humbling, but maybe it’s time to “dumb” it down a little bit…

[Magnum Man50 165]

I’ve been trying to breed some pretty unique live bearers, and things generally haven’t gone well… I do have a few tiger teddy fry, but getting enough to start a sustainable colony has proven difficult.. my best luck has been with more common fish ( I hate common fish ) … ok, truth be told, I hate that I’m only really capable, with common fish, ego says go for something less common and unique… it’s apparent why some fish are not common… and why less interesting fish, are often more popular… the limia’s have not gone well, I’m going to concede, and try a fancy line bred guppy in that tank I think…

the sail fin mollys have not been going well either, but the sword tails are showing promise… some fish are just my nemesis…

 

[Back in the fold6 3]

It’s never quick and easy breeding fish and with live bearers there’s the idea that they’re easy and they just breed with no help from us at all . I have a few Platy’s that , according to @gwand , should have multiplied to huge numbers but have slowly dwindled away to just six fish . The original female I got in December 2024 is still alive but she hasn’t dropped fry in along time now and her offspring don’t survive to adulthood . Now . . . . the Endler’s I have in the same aquarium ? They have indeed been fruitful and have multiplied exceedingly ! Why I do not know .
You have to hang in there and not give up too soon . You’re retired now so time is on your side . You ain’t got nuthin’ else to do .

 

[TwoTankAmin43]

If you want to spawn fish seriously, it needs to be done in a species tank. And even with this it may be necessary wih sime species to separate offspring and adults as the the adults might see the eggs and any young as food.

I have seen instances where a tank has a disease which the polder fish can fight off but the young cannot. I have also read of cases where the newborns can survive something but the adults cannot.

Finally, one needs to understand all of the needs of a given species to make breeding successful. This goes way beyond just parameters. Some fish need substrate others do not. Some fish eat their young others are good parents. Diet can be different for adults and fry, The list goes on her.

For some time I have heard that to bread labyrinth fish one needs to mauntain a warm humid atmosphere above the surface. And then at my last club meeting we had a pro on wild bettas etc. do a presentation. He has bred all sorts of Bettas and a few gouramis like the licorice for decades, He us just completing hi PhD.

One of the things he told us was the above belief was not trye. There is no need to try for a warm humid surface area. He said he has bread a lot of the fish involved and does not do this anf there is no need to do so.

If one is working with fish which need special condition and.or if the fish are very expensive, I do not understand wanting to have such fish kept with cheaoer dithers. Why would I want to risk fish which cost me a few $100 or more per fish catching something from a few dollar species added to make the tank more interesting? The absolute last place i would ever put fish I wanted to breed would be a community tank.The one exception would be if I needed their fry as food for other fish in the tank

Fish naturally want to breed. So our job is not to get them to do so rather, it is not to do things which would prevent this or would make them less inclined to do so.

 

[Magnum Man50 165]

I saw. a new tiger teddy fry last night again… only one pair in the tank, so not likely a sustainable number… it’s amazing how small these are, yet they seem to be getting away from the neocardia shrimp in this tank… if I could buy another couple pair, I would… the female is not much over a 1/2 inch long, you wouldn’t think she could have any live babies at that size… but she has already birthed 3-4

funny how some things that should be easy, are hard, and something’s that seem near impossible are happening???