Dorm tank breeding setups

[Scapexghost]

Some im about a month away from moving back into my college dorms and i would like to breed some fish while im there. Now in limited on space and time. One 5 to 10 gallon tank and about 3 months b4 id have to take the tank down. Live foods will be difficult and naturally want to avoid the smelly ones since this will basically be in a shared bedroom.

Here are my current ideas:

Guppy tank: this would be by far the easiest and ive done it in the dorms before. I have a strain i like and the dorms have very hard water. I would like to try something new but this id always a safe fall back.

Kribs: this is one i tried b4 but never got babies. I would like to try again but im not sure if ill have any more luck than last time.

Shrimp tank: ive had mild success breeding cherry shimp but never got a big colony before. I'm not sure if id by satisfied just having shrimp and not fish though.

 

Any suggestions? What would you do?

[AllFishNoBrakes]

Kribs taught me a valuable lesson early on that it’s difficult to get rid of their giant spawns, and they’re very prolific breeders. They can get out of hand quick!

If it was me, I’d do the shrimp. They’re just super easy. Both to breed and to sell. Would be 0 stress when it’s time to move out of the dorms and take it all down. 
 

If it absolutely has to be fish, then I’d personally do the Guppies. 
 

Just my $0.02.

[JettsPapa]

It doesn't have to be one or the other.  I have guppies in most of my shrimp tanks.  They may pick off a few juveniles, but they don't bother the adults.  If you have a store that will take the stuff you'd be surprised how much you can make selling plants, shrimp, and guppies from a single 10 gallon tank.  The key is to have a single strain of guppies that sells well (you won't get much for mutts), good quality shrimp (you will need to figure out what to do with the inevitable unsuitable color shrimp), and healthy plants that are packaged so they're ready to sell.

[Cinnebuns]

Although shrimp are typically a great idea for 10 gallon breeding it wouldn't be very helpful in a 3 month time period. Often shrimp take several months to become comfortable in a new tank to start breeding. 

I have some other ideas you can ponder. I haven't done all of these myself so I don't claim to have full info on them:

-  killifish

-  Mexican dwarf crayfish

-  ramshorn snails 

-  pygmy cories -  not 100% sure if 10 gallons would be enough for this but probably is

-  anchor catfish

[Scapexghost]

On 7/28/2023 at 2:17 AM, Cinnebuns said:

Although shrimp are typically a great idea for 10 gallon breeding it wouldn't be very helpful in a 3 month time period. Often shrimp take several months to become comfortable in a new tank to start breeding. 

I have some other ideas you can ponder. I haven't done all of these myself so I don't claim to have full info on them:

-  killifish

-  Mexican dwarf crayfish

-  ramshorn snails 

-  pygmy cories -  not 100% sure if 10 gallons would be enough for this but probably is

-  anchor catfish

I feel like i know nothing about killifish bc theyre so diverse i dont know where to begin. Have you tried any and have any tips? Pygmy cories are tempting to do alongside guppies, i couldnt imagine them predating to many fry. Ill probably end up breeding so ramshorns whether i want to or not.

[nabokovfan87]

On 7/26/2023 at 9:10 AM, Scapexghost said:

Shrimp tank: ive had mild success breeding cherry shimp but never got a big colony before. I'm not sure if id by satisfied just having shrimp and not fish though.

shrimp is probably the easiest one to do and makes the most sense considering your scenario.  Minimum two tanks or having a place to sell cull shrimp is important though.

If you need help with colony size there are some great resources out there for just about any shrimp variety you want to keep.  One that I highly recommend is Mark's Shrimp Tanks.

You can also consider something like a pleco setup with the shrimp if you have a means to offload the fry.

[Cinnebuns]

On 7/28/2023 at 3:52 AM, Scapexghost said:

I feel like i know nothing about killifish bc theyre so diverse i dont know where to begin. Have you tried any and have any tips? Pygmy cories are tempting to do alongside guppies, i couldnt imagine them predating to many fry. Ill probably end up breeding so ramshorns whether i want to or not.

I have not personally done killifish no so I'm sorry I don't have insight there. I just know it is a fish that can be done in a 10 gallon tank. 

Can you have more than 1 sub 10 gallon tank?  Or more than one in general?  You can selective breed ramshorn snails for color and have each line in a different tank. I used to do this. They actually sell surprisingly well on ebay if you get some good colors. I could even hook you up with some starters from what's left of my old lines. I had gotten green and multiple types of purple and gold and just endless colors. It's def something you could do in addition to something else in a 10 but multiple small tanks would allow you to focus in on colors. They don't need much. They don't need a heater and even a filter is just a bonus. 

[Goosedub]

If it were me, I would be nothobronchius killifish. Super fun in a small space.

[Scapexghost]

On 7/30/2023 at 3:00 PM, Goosedub said:

If it were me, I would be nothobronchius killifish. Super fun in a small space.

They certainly are pretty. Any species/local your favorite?

[Goosedub]

From what I understand care and breeding is about the same for all of them. Pick a paint job you like and go crazy

[Beardedbillygoat1975]

I would do a dwarf or teacup platy. They breed like crazy and sell very well.