# Breeding Tank Size?



## Dolphinswin (Jun 26, 2010)

Just wondering how big of a tank i would need for the eggs if i breed my reds someday? I know my mom isnt going to be hog wild if it happens but if they breed and she sees the eggs she will allow a temporary tank till i get rid of the off spring.


----------



## MPG (Mar 14, 2010)

20g with a sponge filter then upgrade to a hob.

[/topic]


----------



## BRUNER247 (Jun 2, 2010)

Lol.


----------



## banshee42096 (Apr 29, 2010)

yes you think its easy until you do it its hard work it looks easy but not.alot of time needs to be devoted to them or it plane and simple wont work period.they die fast miss a feeding theres some more dead.all and all if you dont have time and money to devote to them dont even attempt it.


----------



## Dolphinswin (Jun 26, 2010)

Why would need many small tanks? Why can you use just 1 larger tank???


----------



## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

If you're just looking to do it for fun or to try it out, you can easily just get one tank for fry, you'll probably lose a bunch and you wouldn't have anywhere to put more fry if they spawn again the next week, but you can always just let those stay in the main tank and see what happens.

Knowing what the market for piranhas is like down in the Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area, it wouldn't be worth it for you to run out and drop a ton of cash on equipment for a huge breeding project right away. Getting one tank and raising one batch at a time will still give you more baby natts than you'll know what to do with if you have a good survival rate.

You'll need to get your natts to spawn first, but you'll definitely want to have supplies on hand as well as an extra filter running on your main tank that you can transfer to the other tank when needed. It's a lot of extra work, but it's not rocket science, once you have fry, it's all about coming up with a schedule and sticking to it.


----------



## Dolphinswin (Jun 26, 2010)

Im going it for fun and would like to get around 50 1"ers at the end of it all. If i get more good, if i get less its ok because im just gonna try it for fun. What size tank will i need, the less gallons the better, but can i set it up after they drop the eggs? I know there is a way to hook a filer on and its ready in like 2 days.? Any mroe info would be great, but i have time since i know nothing about spawning them or raising fry.


----------



## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

I would say that a 20 long would be the absolute minimum, but a 30 or 40 breeder would be better. I would definitely get the tank and have things ready to go before you have eggs if you want to be successful.


----------



## Johnny_Zanni (Nov 8, 2009)

The fry tank should match the parents water parameters. So like Joe said it should be set up quite awhile before..


----------



## AKSkirmish (Jun 24, 2005)

BRUNER247 said:


> Lol better get them to spawn first. & one 20gal tank isn't going to cut it! Your gonna need multiple baby tanks, plus brine shrimp hatcheries. Its a lot of WoRK hatching brine,feeding fry n babies for a month n half if not 2 months, plus lots of waterchanges,and money too. Rbp babies eat like pigs.last couple weeks before I sell a batch they can easily eat a lb of bloodworms a week not to mention other foods also.& what goes in one end comes out the other end too. I don't think you realize just how much work goes into raising a batch of babies.ask anyone here spawning fish.
> 
> Lol better get them to spawn first. & one 20gal tank isn't going to cut it! Your gonna need multiple baby tanks, plus brine shrimp hatcheries. Its a lot of WoRK hatching brine,feeding fry n babies for a month n half if not 2 months, plus lots of waterchanges,and money too. Rbp babies eat like pigs.last couple weeks before I sell a batch they can easily eat a lb of bloodworms a week not to mention other foods also.& what goes in one end comes out the other end too. I don't think you realize just how much work goes into raising a batch of babies.ask anyone here spawning fish.


Getting them to spawn is easy......Not rocket science here....
Your right on the mutile tanks..the fry will grow at different stages-you will see alot of cannablism if you dont.....Plus it's easier IMO to regulate the water params when done this way.
Alot of money-I never saw this when I bred.....
Yeah alot of work involved so one does have to be prepared for this aspect.....But if setup properly-It's not as bad as people make it out to be...


----------



## Johnny_Zanni (Nov 8, 2009)

I have been trying to get mine to breed with no luck... Any tips AK?


----------



## banshee42096 (Apr 29, 2010)

you figure tanks.filters,air pump,stones,hood,light,food,upkeep.there is a cost involved.unless you had everything laying around then it wouldnt cost so i still think in my oppinion there is cost and time if you dont have it dont expect great results.


----------



## AKSkirmish (Jun 24, 2005)

Johnny_Zanni said:


> you figure tanks.filters,air pump,stones,hood,light,food,upkeep.there is a cost involved.unless you had everything laying around then it wouldnt cost so i still think in my oppinion there is cost and time if you dont have it dont expect great results.


It came easy for me-
All I had to due was mention what project i was taking on at my LFS stores and posted an add on the reader board for any spare aquarium related items. And got tons of free stuff that peole around the community were happy to donate to me.....

Just have to go about things smartly is all.......One goes out and buys all of this and expects a return from breeding------Expect to get pissed in the long run if thats what you do expect.......
Breeding should be about self satisfaction at accomplishing something-Not for a profit......


----------



## Johnny_Zanni (Nov 8, 2009)

I know what you mean AK.

And I agree on the profit thing. Don't expect anything back other then seeing them grow and the experiance especially if your breeding reds.


----------



## AKSkirmish (Jun 24, 2005)

Johnny_Zanni said:


> I know what you mean AK.
> 
> And I agree on the profit thing. Don't expect anything back other then seeing them grow and the experiance especially if your breeding reds.


I would read the topics of some of the old school members that have had luck in breeding.......Read em all and take the gathered info and see what works best for your tank...

Other than that-I'll just leave thread now

Cheers 
Ak


----------



## CLUSTER ONE (Aug 2, 2006)

Dolphinswin said:


> Just wondering how big of a tank i would need for the eggs if i breed my reds someday? I know my mom isnt going to be hog wild if it happens but if they breed and she sees the eggs she will allow a temporary tank till i get rid of the off spring.


A good fry tank would be about 20g if you want to raise some. I think bruner hatches the eggs in something like a 2-5g then moves them to lager growout tanks. If you want to raise just some liek i do a 20-30g tank will be fine. In these tanks you could probably raise a couple hundred babies if you wanted.

You probably also wont make much profit and it soon becomes a chore having to clean the baby tanks at least every 2 days (This is from my experience with only 1 x 20g tank. If you want to breed and raise on a larger scale like bruner you have to devote more time per day.) And just a note, baby rbp eat a ton. So raise 100 and you have to feed 100. You will need to buy a can of brine shrimp (40$ plus) eggs and will probably want some frozen packs of brine shrimp. It is cool watching the fry grow up but personally i don't really want to raise hundreds of fry. Even a few dozen if you wanted would be enough. If i sell my elong i may try raising a full batch in my 125 but untill then im just going to do small groups in my 20g. I could fit mroe then i do but even a dozen p's in a 20g tank can foul it quick so none the more you want to raise the larger tank you need or the more maitnence and cleaning you must do on a smaller tank


----------

