Sure, you may know the basics: keeping the tank clean, keeping the water’s temperature in check, keeping track of your fish’s food intake, and so on and so forth. You may know a lot about caring for gold fish in general, but do you know anything about breeding gold fish in particular?
For instance, did you know that gold fish need adequate room to mate, otherwise they don’t do it at all? If your tank has a fairly small surface area or you still stick your gold fish in a bowl, then chances are you don’t. Gold fish can and will breed if left on their own, but unless you provide them with an environment conducive to breeding (ample nutrition and a tank with a fairly big surface area), you shouldn’t count on any sparks to fly.
Oh, and did you know that once the eggs are laid, they hatch after 2-5 days? And that a week after they hatch, the spawn will already start to resemble their parents, minus the color? That’s right, gold fish grow at an alarmingly fast rate. But do you know why?
They mature at that speed because evolution has conditioned them to live fast, else not live at all. Fresh offspring are constantly in danger of being devoured by their parents, especially when both child and parent alike are floating around in the same space. The basics of gold fish care rarely – if ever – advise you to keep the fry in a separate bowl, away from their gluttonous parents.
See how different simply caring for gold fish is from breeding them? And we’re not even done yet.
What good is breeding your gold fish if you don’t plan on allowing the fry to mature as best they could, right?
Adequate nourishment is key. But if you think that feeding fry is no different than feeding fully matured gold fish, then you’ve once again proven that you’re still a ways to go from being prepared to take on the responsibilities that come with breeding. Fry are especially small; so much so, in fact, that simply nourishing them is quite a task in itself – one that is all too easy for beginners to screw up royally.
How so? As you can probably guess, there are more ways than one, but overfeeding is pretty much the norm. Not too many people seem to understand that fry can only eat so much, so they end up littering the tank with enough food to pollute the water, causing the little ones to choke on their food even when they aren’t eating. And even less know that fry shouldn’t be fed until three days after they hatch (embryos need a few days to absorb all the yolk from the eggs), which again, results in waste.
Taking this all in at once can be intimidating, even for someone well-versed in the art of caring for gold fish. But if you’re still dead set on breeding regardless, then you’ve got as good a chance as anyone of doing it well. Pair that determination with a bit more practical knowledge, and you’ll be a proud parent of a bunch of small fry before you know it.
