Best Breeders for a Classroom

[TheMurrays]

I am a teacher, and am considering getting a fish tank for my classroom. I have a little experience with freshwater, as I have two tanks at home, but I am mostly a newbie. I would like to use the tank for educational purposes (referring to our "ecosystem") and therefore would like to have live plants. I would also like to breed fish, but have no experience doing so. What would be the best fish for a beginner to breed? Also, what set up would those fish need?

Thanks!

[Galligak]

The easiest fish to breed is the guppy. Actually any livebearer would be prolific! Examples would be mollies, platies, swordtails, endlers. If I had an option on all of those to breed I'd do the Endlers (which is what I'll end up doing...) because they don't eat their young-usually-and they look amazing! If you really want to get breeding these, I'd go for a 15 gallon for the parents and older fry and a 5-10 gallon for the fry, although bigger is better!

[alLexX]

i would suggest a 20 long with gupies(3f/1m) and lots of java moss(the most indestructable plant ever)

[Mogurako]

I would say guppies, platties or swordtails are all very easy to breed, also shrimp might be kind of cool as well. Depending on the area available in the classroom somewhere between a 20 gallon long and a 40 gallon breeder would do the trick.

[Galligak]

Originally Posted by Mogurako

I would say guppies, platties or swordtails are all very easy to breed, also shrimp might be kind of cool as well. Depending on the area available in the classroom somewhere between a 20 gallon long and a 40 gallon breeder would do the trick.

AHH I forgot shrimp! If you did do Endlers you could also do Red Cherry Shrimp, I've read some post where the endler's mouths are too small to fit in the shrimp and their young, whether or not that is true I don't know but java moss or xmas moss will always help!

[mfdrookie516]

I would agree that some sort of livebearer would be your easiest option. Something else to consider would be tank size and lighting (for the plants). If you stick with a small tank, like a 20 long (much better than a 20 high), the standard fluorescent fixture that comes with them would sustain several lower light plants. If you're wanting a jungle, stock lighting probably isn't going to be sufficient.

[Tropical]

Live bearers are going to be the easiest. I'd choose either Endlers or guppies. For either, you'll need at least a 20 gallon tank. The Endlers won't eat their fry, which can be good and bad. They can easily over run a tank if you can't sell them fast enough. I breed Endlers on a small scale, they are pretty simple to take care of.

For plants, you could probably have java fern, java moss, hornwort, anarchris, and anubias with stock lighting. If you upgrade the lighting you'll have more options.

[TheMurrays]

Thanks for all your responses. I've never done this before, so I would love any suggestions on breeding in general as well. I see that you should remove the fry, I'm guessing as soon as you see them? Sorry - I'm a newbie! Also, should I have moss in the tank for the fry as well? If so, will kids still be able to see them?

[Galligak]

Originally Posted by TheMurrays

Thanks for all your responses. I've never done this before, so I would love any suggestions on breeding in general as well. I see that you should remove the fry, I'm guessing as soon as you see them? Sorry - I'm a newbie! Also, should I have moss in the tank for the fry as well? If so, will kids still be able to see them?

If you did any of the guppies, mollies, swordtails, or platies yes you would have to remove them. And yes I would put moss in the fry tank, the children would be able to see them

[Tropical]

Endlers can stay in the tank with the parents. They don't hide in moss, they'll swim out in the open, so the kids could see them. I don't have experience with the other types though, sorry.

[TheMurrays]

I looked at the endlers - I have never seen them before. Are they very difficult to find? How many would you suggest for a 20 gal?

[Galligak]

Originally Posted by TheMurrays

I looked at the endlers - I have never seen them before. Are they very difficult to find? How many would you suggest for a 20 gal?

I've had difficulty finding them around central ohio, but ebay, aquabid, local fish stores (lfs), here are wonderful ways to find them! If you want to breed them I'd only do 2 males and 4-6 females in that tank, it may not seem like a lot but they'll breed-fast!

[TheMurrays]

I'm a little concerned about that. I'm not sure where I would put them all!

[TheMurrays]

The red cherry shrimp would be very cool to breed as well. It would be something different. My kids probably have not seen many shrimp up close! Anyone have any suggestions on breeding them? How many per tank and so on?

[Galligak]

Originally Posted by TheMurrays

The red cherry shrimp would be very cool to breed as well. It would be something different. My kids probably have not seen many shrimp up close! Anyone have any suggestions on breeding them? How many per tank and so on?

red cherry shrimp are the guppies of shrimp. They breed like crazy and you could have as many as you wanted because they have such a low bio load, however I'd stick to around 10 to start off with

[TheMurrays]

Originally Posted by AquaKai

red cherry shrimp are the guppies of shrimp. They breed like crazy and you could have as many as you wanted because they have such a low bio load, however I'd stick to around 10 to start off with

Thank you! If they breed so fast, could I use the small ones as food for my tropical tank at home? We have a ghost knife and some other large fish.

[Mogurako]

Shell dwelling African cichlids like Neolamprologus Multifasciatus could also be an option if you want something a little less common. They breed pretty often, can live in almost any size tank and have tons of personality.

[TheMurrays]

Originally Posted by Mogurako

Shell dwelling African cichlids like Neolamprologus Multifasciatus could also be an option if you want something a little less common. They breed pretty often, can live in almost any size tank and have tons of personality.

I've never owned cichlids. Are they live bearers?

[Mogurako]

Allot of the African cichlids are mouthbrooders, which means they carry their eggs in their mouths until they hatch. The shell dwellers live and spawn in their shells and will guard and raise their fry in the shells.

[TheMurrays]

Originally Posted by Mogurako

Allot of the African cichlids are mouthbrooders, which means they carry their eggs in their mouths until they hatch. The shell dwellers live and spawn in their shells and will guard and raise their fry in the shells.

Wow, that's really cool. Thanks, I'll have to look them up!