Breeding fish?

[Elliriyanna]

I Have two kissing gourami's in my forty and will soon have 6 little neons and two African Dwarf frogs in my ten gallon... Both have appropriate filtration and heating the ten is much more prepared ...

the thing is how can I tell if my fish pair off? Or will anything help them breed? I'm new to all this but with the possibility of mixed genders I wanna be prepared.

[rich311k]

You have nothing to worry about. Those fish would require a proper setup and work on your part to breed successfully. It will not be an accident.

[dbosman]

The Gouramis will be the easiest to breed, if they like each other. The eggs and fry will float to the top of the tank. While they are a labyrinth fish, they don't build a bubble nest.

[Elliriyanna]

how will I know if I have a male and female? they have no external differences ... I'd rather breed the neons they are so adorable and they would be easy to sell ...

How do i breed them? If its best I dont though I wont do it

[Brhino]

your setup does not have room for the two gouramis you are putting in it, to say nothing of offspring. Even if they were to breed, the offspring would not survive the parent's predations. You'd need a separate breeding tank to put the parents in for breeding and then removing, and then you'd need proper tanks and plans for the resulting offspring. Since you don't have any of that, don't worry about it.

[Elliriyanna]

I meant breeding the neons ... and I'm just curious how to tell if they are a pair ... Promise I wont breed them unless I can get them a much bigger tank ... I wanna breed spots but for His/her sake I'm not gonna even try.

[dbosman]

The information from the breeding program at one of the Florida universities said soft acidic water is the key. I'm working on Neon Tetra breeding at present. Currently I'm making an oak leave extract to lower the pH of the water.
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I clipped this from [Only Registered Users Can See Links.]
BUT I didn't paste the nonsense parts. If you go to the link, ignore all references to salt.

Neon tetras can begin breeding by about nine months of age. Neons will breed in tanks with other fish but due to the likelihood that the eggs will be eaten, they are most often breed in a small tank with a pair or small group of neons. A pH between 5 and 6 as well as very soft water are often necessary for successful breeding. A good breeding temperature is 75 degrees F.

Neons often spawn in the morning. While spawning, neons will chase each other through any plants. While all the neons may spawn in one day, the actual act is done between a pair. The male and female intertwine, and the female may become vertical. Each female produces 60 to 130 eggs all over the plants and ground. The eggs are not sticky. The parents should be removed so they do not eat the eggs. The eggs are light sensitive so keep the developing eggs out of direct light. The eggs hatch in about a day. After the fry are free-swimming in about four to five days, they can be fed strained egg yolk, infusuria, other microscopic live foods, or Liquifry (which is mostly yolk). Provide subtle lighting over the tank once the fry are swimming so they can see their food.

One aquarist whose neon tetras spawned indicated that it may have been triggered by allowing the nitrates to build up in the water and then doing a 50% or so water change. His neons spawned the next day. These neons were fed live brine shrimp too. The pH was about 6.7 and the temperature was about 76 degrees F. Of course, the water was soft (dKH of about 5). Another aquarist says they tried letting the nitrates build up and then did a huge water change, and his neon tetras spawned within a week too.

[Elliriyanna]

thanks :) I'll make sure both my tanks are doing great before i even think about breeding them :)

[toddnbecka]

If you want to breed aquarium fish start with something easier than neons or gourami's. Both those lay tiny eggs that hatch into tiny fry that are a pain to care for. Zebra danio's would be a better starting species to learn how to care for tiny fry. Cichlids are even easier because a good pair will care for their eggs/fry, and most cichlid fry are large enough to eat baby brine shrimp and/or microworms as soon as they're free-swimming. Tiny fry like neons, gourami's, and danios require smaller food for the first week or two. Green water, infusoria cultures, and a tiny pellet food called golden pearls are helpful. So is a well-established tank with a large sponge filter and live plants.

[Elliriyanna]

I just wont breed fish yet ... I dont have the money for that. I think I should put my attention into caring for the fish i have before I bring more into the world.

[Brhino]

excellent idea.