Why do you breed fish?

This is half a philosophical question and half a request for stocking suggestions.

Why do you enjoy (or not enjoy) breeding fish? Some people on here are crazy into livebearers and have tanks that are constantly producing young. Others spend a lot of time seeking perfect conditions to try to spawn difficult to breed fish, and each surviving fry is prized and sheltered to maturity and/or lovingly passed on to other collectors. Others are content to keep the same fish, know them all individually, and not encourage breeding at all.

What are your favorite fish to breed, and why?

Is there such thing as an in-between breeder/fish species? I like the idea of seeing young fish grow up, in moderation. The rice fish were way, way too much. The snails and shrimp make a manageable amount of babies, which is neat. But my CPDs and Habrosus cories have showed no sign of spawning at all (or at least I've never seen them laying eggs? and I do spend a fair good time watching them each day). I bought them all as presumably semi-juveniles about 6 months ago... not sure how long it will take for them to mature. All are fed a varied diet of live microworms, sinking pellets, hikari micro pellets/first bites, frozen bloodworms/brine shrimp. I would assume they are "well conditioned". W/c approximately 1/3 of the tank 1x per week. There are lots of moss/plants/nooks in the tank; the rice fish babies had no trouble avoiding the adults.

But anyway, yeah. Wondering if there is any configuration of fish that others have kept where small amounts of fry are produced/survive without too much special human intervention. Suggestions? Does the secret lie in having predator fish who will "take care of" most of the young?  

Your one question is a lot of questions to me. I feel that if a fish can't be bred, I shouldn't keep it. I enjoy passing fish along and sharing the wealth, and I see unbred fish as 'consumer fish.' It doesn't always work, but I like to try to have enough of uncommon fish that others who want to try them can.
I keep multiple tanks, so it does get complex. I breed livebearers, but generally hard to get ones. Some are a challenge, but most aren't. I get enjoyment from making them available.
My killies produce many fewer fry, and are a lot more difficult. I find them beautiful, and am very aware they are not commercial fish. If we don't breed them, they will vanish from aquariums. You can't just phone up West Africa and ask for more. So I work to keep viable numbers so I can look at my tank and say 'wow'. I'll still say 'wow' five years from now, if I still have them, and maybe I can spread that wow factor if I have success breeding and raising them.

I like to do things with my tanks. Some fish are really hard to coax into breeding because they are highly adapted and specialized - they come from extreme environments and have little ability to adjust to 'ordinary' tanks. I like researching their needs and then trying to figure out how to replicate them. That can be very absorbing, and I find that fun.

I'm not a control freak, and I like the way that even if you plan, research and try everything you know, sometimes you just can't succeed with a fish. They have lives of their own, and trying to keep them properly is something you can learn from even if you can't succeed in seeing the meaning of life- reproduction.

Finally, I enjoy fish behavior, and species that care for their young are always interesting to watch. Broodcare takes a lot of forms (as does breeding), and it's all very interesting to see.

As a Discus keeper......there is nothing better then watching a pair of Discus with Fry on their sides thriving!! I'm always interested in how my fish will react or not react to being parents.
When it's Wild's breeding it makes me proud that I have raised these fish and they are comfortable enough to lay eggs. Which tells me they are happy and healthy.
Plus with the fry I raise I can get other people interested in Discus for a fraction of the cost and to have them start with good healthy quality stock. Other then the pet store discus which 9 times out of 10 are unhealthy and/or stunted.

I don't like my fish to breed simply because I have limited room and as we know fish don't just breed once and stop.

I do enjoy the fruits of the labours of our breeders here thought.  It has opened doors for me to have fish that I either can't get in this area or can't afford in this area.  Kudos to them as I have space in one of my tanks and I'm just waiting for shipping season to see what gems I can get from someone!!

I think Gary has answered all your questions but your last one. However if you read several of his threads you will find out which non-livebearer fish he keeps in colony form where young fish are slowly adding to the ranks. However, what I understand from this method is that you don't get to see much from their development either; suddenly when they are big enough they join the group.

I think in general with egg layers in community tanks you need to make an effort to get the offspring up to a certain stage which means you are in control of the numbers.

Your CPDs probably do lay eggs but since they are notorious egg eaters and the habrosus certainly add to that it is unlikely that you will see any fry in your tanks. Applying techniques used for egg scatterers will certainly allow you to get CPD fry.

I breed fish for few reasons, I simple enjoy it. I like getting rarer or unique fish if I can and breeding to be able to share with others. Especially in my area where there is pretty much nothing unique available so I have to reach out in other areas to find fish and I breed and supply to my local aquarium society members to breed and maintain species in the area.   

I spent over 40 years doing the breeding/showing thing with my dogs and am now over that and into enjoying them as pets.
Likewise with my fish... I LOVE to watch them and study the behaviors of the different kinds. AND, a big plus, the work involved is way less than it was with the dogs.
I rather hope mine will not breed, I am now content to just sit back and watch in my older age. When I was in college I bred my Angel fish and sold them to my lfs. Frankly, I was just lucky THEY chose to breed and knew what to do as I knew NOTHING!

Strictly speaking, I don't breed my fish. They do that all on their own with no help from me. I mostly just watch them swim about. And after getting home from work and looking in the tank, I'm no longer surprised if down near the bottom I see a few new inhabitants. Always brings a smile to my face.

If my fish breed, I take that as a sign that I must be doing something right. The only time they really get angry with me is when I stick that blasted siphon into the tank to clean out the bottom. But then they settle right back down and greet me at the glass, hoping that this time I'm coming around with some food for them. They're kind of like my stubborn cat. They don't want the food that settles to the bottom. They want the "good" stuff!

Jay, I have some danios (zebra danios), and those guys do everything they can to swim INTO the tube when I vacuum... I always have one finger on the shut off valve just in case one goes a bit too high in the tube!

Maybe they're just interested in a vacation and are hoping to win a trip to a different country/tank?

Jay0173 wrote:Maybe they're just interested in a vacation and are hoping to win a trip to a different country/tank?

That made me choke on my coffee!!!!