Why breed fish?
So as a hobbyist...what else is in it for breeding fish? I picked up two beautiful angelfish (not sexed yet cause I don't think they are mature enough yet, but this is just wishful thinking) and I am just curious what else would be in for me besides the special setups and extra knowledge? I think it would be cool just to do it...but once I get a bunch of young fish am I just gonna have to give them away? Im not lookin to make money or anything but is it really worth the effort besides the cool factor? Heh
Posted from my iPhone so yeah...
Why breed fish? Well, for starters, you can sell the babies to your local pet shop or fish club members to help pay the expenses of the hobby. (I haven't actually paid too much money for anything fish related in years. It's been mostly store credits or proceeds from sales
)
Second, you have the ability to create new strains of fish when you breed. If you look at most of the fish that are in the hobby today, you'll find that they don't exist in the wild. They all have a wild ancestor but not with the colors you see now. Take Angelfish for example: the only color found in the wild is Silver with black stripes. Veiltails are all manmade, as well as every other color form. There are even three forms of angels in the wild (and possibly a fourth if you believe the science) and they all are some shade of silver. So it's been all through selective breeding that the other fish came into being. My next favorite example is Guppies. Look at all the different color varieties. Only one is natural. And the list goes on.
Third, the experience of learning how to breed the fish generally makes you a better aquarist and steward of the fish. You must do things correctly for fish to breed. More so than to just get them to live.
Lastly, if you get good at it, and learn how to breed a number of different species, you can make it a career, as I have. I've done it for close to 48 years and I haven't regretted going to work for 1 day of it.
So why breed fish? Because it's FUN!!!
If you'd like to know more about breeding fish, feel free to PM me
