Buying tropical fish can get very expensive. Breeding fish is a great way to add more fish to your aquarium. The first thing you should do is to choose a breeding tank. Individual fish mature at different rates. In order to breed some species that otherwise live happily in a community aquarium, you will need to alter the water chemistry very gradually. For best results place the parent fish in their accustomed tank water conditions in a separate tank and change the pH and hardness levels very slowly. When it comes time to breed, different fish mature at different rates. Most male fish are ready for breeding from two to four months. Some male fish are late developers. The late developers are are usually the larger fish. Female fish are usually breedable at three months. Female fish fill eggs and their rounded bellies indicate they are ready to spawn. To determine a fish’s age It is best to buy young fish and then you will know exactly how old they are.
When you have set up your breeding tank you need to have the right filter. Power filters with strong currents can suck up small fish. Under-gravel filters can pull babies down. Box filters can trap baby fish. The best filter to use would be an air-powered sponge filter. They provide gentle filtration and the biological surface of the sponge becomes a feeding ground for the baby fish. Another great idea is to use a breeding trap. This will allow eggs or newborn fish to drop through the openings and be safe from other fish. There are commercial traps available. You can even make your own using a plastic coated wire mesh. The mesh should be large enough to allow eggs or babies through, but not the adult fish.
Form it into a basket that is a little smaller than the breeding tank and suspend it in the tank by two pieces of wire. The top of the basket should protrude one inch or more above the water surface to stop fish from swimming out. Their are plants available to use for spawning. Or you can use a spawning mop. These are more convenient than real plants and you have full control of how it is used in the breeding setup. They can be of any size or density and it can be placed exactly where the fish want to spawn. Earthworms are a valuable food for breeding fish. The highly nutritious value of earthworms makes them an excellent food to condition larger fish for breeding. You can find them yourself sometimes. On a wet night shine a flashlight over the soil and lawn in your yard. You can store them in a peat-filled bait box. These worms can also be bought from fishing tackle stores.