Goldfish Breeding

There is one thing that should be said about breeding: Don’t do it thinking that you can make money. Breeding goldfish is largely a money-losing prospect for the home hobbyist. Goldfish are bred on farms all over the world and are always relatively inexpensive. In the spring and summer, sometimes you can buy Common Goldfish by the dozen cheaper than you can breed two or three fish. To breed goldfish professionally, you need to invest a lot of money.

So why breed? In fact, there are only a few reasons anyone wants to breed goldfish. First, you may want to produce high-quality or show-quality goldfish of a particular variety. You may also want to create a new and never-before-seen variety. It may also be the next adventurous step in your aquarium career.

For the home hobbyist, there is only one real reason to breed: Because it will bring pleasure to you and your family. For anyone who has mastered the ability to maintain a high-quality aquarium successfully, it is the next challenge. Breeding is an exciting experience for anyone who loves the hobby.

There is one thing that should be said about breeding: Don’t do it thinking that you can make money. Breeding goldfish is largely a money-losing prospect for the home hobbyist. Goldfish are bred on farms all over the world and are always relatively inexpensive. In the spring and summer, sometimes you can buy Common Goldfish by the dozen cheaper than you can breed two or three fish. To breed goldfish professionally, you need to invest a lot of money.

Sexing Goldfish

When a male and a female Goldfish attains at least 3 years of age, move the couple into a separate 20-gallon tank with plants. To encourage breeding, you should raise the temperature of the tank to 70 - 74 degrees F during the breeding season (spring). Sexing occurs in the wild during breeding season only. Through spawning method, we can breed in spring season.

Female goldfish are plumper than the male of the same species. The males have white little bumps on their heads. These are called bercles and they become more visible during spawning.

The vents of females enlarge and turn outwards, while the male vent remains the same. Behavioral changes during the mating season include the males chasing the females around the tank. You can use this as an indicator to separate the pairs. These differences become much more apparent as spawning time approaches. The male's opening is small and oval with no noticeable anal fin thickness.

These differences become more apparent as spawning time approaches. The female opening will be larger and more distended when the eggs are ripe. When the male is ready, milt may be pushed out of the ventral opening by running a finger lightly along the sides of the fish. But, this shouldn't be necessary as the tubercles can be plainly viewed.

Goldfish Spawning

Spawning of fish is an artificial method formatting fishes. This method is worked well for fish which, belongs to Egg depositors and Egg scatters reproduction type. Goldfish are egg scatters so they prefer to breed on soft location. Hair-like structures of algae plants and soft aquarium plants help the fish to spawn.

We can induce spawning in Goldfish by the following ways.
1) Replace 20% of the water in their tank with fresh tap water. This will induce the pair to spawn. But make sure you don't change more than 20% of the water, as this may stress your fish out.

2) A gradual change in diet may also induce spawning. Normally, they respond to live food like brine shrimp, tubifex or black worms, daphnia, etc. But, remember not to change their diet overnight. Live food gives the extra nutrition required to produce vast quantity of eggs and sperm. Feeding fish to induce spawning is called conditioning.

3) Gold fish can be spawned easily for temperature changes during spring season.

4) If the above three methods doesn't help, then separate the male and female on the first day of spring and put them back together after 15 to 18 days in the spring season, then they will spawn. Just keep in mind that goldfish do not do well with drastic changes. Any change in diet or habitat has to be gradual.

Now, the fish is ready to mate. After spawning, increase the temperature of the tank from 70 to 74 degrees F. Before mating, female fish carries unfertilized eggs. At the time of mating, male releases sperm and female releases unfertilized eggs. Sperm and unfertilized eggs get together to form fertilized eggs on the leaves. Female may lay eggs from 10 to 1000 eggs.

Breeding Tips

1. Changes in water temperature, direction of change is dependant on the species.
2. Changes in water depth and direction of change is also dependant on the species.
3. Changes in goldfish feeding - usually increase in live foods.
4. Changes in tank mates - usually separate and re-join male(s) and female(s) or introduce new fish together.
5. Changes in water quality - usually cleaner water with a greater pH closely matching that found in the wild.
6. Changes in lighting - usually increase in day time