the rest are males. The males have been chasing the females on and off mercilessly for months; I periodically quarantined the females to give them a rest and then after a week or so put them back in the big tank and the males seemed to calm down (I've done this about three times over the past few months). However, the past month I've needed to do it again because the females are getting physically exhausted and I'm worried for their health (I've started a little women's shelter in my QT), and every time I try to put them back in the tank (after a week or two), the males immediately jump right back on them. Their breeding tubercles are still very visible so they're obviously still "in the mood," but this breeding season seems like it is taking way too long. When can I expect the males to calm down/are there any factors I can change to calm them down? I figure it has to end at some point, and I feel bad that my girls can't stay in the big roomy tank, the QT isn't big enough for them to live in permanently.


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[Fresh2o]

When I had goldfish outdoors, the breeding "season" tended to be late spring through mid summer. Indoors, though, not sure if they are bound by season indicators. I'm not sure if they will take a break. If you had one or two males, then maybe. But with that many, again, not sure.

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[54seaweed]

not very familiar with freshwater anymore as it's been awhile , but if I remember right I think it was 1 male to every 3 females to prevent stressing out the females I'm not 100% positive on this but I think that was the ratio ,
spring to mid summer is what I was thinking also
now when I had cichlids , molly's , and guppy's it was like never ending

 

[MaggstAa]

Am I right to keep QT'ing them or should I just let nature run its course and then maybe if they lay/fertilize eggs it'll be over? The thing is I don't even know if they're gonna lay eggs or whatnot since I'm not intending to breed them and idk how all that is supposed to go, but I'm worried that if I keep them all together that the guys are gonna kill the girls, they really are brutal with them...


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[Coursair]

How big is the tank ? Can you separate females till they can go into a pond when it warms up ? Commons will need a pond or perhaps just keep a couple for the tank . They tend to outgrow tanks quickly. Fancies can stay indoors for life with a big enough tank and filtration.

For emergency quarters you can use large bins or stock tanks. There are lots of DIY Pond and Filter vids.


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[henningc]

Chill them down and they will stop.

 

[MaggstAa]

You mean the temperature? It's about 22C/72F in there now. How far down should I bring it? Like 20C/68F?


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[Tropical Aquarist]

I agree, lower temperatures will signal that "winter" is coming, and then they should stop breeding.

I'd go a 1-2F degrees lower each day, until you see them stop.