Reasons to breed?

Smitty114

Smitty114

AC Members
Mar 30, 2009
57
1
6
ATL, Georgia
I've always wondered this. What's with the infatuation with breeding fish? Is it just for the hobby, or resale to the LFS?

I've never tried it but always wondered. If this is in the wrong section, you can move it.
 
Breeding can be a lot of fun with the right partner...

Oh right, fish. I remember my first babies- baby Guppies when I was about 9 or 10. It was fascinating really fascinating- that and they were cute... I gave away the young (that wern't eaten first).

I haven't had fish since I was a kid/early teen but I had lots of different types of livebearers give birth for me... always fascinating and exciting.


I'm only just getting back into the hobby now for the first time as an adult... whereas I'm not specifically trying to breed- I really hope my fish do (no livebearers this time- they breed way too quickly)... I'm planting heavily and I'm going to let nature decide if any young born make it. (I say that now- although I'll probably still try and rescue any fry I get).

I don't know if long-time enthusists still get excited about their fry- or if the fascination eventually wears off- but by the time the fascination stage wears off you'll enter the profit stage... and that can be fun too I'm sure.
 
It's extremely rewarding to watch a fish that you've raised grow from fry to adult. Plus, it's fun to sell them too and spread the joy of the particular species that you've bred. :)

It's a neat way to make a little extra dough to feed the hobby, too.
 
Breeding the right fish can indeed be very profitable, but for the every day hobbyist, it's more about the validation of knowing that your fish are prospering under your care. You can't really breed your fish, but you can convince them to breed for you. Beyond that, it's really fun to watch breeding behavior, and its another challenge/learning experience raising the fry.
 
rsanz said:
It's extremely rewarding to watch a fish that you've raised grow from fry to adult. Plus, it's fun to sell them too and spread the joy of the particular species that you've bred. :)

It's a neat way to make a little extra dough to feed the hobby, too.
Click to expand...
How do you find out if the store will want them? Or, do you just do through craigslist or something?

What are some of the best things to breed for profit, I'm sure Convicts and livebearers aren't the best since most can breed those quite easily? And, I'm guessing after they are born that they should be moved to their own tank?
 
I bred rare and common cories. I started to help support the habit I meen Hobby. Then I saw how many different species were disappearing and thought I can help with this. I now try to find rare or hard to find cories and try to get them to breed. It also will help support me when I retire I hope it has helped since being laid off. Its fun rewarding to crack a cory and say I did that. My 15 mins of fame maybe. I also fell in love with the kittens and watching them grow and changfe is fasinating. Angelfish dont even look like angelfish when there born. I also like giving people something they cant get at there LFS.
 
it's many things for me... i want to one day breed gourami, and probably a few other fish, for lots of reasons, chief amoung them are the mere challenge of successfully breeding, knowing that i've taken care of them well enough, raising a healthy, happy creature from birth, watching the entire process of courtship and mating in nature, the possible (though slight) financial gain, and- most importantly- perpetuating the hobby and contributing to the community. i could think of lots of other reasons, such as "baby fish are so cute!", but that covers the basics ^_^
 
As others said, the validation that your tank/fish are healthy enough that difficult species feel comfortable enough to breed. That's one reason I don't keep live bearers...too easy to breed: no feeling of success and you end up with WAY too many fish.

And like Kahuna, my other reasons are two fold:


1)Supporting my habit....by selling fish, and by breeding fish I'd like more of. Currently I want more CPDs, so I'm attempting to breed them. When I have as many as I'd like, I'll sell the rest.

2)Spreading species around. Currently I live in the Bay Area, where pretty much every fish I could want is available. However, the day is coming when I will be moving across the country. Point is, I breed, and encourage others to breed, so that more species are available to different parts of the country. My next project is to breed Chocolate Gourami's. I've had a couple spawning attempts, but I'll need to pull them out into a breeding tank to be successful.
 
It's all mainly about the experience you get through it and how much fun it can be during and after the process of succeeding. It's just a amazing thing to witness your own fishing breeding and seeing lil frys and growing to adults.
 
i like knowing that my tank is an optimal place for my fish and that my care has been more than just adequate. nothing shows that more than when my fish are breeding. plus, its a real challenge to raise fry to maturity. i have yet to sell any fry, but as i progress in this hobby, the fish i keep are becoming more difficult to find and pickier about their conditions. getting something rare to breed would let me know how much i have learned and give me an opportunity to potentially share some wonderful fish with other people
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom