Breeding fish: Where would you start?

[Peace River]

Breeding fish: Where would you start?

For many saltwater fish enthusiasts who want to breed fish, they start with clownfish which are a great option. Other fish keepers start with Bangaii cardinalfish, Orchid Dottybacks, Neon Gobies, Fang Blennies, or other similar fishes. For me, I started breeding freshwater fish before I ever ventured into breeding saltwater fish. Even then, I started with a non-reef fish that I was familiar with before moving to clownfish, cardinalfish, and more. The first saltwater fish that I bred in my tanks was a type of killifish that I caught with a net in Tampa Bay – the Gulf Killifish (Fundulus grandis). Tell us what fish you would like to breed in the thread below!

Photo by @Peace River of a Gulf Killifish egg laid in their personal aquarium on a yarn spawning mop.

Interested in getting started breeding saltwater fish? Here is a link to an R2R article on breeding Banggai cardinalfish:
https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/breeding-the-banggai-cardinalfish.569/

If you want to explore more about breeding fish and want to try something more than the common species, here is a link to an article from Chad Vossen, an active marine breeder and reef aquarist, about breeding Bellus Angelfish:
https://www.reef2reef.com/ams/captive-breeding-of-the-bellus-angelfish.464/

 

[Piscans]

id probably breed mollies, sheepshead minnows, & other killifish first just to learn how to maintain a high bioload spawning enviroment. then id try raising clownfish, gobies, etc. most fish are pretty easy to spawn by giving it a lot of food and shelter, but people always advise agiants "overfeeding" which makes people afraid to do it.

 

[GARRIGA]

Was going to go maroon because not as abundant yet popular although their aggression does cause problems.

 

[Jwise]

I unintentionally almost hybrid a blood orange Misbar clownfish and a mocha ocellaris. They paired off together and the mocha male was trying to breed a couple of times but no eggs. Then the maroon side of the blood orange female kicked in after a couple months of the male trying to breed and she actually started to bully the male a lot and he unfortunately jumped out one night and it was sad.

 

[Pelagikos]

I'd start with the fish.

 

[i cant think]

I’m attempting to breed a trio of Pink Streaks in hopes of being successful however I don’t have much hope of getting brood.
This is one of my 3 in my SPS tank.

 

[Reefbuds]

I would love to breed Flame hawks.. one day

 

[design.maddie]

I picked Orchid Dottyback but truthfully I would love to give Splendid Dottybacks a shot.

 

[argiBK]

I probably wouldn’t even pursue breeding unless the species was 1) financially viable (Yellow Assessor, which was my choice, and potentially questionable re: actual demand/profit); 2) wild collection is a threat to native/endangered populations (Bangaii Cardinals), or; 3) wild collection means the species is highly-priced when any fish reach market (lots of angels in this category).

For clowns, I feel like the market’s reached a point where even designer clownfish are over-abundant and supply is well above demand. LFS won’t even buy non-aberrant captive bred clownfish.

 

[Premium]

Black Frostbite Clowns. Love those guys

 

[ShakerBreaker]

I've been trying with my radial filefish, but have yet to get a successful hatch, they lay them in the sand which is making it very difficult

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

I probably wouldn’t even pursue breeding unless the species was 1) financially viable (Yellow Assessor, which was my choice, and potentially questionable re: actual demand/profit); 2) wild collection is a threat to native/endangered populations (Bangaii Cardinals), or; 3) wild collection means the species is highly-priced when any fish reach market (lots of angels in this category).

For clowns, I feel like the market’s reached a point where even designer clownfish are over-abundant and supply is well above demand. LFS won’t even buy non-aberrant captive bred clownfish.

Yeah, I'm kinda in the same boat...

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

This is a good start, Well….when one fish cares and loves another fish so much….

 

[cdnco2004]

You only have other clownfish not other fish there are plenty of breedable fish not on your list but people can't vote for other as it does not exist in your list.

 

[Peace River]

You only have other clownfish not other fish there are plenty of breedable fish not on your list but people can't vote for other as it does not exist in your list.

Thanks! The option has been added.

 

[Jedi1199]

I'd like to breed seahorses... My old 55g, which has been sitting in the backyard since early July is begging me to clean it up and get a herd of ponies going...

 

[Jwise]

I think that the Captive bred companies like biota and ora need to focus on doing more tang and angel species as well because the fish that are captive bred with these species normally have very nice colors and they are way more hardy and tolerant to mistakes, parasites, and illness. They also seem to do way better in aquariums that are on the smaller side like 50 gallons and less and are more likely to live happily in a tank that size as well.

 

[Peace River]

I think that the Captive bred companies like biota and ora need to focus on doing more tang and angel species as well because the fish that are captive bred with these species normally have very nice colors and they are way more hardy and tolerant to mistakes, parasites, and illness. They also seem to do way better in aquariums that are on the smaller side like 50 gallons and less and are more likely to live happily in a tank that size as well.

I believe that Poma Labs focuses on angels and FL Tropical Aquaculture Lab and U of Hawaii were the ones to figure out how to breed yellow and blue tangs. The next step is to take these species from being bred to being commercially viable to breed.

 

[Tired]

Cardinalfish, hands-down. The fact that it's possible to accidentally have them successfully born and raised in your tank says volumes about how easy they are to breed and rear compared to other saltwater fish, and you gotta start with something easy before jumping in the deep end.

 

[Jwise]

I believe that Poma Labs focuses on angels and FL Tropical Aquaculture Lab and U of Hawaii were the ones to figure out how to breed yellow and blue tangs. The next step is to take these species from being bred to being commercially viable to breed.

I know that tominis, hippos, purples, and yellows are Captuve Bred. Once they get more rabbit fish like a magnificent foxface and a tangs like the naso family i would be so happy.