Conditioning your breeder?

[WhitecloudDynasty]

I would love to hear how you guy/gal condition your breeder.

Ill start it off:

This is for my egglayer

- I start by separating my male and female for a few weeks/months in advance. Doing this give the female a stress free environment to build up enough eggs at their own pace.

- Both setup will have a airstone or a directional flow for water movement. This will keep them swimming since we are keeping them in a glass box, plus this will help burn off the high protein they are getting. Pretty much exercise, itll help with blood flow, working their muscles, and ect...I do add a bit of calcium to keep their bone stronger, i did notice since i been adding small amount calcium i haven't had a old female with bent back after the breeding season.

- As for food

• Male gets their normal full balance fish food, nothing special. They just need to stay fit, healthy, and active.
• Female gets a higher protein balance fish food with Folate, vitamin B12, vitamin B6, and the amino acid methionine. Folate, vitamin B12, vitamin B6, and the amino acid methionine are very important in early embryonic development. Most better grade fish food will carry some of the vitamin but i add a bit more just incase the female need more, whatever they cant use will become waste anyway.
• Live food every now and then

- Water quality should always be good

The whole idea is to get all your princess in their best condition possible, to be making the highest quality eggs, hatching the healthiest fry

If i can think of more ill add more.

 

 

[Ruud]

This is a very interesting topic that I will be following as I always have been more of the accidental breeder. Sure I threw in a few caves and such but never really tuned into setting up the perfect environment. 

Don't have space for breeding at the moment, but some day in the near future.... 

[FrostiesFishes]

I do basically the same thing. About the only difference is I also am conditioning water at the same time. I recently taken on what some would consider to be more difficult species to breed. Lamp eye Congo tetras, wild apisto Agassizi Tefe. And some L number plecos. So softening the water has become more important for me. 

[MickS77]

The only conditioning for breeding I've done so far is for Tetras. I separate the males and females in 5 gallon tanks with mattenfilters and a clump of guppy grass for cover. I feed them the same alternating between BBS and a high quality food. I may start adding a few drops of Vita-Chem daily as well. I keep them separated until the females have a noticeable egg belly. 

[Andy's Fish Den]

I've never spawned egg scatterers on purpose, but have a few growing out that I plan to work with here this fall and winter. My plan is to separate males and females and give hem live baby brine, frozen brine and daphnia, and mix in some pellets and flake food. When I notice the females nice and plump with eggs I'll put them in the spawning tank with some males and leave them for a day or two and then pull out for the fry to hatch and I will raise the fry in that tank.