Fishkeeping Without Fry

[PCeeTech]

I really hope that I dont get kicked off of this great forum for asking this, I hope everyone will keep an open mind..

First let me say that I have just begun my fishkeeping journey at the end of January, so far I have really enjoyed the experience. Fish are about the only pets that my kids can enjoy due to allergies and asthma. Before kids, my wife and I enjoyed 2 great dogs, a greyhound and a standard poodle. We had to give them up for the above reasons. We really enjoyed having them, but had no desire to breed, or raise pups, we just wanted to enjoy our dogs without all of that. Keeping with this theme I'm wondering with the correct choices of fish\conditions, is it possible to enjoy the fish that we get\have, and not have to fuss with, raise, find new homes for baby fish? I'm sure that for alot of people, they really enjoy and encourage fish to breed, and thats great, nothing wrong with it, I just would rather not. Or it may be the case that if I'm going to be keeping fish, I just as well get used to having and dealing baby fish (fry).

Ok, I'm ducking now, let the stones fly

PCeeTech

 

[OohFeeshy]

Of course. It's incredibly easy, given one simple rule- Even if there are fry, you don't have to do anything about them. Leave them in the tank, don't give them *too* many hiding places, ensure there are other fish, and they'll usually get eaten. Of course, that's made even easier if you don't keep livebearers- well, you can, just avoid females. That's about it really. I've never had any fry...

 

[rdd1952]

If you stay away from livebearers, you aren't likely to have to deal with fry. I have had 2 tanks running for over 2 years with tetras, angels and corys and have never had fry. Even if you do keep live bearers or get fry from other fish, it is perfectly ok to let nature take its course and let the fish eat the fry.

 

[dc3]

PCee - I think not breeding unwanted fish is the responsible thing to do - there are too many clueless people out there breeding fish without knowing full well what they're doing... Most times if your fish have managed to mate you can just dispose of the eggs - or the parents will end up eating the fry anyway

 

[PCeeTech]

Thanks for not stoning me

We already have 1 molly, we had 2 but lost 1 before finding this forum due to NTS. 1 clown loach, and 2 Serpae Tetras. I want to get 1 or 2 more mollies so ours will have a friend. I also want to get a larger tank so I can get 2 more clown loaches since they arent happy alone either. I've heard that mollies are easier to sex than other species, but not sure about the others. I've also seen the recommedations on here about some needing to be kept 2 male\1 female ect. which sounds to me like a recipe for babies I would like to try to get all males, but dont want any fighting or other bad behavior.....

I always have a habit of complicating matters

PCeeTech

 

[lilfishie]

if keeping a whole male group i think 5 seems to be the magic number, they should then spread there agression out more evenly

 

[OohFeeshy]

I've heard that mollies are easier to sex than other species, but not sure about the others.

Other species, yes, but just the same as other livebearers which is really the only time you need to worry about fry. Eggs from egglaying species are eaten very quickly, whereas fry can be a bit more devious.

I've also seen the recommedations on here about some needing to be kept 2 male\1 female ect. which sounds to me like a recipe for babies I would like to try to get all males, but dont want any fighting or other bad behavior.....

That's only if you're keeping a mix of male and females livebearers. Generally, a group of males is fine, although some (e.g. swordtails) should be kept one male per tank. Other species it doesn't tend to matter.

 

[rdd1952]

I've also seen the recommedations on here about some needing to be kept 2 male\1 female ect. which sounds to me like a recipe for babies I would like to try to get all males, but dont want any fighting or other bad behavior.....

That's only if you're keeping a mix of male and females livebearers. Generally, a group of males is fine, although some (e.g. swordtails) should be kept one male per tank. Other species it doesn't tend to matter.

Actually, I think the mix should be 2 females/1 male or the female will get harassed to death by 2 males.

 

[OohFeeshy]

I've also seen the recommedations on here about some needing to be kept 2 male\1 female ect. which sounds to me like a recipe for babies I would like to try to get all males, but dont want any fighting or other bad behavior.....

That's only if you're keeping a mix of male and females livebearers. Generally, a group of males is fine, although some (e.g. swordtails) should be kept one male per tank. Other species it doesn't tend to matter.

Actually, I think the mix should be 2 females/1 male or the female will get harassed to death by 2 males.

Indeed, didn't read the thingy properly

 

[dthoffsett]

If you don't want fry, I would avoid female livebearers altogether as they can "store" sperm for 6 to 8 months and continue to give birth without males present.

Egg layers are great to keep, especially if you also have catfish or other scavengers (such as the clown loaches) who delight in eating the eggs.

Good luck, and have fun.

 

[PCeeTech]

As usual, Great advise from the forum, much appreciated

I will definitly try to steer away from female live bearers. Is it harder to determine the sex of egg layers? also are there any othr types of scavengers besides clown loaches and catfish.

Thanks
PCeeTech

 

[OohFeeshy]

Is it harder to determine the sex of egg layers?

It really depends on the species- sometimes it's easy, sometimes impossible. But egglayers don't tend to breed as readily in home aquarium- or, if they do, you're unlikely to get any fry.

also are there any othr types of scavengers besides clown loaches and catfish.

Plenty- although 'scavengers' isn't really correct. They need their own food as much as any other fish, and won't eat any waste other than food that falls to the bottom. There are other loach types, hundreds of species of catfish, and others. The first two are most commonly kept, but as I mentioned, there's hundreds of species all with differing looks and needs.

 

[rdd1952]

Ghost shrimp are great scavengers. The really don't add anything to the bio-load as they clean up more waste than they produce.

 

[Yazan]

some fish are hard to care for some are not. It will be easyer if you research more and more.

 

[loachman]

As long as you get male mollies, you shouldn't have any fry trouble. I believe there is a stickied post in the livebearer forum on sexing the fish. It's the same for all livebearers.

Clown loaches will not reproduce in the aquarium (and they take years to reach maturity anyway), and they'll eat eggs of any egg layers (like the tetras).