Authored by Velisa S Mefford in Pets
Published on 06-08-2009

If you have a fondness for pretty little goldfish, and decide you would like to have more, why not consider breeding the goldfish you already have instead of buying more? Breeding goldfish is very easy, and is a very educational study about how goldfish mate and spawn. If you have an extra tank, turn it into a breeding tank. Add a few fertile goldfish, (usually 2 females and 3 males), and you are well on your way to all the goldfish you could ever want.

To start with, you will need to keep the male goldfish and the female goldfish in separate tanks until you settle on your breeding pairs. As usual, feed them regularly with high quality goldfish food. Add some live food into the mix, such as brine shrimp and/or live black worms. Most pet stores carry the shrimp and worms.

Now, set up the breeding tank with clean, fresh water and a good aeration system. Remember to add live aquarium plants, or “spawning mops” so that there will places for the goldfish eggs to adhere to. Next, you will need to set the breeding tank’s temperature to around 64 degrees F. The temperature in your main goldfish tanks should be 64 degrees. If it isn’t, then you will need to slowly raise the temperature in all your tanks by no more than 2 degrees every day over a six week period. You need to do this before trying to breed the fish.

Late spring or early summer is when you should choose your fish for breeding. Select three healthy males that have those white, hard, round-ish growths on their bodies and two healthy fertile females with nice plump tummys and sides. Introduce them to each other in the tank during the hours of 5 pm and 7 pm. You will need to turn up the temperature in the breeding tank until it’s no more than 68 degrees F. By doing this, you will encourage breeding activity. You may also want to try changing no more than 20% of the water on a daily basis to help convince your goldfish to breed.

Now simply watch and wait for the female to lay her eggs and the male to fertilize them. Wait about 3 hours after the fish have spawned, and then return the goldfish to the main tank.

Set the breeding tank temperature back down to 64 degrees. Allow the eggs to incubate for eight to nine days. Watch for the fry to hatch after five days. You will need to let the fry complete their hatching cycle, and this usually takes about 3 days. Feed the fry live food in the form of very young brine shrimp. After a week you may start feeding the fry very finely ground goldfish food.

Breeding your own goldfish can be a very rewarding experience, as well as very educational for you and your whole family. Goldfish come in a variety of types and sizes. Try breeding different species of goldfish and have a wonderful and rewarding hobby to enjoy for a lifetime.