| Breeding tropical fish can be a lot of fun. Try your | | | | have had bad experiences with breeder boxes and |
| luck at breeding livebearers such as guppies or | | | | now only use a breeder net. It is also a good idea to |
| swordtails.Equipment Needed: | | | | purchase some real or plastic breeding grass for the |
| Breeder Box or Breeder Net | | | | top of the aquarium. The breeding grass is just in |
| Breeding Grass | | | | case the mother gives birth before you have a |
| 5 or 10 gallon tank for the baby fish or a tank | | | | chance to put her in the breeder box. The young |
| divider that you can use for your main tank. | | | | babies instinctively will swim to the top of the |
| A pair - 1 female and 1 male, 2 females to 1 male | | | | aquarium and the breeder grass provides a great |
| works even betterTwo of the more popular tropical | | | | hiding place so they won't get eaten by the bigger |
| fish for beginners has to be Guppies and Swordtails. | | | | fish in your tank.To feed your new arrivals you can |
| Guppies and Swordtails are livebearers which means | | | | use finely crushed flake food. Using your fingers, you |
| that their babies come out swimming. Like most | | | | can rub the flakes into a fine powder. Some only |
| livebearers, there is not much to getting your guppies | | | | feed live foods such as baby brine shrimp. Live foods |
| or swordtails to breed. If you have a male and a | | | | would definitely be the best way to go, but for most |
| female then you will eventually have a pregnant | | | | this is simply not feasible. Crushed or powdered flake |
| female. The gestation period for livebearers is usually | | | | food will suffice. Try to feed the babies 3 very small |
| 28 days but can range from 20 to 40 days.Place the | | | | meals per day. You will invariably feed too much and |
| male and female in the same tank together and they | | | | the excess food will drop to the bottom of the tank |
| will soon mate. You are probably asking, how can I | | | | or breeder box. To clean a breeder box we like to |
| tell when the female is pregnant? When a female | | | | take a 3 ft. length of aquarium tubing and a small |
| guppy is pregnant she will develop a dark triangular | | | | bucket. Use the tubing as a siphon to clean the |
| shaped gravid spot near her anal vent. This will get | | | | bottom of the breeder box. Be careful not to siphon |
| larger and darker as the pregnancy progresses. While | | | | any baby fish.Try to perform 25% water changes |
| you are waiting on the female to develop the babies | | | | weekly for your baby guppies. This will aid in the |
| it's time to make sure you are prepared for the | | | | optimal growth of your baby tropical fish. After a |
| delivery. We use plastic breeder boxes and always | | | | few weeks in the breeder box your new babies will |
| have without any problems. A breeder box is a small | | | | soon outgrow their home and you will need to move |
| box plastic box about 4 inches long by 3 inches wide | | | | them either to a new tank or your main tank with a |
| and 4 inches deep.There is a removable "V" shaped | | | | divider installed. By 8 weeks old your baby fish will |
| trap in it which serves to separate the mother from | | | | most likely be able to return to the main tank |
| the babies. When the mother fish has babies they fall | | | | without a divider.For more tropical fish and aquarium |
| through the slot in the "V" into the bottom of the | | | | information, please visit - Tropical Fish & Aquarium |
| box. After the mother is finished having babies, you | | | | Information.Mike is an editor at Designed for |
| can remove the "V" trap and the mother so that | | | | beginners, provides tropical fish information, how-to |
| they babies have more room to grow. Some people | | | | guides, articles, fish profiles, FAQs, forums and more! |