# First Time breeding redbellies



## kutanovski14 (Feb 3, 2008)

I have 5 4' redbellies and I have no clue on how to breed them help plz


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## dalyhawk (Apr 30, 2007)

Here are some quick helpers on that.

First, you dont know whether your fish are male or female just by looking at them. Second, at 4" in length, they're way too young to be sexually mature. They might not have fully established their territory in the tank also. If in fact you do have at least 1 breeding pair in your tank, you can guess pretty accurately on which fish is male and female. Females are generally bigger than males when they're breeding, for obvious reasons. Usually wider due to all the eggs she's carrying.

Once yours get a little bigger, things you can do to promote breeding is to simulate the wet season. Do this by doing frequent and larger water changes. (i wouldn't go past 50%) They breed in the wet season, so the fluctuation of water temperatures (warmer one day, maybe on the high side to around 80-82 and maybe a few days later, cool it down into the mid 70s) Doing the changes will also result in great water parameters, which also promotes breeding due to the perfect conditions. Another thing i've heard people doing is covering their tank with a towel or blanket so they feel more comfortable in the dark and it might help, but i never tried it. I usually wake up the next morning and i'll look at my tank real quick and their will be a pile of eggs somewhere. What im saying with that, is that i've found that mine breed at night.

If you have a breeding pair, you're gonna notice some aggression between them. They'll pair off somewhere in your tank and will probably be side by side, and spinning around eachother kinda like chasing one another. Its pretty obvious when it happens.

Here's some more info:
http://www.piranha-fury.com/information/article.php?id=12
http://www.piranha-fury.com/information/article.php?id=11

Good luck breeding!


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## kutanovski14 (Feb 3, 2008)

so they have to be about 6' to breed


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## dalyhawk (Apr 30, 2007)

not necessarily.. I'll compare it like this:

Not all humans become sexually mature on one specific day or year or month. In middle school, you'll see all sorts of sizes. Some sprouted earlier than others, some later, etc. I would say that's the case with reds. They might be sexually mature now, however, i dont think they are, but you never know.


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## geo20 (Dec 13, 2007)

my reds are about 4 inches and i notice two of them swim side by side and do like a little dance with their mouths open. does that mean they want to breeD?


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## dalyhawk (Apr 30, 2007)

geo20 said:


> my reds are about 4 inches and i notice two of them swim side by side and do like a little dance with their mouths open. does that mean they want to breeD?


quite possibly. If it looks like they're chasing one another around in one general area of your tank, its possible that they're about to breed and you might wake up tomorrow with a big orange spot on your gravel/sand. If that is the case, don't bother them, just let them do their thing. i wouldn't clean the tank, i wouldn't move anything around at all since they've set up their territory. If you do have a breeding pair, read up on it and read up quick. There's a lot of unknown stuff that you haven't come across in regular pygo keeping. But, let me know or StryfeMP if you do end up with a batch of eggs cuz it can be a little overwhelming if you have no clue what to do.


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## StryfeMP (Apr 26, 2007)

geo20 said:


> my reds are about 4 inches and i notice two of them swim side by side and do like a little dance with their mouths open. does that mean they want to breeD?


That kind of behavior is a sign that they are claiming territories in the tank, they are swimming side by side, fanning/pushing water towards the other, it's their way of showing aggression towards each other; this is my spot, get out, that kind of deal. Breeding behavior consists of the male blowing at the gravel creating a nest as well as shooing the others away from the area, then as the nest is finished, the male chases after the female in an attempt to push her or get her to the nest, from there, if they are ready to breed they will do a dance, blowing at the gravel doing a circle type swim together.


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## kfreeman (Feb 14, 2008)

dalyhawk said:


> Here are some quick helpers on that.
> 
> First, you dont know whether your fish are male or female just by looking at them. Second, at 4" in length, they're way too young to be sexually mature. They might not have fully established their territory in the tank also. If in fact you do have at least 1 breeding pair in your tank, you can guess pretty accurately on which fish is male and female. Females are generally bigger than males when they're breeding, for obvious reasons. Usually wider due to all the eggs she's carrying.
> 
> ...


That's pretty good cut and dry knowledge.


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