# Breeding for a n00b



## p8ntbal4me (Feb 19, 2007)

I posted on here a few hours ago,.. but my post is no where to be found. So this is a re-post I guess.

Heres the tank setup:

55 gallon (please read at bottom why tank has not been upgraded yet)
(2) 75gpm power heads, oposite back corners, reverse flow, undergravel filter system
Emperor 400 H.O.T. filter system (have a Magnum 350 canister, never worked right, Emperor works great)
Heater set to maintain temp range of 75-85 (I live in New England so its VERY cold here and I keep my room temp regulated)
Fake plants were installed, but fish pulled all of them out. So I removed them all.
Gravel is 1/4-3/4 size. Fish like this gravel best over other sizes I have used.
2 large air stone strips along the back of the tank (they seem to like these alot!)

Water conditions:

My town water is pure. I have tested it beyond reccomended purities listed on the forum. I test and treat every water change. Cleaning is completed once a month (with the exception of weekly filter checks, hose cleanings, after feeding cleaning, etc)

My Fish:

3 RBPs, they are 1 year old as of today (hence the first post). They have always shown their red coloring. They sometimes do fight a little bit,.. but nothing resulting in flesh or large chuncks removed from the fins.

2 of the 3 RBPs seem to be giving some of the signs of breeding (fin slapping, playful nudjing,etc)
They show red all the time, they are silverish colored on the sides, a little dark on the top. From the front they look black with a dark red belly. From what I read, they are healthy.

My question is, how to get them to breed. I dont know what sex they are,.. dont know how to tell either.

Reason for not upgrading the tank:

I saved enough to bump up my entire tank, pumps, filters, everything,.... to a 180gallon. Before going to buy it,.. I was thinking about the weight of the tank and how secure the flooring was. So after a quick weight/span calculation,... I ripped out my entire floor, installed new joices (there was 8,.. now there are 22) and double bridged the wall section between the joices to support the weight. So, now I can support a small army and a hot tub! I will be purchasing a new tank soon and I wish to enlarge the 3 fish group to 9 at some point over the next 2 years.
I would like to breed if I can,.. just cant seem to figure out how to do it based on all the different posts in this forum.

Anyone got a simple guide to at least promoting breeding in a tank like this???


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## Fry (Oct 9, 2005)

1.upgrade the tank
2.get a few more fish(I wouldn't over do it though.maybe get3 or 4 more)
3.bump up the water changes to once a week 25% or so.
4.feed them well and varied diet daily, if they will eat every day.
5.make a schedule and stick to it.
6.keep the other tank for your babies


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## AdamB (Jun 4, 2005)

Fry said:


> 1.upgrade the tank
> 2.get a few more fish(I wouldn't over do it though.maybe get3 or 4 more)
> 3.bump up the water changes to once a week 25% or so.
> 4.feed them well and varied diet daily, if they will eat every day.
> ...


fry is right, upgrade the tank. I got mine to spawn in a 60G with the same 1'x4' footprint as a 55G but it was a fluke.

again, fry is correct. The more fish you got the better the chance. I have 6 and i have 1 guaranteed pair and ive seen evidence of a second pair.

good work on the floor too! Nothing like overkill to make you feel safe..









when you setup the 180, make some of the tank a little more private, mine hid behind some plants till i took them out after the eggs were removed..

good luck in you quest. It will happen if you do what Fry said...


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