What is the best fish to breed for feeders?

[rwaterman]

I am getting a 30 gallon tank tomorrow and I want to start breeding my own feeder fish for my clown knife.

I am looking for advice on the best way to do this and as well what is the best/easiest fish to breed?

Please help!

 

[blue2fyre]

Guppies are really easy to breed, pretty much just add water. I have heard of people breeding convict cihlids for feeders as well.

 

[jpappy789]

Guppies or cons.

 

[Hebily]

I use guppies... convicts would work, but they are more cyclic (you may have to wait for a new batch of eggs to hatch) and have a greater potential to get too large before you need them. Guppies almost always have fry (if you have enough) and you can use them as feeders at any point in their life cycle.

The 30 would be for the feeders only, right?
If you don't have a filter for it yet, I reccomend a sponge filter (since it's not a show tank, and they are easier and less likely to break than anything else.)
If you have a filter, I would put a sponge over the suction (or something else to keep fry from getting sucked up.)

I don't know if it will be the same where you are, but here, whenever I get a batch of feeder guppies, about half die in QT. (i'm trying to find the equilibrium point, so I can keep them in my angel tank - have them breed as fast as they are eaten.)

 

[rwaterman]

someone at work here is saying that at our LFS they were saying to breed mollies? Not that I wouldn't trust my LFS but is there anything behind this or was he talking to someone clueless?

 

[rwaterman]

the only thing with the guppies that I am questioning is their size. There so small he can easily go through 50 a night with out a problem. right now he is feeding on small goldfish but i know their not the healthiest fish to eat.

 

[Dwarf Puffers]

For a clown knife, I would skip guppies and do platies. They grow faster and to a much rounder size, so you wouldn't have to feed as many (and I'm sure the knife would appreciate the larger prey). Or if you wanted to try a couple of different feeders, you could split a barrel and keep a different livebearing colony in each.

 

[Hebily]

mollies or platies will both breed like guppies, but get larger... so they would work... I didn't realize how large the knife must be.

 

[rwaterman]

yeah he's a pushin 9" right now... just put him in 150 gallon so i look for him to grow like crazy! can't wait

 

[SubRosa]

If food is your aim Livebearers really aren't the best choice. They're easy, and the babies are born big, but they're just not as prolific as egg-layers. Convicts are probably the simplest choice. After teaching your clown to take frozen shrimp that is!