# Easy-to-breed feeder fish??



## jimyycon (Dec 4, 2006)

I have a 30 gal. feeder tank. I dont like to buy goldfish/minnows from fish stores because of the health risks. I dont want to have to always buy $3 for my p's. Does anyone know of a feeder fish that is easy to breed so i can just do it at home? I have heard Mollies are really easy...


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## Dawgz (Aug 18, 2005)

most likely, the effort isnt worth it.

Ive heard that Convict Cichlids breed alot, but like with any fish ur gonna try to breed, it takes effort and it takes alot of time.

Its probably not worth it, why not just feed them frozen fish?


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## CloneME (Feb 24, 2006)

Ha convicts will breed in a toilet if you would let them. Just go to your local lfs and tell them you want a pair of convicts. They are easy to tell apart. The females usually have a red color to their stomach while the males are colorless and have long pointed dorsal fins. Here are some pics of mine when I used to breed them. You dont have to take the fry out of the tank or anything. They will raise them until the get big enough for you to feed them to your reds. I would recommend putting a couple clay pots in the tank as they like to lay their eggs on them and hide in them as well. Also only keep one pair in your tank. 
Breeding pair








Fry









Guppies are also easy to breed. They are live bearers so usually the females will go off by themselves and give birth. You will need lots of cover for the fry to hide or else the others will eat them. You can keep many guppies in a tank, it's best to have more females than males. As males are always ready to breed but females take a week or so after they have given birth to get into the mood. Anyways hope this helped, good luck with the breeding.
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## fishguy1313 (Feb 19, 2007)

My wife has plattys and they overcrowd her 10 gallon constantly. She always thinks she has missing fish. It's just me feeding my pirahnas with her excess.


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## jimyycon (Dec 4, 2006)

Is there a certain size the convicts need to be? would they breed at 2-3"?


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## swimosunatedog (Aug 16, 2006)

yes, If not smaller


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## zippa (Apr 29, 2005)

Dawgz said:


> most likely, the effort isnt worth it.
> 
> Ive heard that Convict Cichlids breed alot, but like with any fish ur gonna try to breed, it takes effort and it *takes alot of time.*
> 
> Its probably not worth it, why not just feed them frozen fish?


This is WRONG...Once your breeder tank is set up the most time consuming thing you will have to do is a 10 minute water change once a week...Guppies require some java moss or breeding net for the fry to hide in until they are a little larger...I think all you need for convicts is a flower pot..No fancy decor needed...No special anything.Set up the tank,cycle it and add fish..You will have more feedes than you know what to do with.

1-Set up your breeder tank. <<Should take about 40 minutes to throw a filter,light,gravel and water in the tank.

2-Allow the tank to cycle.

3-Buy some convicts or guppies and throw them in.

4-Let them breed.

5-Your done.

Doesn't that sound "time consuming"????


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## Trigga (Jul 1, 2006)

i think hes talkin about growing to a size that would be worth feeding to your ps.


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## Dawgz (Aug 18, 2005)

zippa said:


> most likely, the effort isnt worth it.
> 
> Ive heard that Convict Cichlids breed alot, but like with any fish ur gonna try to breed, it takes effort and it *takes alot of time.*
> 
> Its probably not worth it, why not just feed them frozen fish?


This is WRONG...Once your breeder tank is set up the most time consuming thing you will have to do is a 10 minute water change once a week...Guppies require some java moss or breeding net for the fry to hide in until they are a little larger...I think all you need for convicts is a flower pot..No fancy decor needed...No special anything.Set up the tank,cycle it and add fish..You will have more feedes than you know what to do with.

1-Set up your breeder tank. <<Should take about 40 minutes to throw a filter,light,gravel and water in the tank.

2-Allow the tank to cycle.

3-Buy some convicts or guppies and throw them in.

4-Let them breed.

5-Your done.

Doesn't that sound "time consuming"????
[/quote]

U dont understand what "too much time" means.

the time it takes for the fry to become anywhere near "benificial" or "worthy" takes TOO long, for convicts and guppies.

and the effort put into all this to achieve even one batch of good feeders is not worth the time.

but to each his own.


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## skubasteve! (Feb 14, 2007)

Are there any health benefits to feeding live? Unless you stock them with flake foods first, but even then how much flake can a feeder hold?

Whats the min tank size needed for breeding convicts?


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## Dawgz (Aug 18, 2005)

skubasteve! said:


> Are there any health benefits to feeding live? Unless you stock them with flake foods first, but even then how much flake can a feeder hold?
> 
> Whats the min tank size needed for breeding convicts?


Other than the fact that the P's will get a nice 30second work out from trying to catch the feeder, no, not likely.

Ive seen people breed convicts in 10gallon or 15 gallon tanks.


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## zippa (Apr 29, 2005)

I am not 100% sure on convicts maturity rates...However most people that own piranhas at some point in time attempt live feeding...Why not spend a little extra time and make sure your feeders are healthy..If you buy 20 guppies you will have more feeders than you will know what to do with within 2 months time...Since they will all breed at different times and it only takes about 6 to 8 weeks for their fry to be large enough to feed. Once the cycle of breeding your initial 20 begins your constantly going to have feeders.I personally feed shrimp,catfish,tilapia etc with the occasional feeder.


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## CorGravey (Feb 13, 2007)

I have breed convicts and the downfall is the lenght of time b4 they are big enough to actually make a good meal. But its satisfying to watch them grow and in a few months i will have feeders!


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## jimyycon (Dec 4, 2006)

So as far as easy breeders, are there any that also grow relatively quick? Convicts are a few months to be large enough, what about guppies or mollies or something...


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## taylorhedrich (Mar 2, 2005)

jimyycon said:


> So as far as easy breeders, are there any that also grow relatively quick? Convicts are a few months to be large enough, what about guppies or mollies or something...


In my experiences, guppies grow faster than convicts, but it's still not really very fast.


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## RMoneyRiggs (May 21, 2007)

My RB seems to love mollies. I Try to stay away from egglayers. I have one convict in my 30 gal with my single RB. The convict actually picks on my P a little, even though he's a third the size. What's up w that. Its as if the piranha cannot catch the Convict. What's that about? I'll put 4 mollies in there and with a blink of the light theyre all in p's stomach. BULGING sittin on swole. I wonder what would be the healthiest fish, (most protien etc.) to feed the RB. There's hundreds of different kinds, one has to be better than the other.


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## LGHT (Nov 9, 2005)

I tried it in a 20 gallon and the guppies couldn't breed fast enough to keep 8 large P's full. Even after putting in 20 guppies the P's would still seem to be VERY hungry. I guess if you had one or 2 fish to feed it would be worth it, but the more fish you have the more guppies you need and I think I would have needed around 20 breeding pair of guppies!. I think on average you would need around 4 breeding pair of fish per P to feed them exclusively.

So I reverted to buying frozen fish. I actually found a local market where the guy puts aside all unsold fish that they are about to toss. it's still somewhat fresh, but beyond the date they can sale as fresh. I tipped him a nice cigar and like clockwork I pickup a nice box of frozen fish twice a month for a few bucks!


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## Pitbullmike (Feb 14, 2006)

Go with convicts they are very easy... I have a hole tank of mixed cichlids and those two convicts bred and now have alot of babies swimming in my tank one is a pink and the other is a zebra convict


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## jimyycon (Dec 4, 2006)

If i have a 30 gal tank for breeding feeders, would i be ok mixing species? have guppies breeding AND mollies?


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## clhay1 (Mar 25, 2007)

Mollies too!


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## kmart189 (May 24, 2007)

Okay so I am thinking about doing the same thing have a 30g setup and it is cycling. So from the time I put in the convicts to get some decent size feeders for my caribe around 4" and four of them how much waiting time should I expect? I know it will probably range a bit.Are these convicts nutritionally good excluding parasite risk? What temps, what size should I purchase for the breeders, should I do a tablet treatment or something prir to feeding in order to further reduce parasite risk even if I raise them and take care of my water?


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