Help With Breeding Plans.

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Ashrith

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Jan 10, 2016
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So, I recently caught the breeding bug. After viewing all sorts of different goldfish I've decided to give it a go. My plan:
  • Make 5 pairs of Ranchus each of a varying type. Hopefully, if I can find them I'll try and get adults that I can sex.
  • Give each pair their own tank(the size of the tank may vary depending on factors). Then wait a few months until the fish acclimate and show sighs of wanting to breed, i.e. male chasing female. My understanding is that dropping the temperature and then raising it, along with increasing quality and quantity of food will help set the mood.
  • Now from what I've read I now have a choice, either let the fish naturally spawn, or artificially coax them into spawning. Advantage of the later being fewer eggs are lost from being eaten, disadvantage it is considerably more stressful. Honestly I have no idea which to choose so recommendations would be appreciated.
  • After moving the adults to their own tank,(all pairs will share this tank). I drop the water level of the original tanks to prevent the eggs from being crushed, (I read this but I doubt it is necessary), and to improve oxygenation of the eggs.
  • About 5-7 days later the eggs should hatch, after which I'll slowly increase the water level. Once the fry lose their yolk sacs and become opaque I'll reintroduce the filtration system, but with the appropriate modifications for fry, such as a sponge or sock over the intake and a decreased suction power.
  • Now how large would an aquarium have to be to support the fry from eggs to around 3 inches? Or is it even practical to try?
  • The fry will be fed small live foods such a daphinia and brine shrimp, and slowly weened to pellets.
Overall let me know how the plan is and if you would tweak certain things a bit.

Thanks
 

Tifftastic

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Sep 9, 2008
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Honestly, you'd be better off with stock tanks than tanks. I would say you'd need at least the 100 gallon ones if you want to keep nitrates to a minimum without having a constant drip system. Also, raising them to a 3 inch size will take a long time. Buying pairs large enough to spawn will be pricey too. Its nearly impossible to sex goldfish unless you've seen them spawn. So, you'd either be buying a large number of large individuals, waiting for them to spawn and then culling the non-breeders. Or, you'd be buying proven breeding pairs, which aren't cheap either. It sounds like a pricey endeavor that requires a lot of space. You'd need to dedicate an entire room or two to breeding that many pairs IMO.
 

Kannan Fodder

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I agree with Tiff, based on my experiences with my grandmother's goldfish ponds. She kept fancy comets, but they still required a lot of room. The fry also grow at different rates, and the larger ones WILL eat the smaller ones.
 

Ashrith

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Is it possible to keep the fry outside in a stock tank, creating a sort of raised pond?
Also I found a few places selling sexed goldfish, now are these people trying to rip me off or is it possible that they are properly sexed. And to my understanding this entire endeavor would cost me around $4000. Including sexed fish, stock tank, and breeding tanks.
And an honest question; are people willing to spend $100 dollars or more on goldfish, I understand that there are enthusiasts like us but in reality is the demand great enough. I just don't want to be left with hundreds of ranchus to care for.
 

Tifftastic

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In reality when you start a breeding program, you're going to have to deal with culling some fish unless you want to care for all of the ones that dont sell and can't be part of a breeding program. I doubt you're going to be able to sell every fish for that $100 price tag. Maybe a few of the best ones that are a good size, but it could be really hard to pull that number and most likely you'll have to ship.
You could do stock tanks outside, but depending on where you live may have to figure out a way to heat them in winter. You'll also have to make sure they are covered so that you don't lose any to birds/raccoons/cats. You'll also need one tank for each line, if you're trying to keep them separate.
I don't know about whether or not the pet store is accurate, maybe ask them how they sexed them?
 

SnakeIce

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There is demand, as long as you can reach a large enough market. Who do you know might be the question to ask yourself. It is easier if you know some one connected with wholesale as a backup if you can't retail sell enough.
 

Ichthius

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Check out my blog goldfishgarage.com, theres tons of stuff on breeding ranchu, not so much text, lots of pictures and videos.

I'll have some high quality SXK TVR ranchu available soon.
 
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