Thinking about breeding.

DirectCherry · Apr 5, 2020

Hey all,
Just a 23 y/o dude here. I grew up with reef tanks (had a 200gal years ago, but family just has a 100gal right now). In the current tank, we can't have any corals (lots of restrictions in Hawaii with import/export and harvesting).

I'm living in Hawaii right now with my family (due to COVID19) but will eventually move back to the mainland US at some point (probably Utah).

I'm thinking of starting to breed clownfish as a hobby with the potential of breeding other fish as well and doing it professionally on a larger scale (if I enjoy it). I'd want to sell WYSIWYG online directly to tank-owners rather than to fish stores or wholesalers.

I think the challenge of breeding and raising fry would be cool, but think it would be amazing if I chose to do it professionally and worked on figuring out how to breed fish that haven't been bred in captivity yet.

I'd really appreciate it if some breeders would share their thoughts!

What do you enjoy about breeding? What don't you enjoy?
What would you have me know about the breeder life (either hobbyist or professional)?

Dr. Phil · Apr 5, 2020

Welcome to R2R! I am not a breeder but there are some on the forum. You could find a lot of useful information in the breeding forum and you might get more input on that topic there. Best of luck and happy reefing!

Fish Breeding Forum

This is the place to discuss and share about saltwater fish breeding. Got a question or want to talk about your experience? Please join in!

www.reef2reef.com

Peace River · Apr 5, 2020

Welcome to R2R!!! If you go to YouTube and do a search for "macna breeding" you should find several videos that align with your question. Additionally, I also recommend Matt Wittenrich's book on breeding and research Rising Tide Conservation.

Flippers4pups · Apr 5, 2020

There's quite a few people that do this or have done it. Me not one of them! Lol

@diaz2010, you beat me too it! Thank you!

DirectCherry · Apr 5, 2020

Peace River said:
Welcome to R2R!!! If you go to YouTube and do a search for "macna breeding" you should find several videos that align with your question. Additionally, I also recommend Matt Wittenrich's book on breeding and research Rising Tide Conservation.

Really great resources! Thanks! I've heard of Matt Wittenrich's book, but haven't gotten around to ordering it. I've also been told about a book called Clownfishes by Joyce D. Wilkerson's. Might have to pick that up too.

DirectCherry · Apr 5, 2020

diaz2010 said:
Welcome to R2R! I am not a breeder but there are some on the forum. You could find a lot of useful information in the breeding forum and you might get more input on that topic there. Best of luck and happy reefing!

Fish Breeding Forum

This is the place to discuss and share about saltwater fish breeding. Got a question or want to talk about your experience? Please join in!

www.reef2reef.com

I'm on mobile and can't seem to find any sub-forums. It seems like one massive unorganized forum. How do I find the breeding forum?

dbl · Apr 5, 2020

Welcome to R2R @KameZ. Turn your phone sideways (horizontal view) and you'll see many more options. One of them is "Forums". If you click that, you should see a list of all the subforums.

DirectCherry · Apr 5, 2020

dbl said:
Welcome to R2R @KameZ. Turn your phone sideways (horizontal view) and you'll see many more options. One of them is "Forums". If you click that, you should see a list of all the subforums.

All I see is New posts, Trending, Watched, etc.

Peace River · Apr 5, 2020

KameZ said:
Really great resources! Thanks! I've heard of Matt Wittenrich's book, but haven't gotten around to ordering it. I've also been told about a book called Clownfishes by Joyce D. Wilkerson's. Might have to pick that up too.

The Wittenrich book is a more general book on breeding and covered nearly a hundred of the several hundred fish that he has breed. Currently Matt is at Poma Labs focusing on breeding rare and yet-to-be-bred Angelfish. The Wilkerson book is a classic that I have read many times. Another reference for breeding that I refer to is "Conditioning, spawning, and rearing of fish with emphasis on marine clownfish" by Frank Hoff (Florida Aqua Farms).

Flippers4pups · Apr 5, 2020

Click on "Foums", a scroll down menu should appear looks like this:

Or click the link:

Fish Breeding Forum

This is the place to discuss and share about saltwater fish breeding. Got a question or want to talk about your experience? Please join in!

www.reef2reef.com

Gernader · Apr 5, 2020

Welcome to R2R!!

DirectCherry · Apr 5, 2020

@Flippers4pups
That worked, thanks!

Flippers4pups · Apr 5, 2020

KameZ said:
@Flippers4pups
That worked, thanks!

Your welcome!

Shawn_epicurious · Apr 5, 2020

Welcome to R2R!!!

35ppt · Apr 5, 2020

Banggai Cardinals could be a good start. They are very easy and eat enriched baby brine shrimp rather than having to culture phyto and pods/rotifers.

fuelman · Apr 5, 2020

Welcome to R2R!!!

Brandon Smith · Apr 5, 2020

If you end up doing it on a professional level, you will have a hard time moving a lot of clownfish as WYSIWYG. I would recommend cherry picking your best fry to sell as WYSIWYG and sell the rest wholesale to LFS's.

DirectCherry · Apr 5, 2020

Brandon Smith said:
If you end up doing it on a professional level, you will have a hard time moving a lot of clownfish as WYSIWYG. I would recommend cherry picking your best fry to sell as WYSIWYG and sell the rest wholesale to LFS's.

I just feel like fish stores tend to treat fish poorly and I think it would be a shame for the fish to go to them. Or maybe LFS treat them well and its the large pet store chains and wholesalers that I should avoid. Thoughts?