Breeding projects, refining my ideas 💡

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

I’d had plans to do livebearers this winter as my breeding projects but unfortunately I’ve lost my guppies and variatus platys I was planning to breed.

I’m now going to use fish I have instead of fish I need to buy (re wife put her foot down after I spent+200 on guppies and other fish). 

My plan is to breed my cherry barbs, diamond tetras, and maybe my black phantoms or red eyes. 
 

I have an empty 30 gallon sterilite tub, 2 three gallon acrylic tanks and some overflow in a 10 g planted ( a single amoeca splendens), 30 g sterilite with panda corys (another breeding project) and a 27 g tote with guppies and Neocaridina. 
 

The 3 g acrylics started their lives as aquaponics tanks, they have tops with slits on them that I could pack with Java moss, sphagnum moss and guppy grass thinking I could then just pull the whole thing out of the 30 g tote and set them up with cycled sponges and heaters then they can just be my grow outs for the fry. 
I also have an assortment of other bits and bobs I could use to set things up. I’ve thought  about setting up an under gravel sort of situation with an external box to pull the eggs up to - maybe use a 17 g tote I have my half black guppies in and put them elsewhere. Another setup I’ve seen is a mattenfilter type setup - pipe at the bottom of the mattenfilter that’s attached to the box at the bottom of the tank to pull the eggs to behind the mattenfilter. I have some good Swiss tropicals sponge I could make it out of and some t connectors I bought to make the sad bowls ugf system. 

Another option that’s super simple is this - putting all these bits in the bottom of my 30 g tote, loading it up with sphagnum moss, Java moss and guppy grass and then pulling the adults and just letting a whole bunch of barbs and tetras be raised up in there. 

Thanks everyone for your help and expertise. 

[FrostiesFishes]

hello, my first question would be how is your water chemistry. im currently starting to work with tetras myself.

 

[Atitagain]

The tops for the aquaponic tubs if I’m understanding correctly how you plan to use them I think is an excellent idea. And I’m very interested to follow your progress on the tetra breeding I hope you have much success. 

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

@FrostiesFishesmy water out of the tap is 7, kh 60-80, and gh 160-200. I’ve been thinking of using rain water and snow melt for my tetra project which I’m hoping could really change the game in terms of inducing spawning. @Atitagainthanks for the encouragement. I think my wife has a point really in terms of this project- I have the fish, the equipment, the moss and all why not?!

[CalmedByFish]

I love how shiny diamond tetras are. I'm guessing their fry really would look like little scattered diamonds, or maybe spilled glitter. ❤️

[Odd Duck]

I would also lean toward using the hydroponics set up just exactly for that.  As you know, plants are your friend and plants with direct access to air tend to pull nitrates best.