Goldfish Breeding

Temporary Parting

Having made sure that there are no fishes in the tank other than the actual spawners and having removed the snails it will be an advantage if the female fish can be removed from the tank for a few days. This temporary parting often encourages the fishes to spawn when they are put together again. If you have no other small tank in which to place the fish then it is policy to separate the sexes by a glass partition. The glass need not be clear, and I think it an advantage if the fishes do not see one another for a day or two.

When you are ready for the spawning then put the fishes together and do not disturb them any more than you can help. I know that once they start spawning in earnest they do not take very much notice of viewers, but some fishes are a bit shy and will stop chasing if anyone approaches the tank too closely. As most spawnings take place in the early morning it is advisable to put the fishes together late at night. I have noticed though; that sometimes fishes in an indoor tank will spawn at times other than those they would spawn in an open pond, and so you may find them spawning late in the evening. You will be in no doubt when the fishes are actually spawning as the males will be chasing and nudging the female continually. The female fish is pushed into the thickest part of the water weeds where she releases the eggs. These are fertilised as they are laid and being adhesive they stick to the weeds and show up as tiny balls of jelly as big as a pin's head. One female can lay thousands of eggs and so you will see my point about not having more than one female fish in the tank!

Once the eggs are laid the fishes will sometimes start to eat some of them. Although it is possible to rear a few fry in the tank, if something is not done to keep the parents away from the eggs then there are not likely to be many fry hatch out. If you have no other tank then divide the tank again as soon as the eggs have been laid. Do not worry about all the eggs—you could not rear all the fry that might hatch in any case. Divide off about a third of the tank and if you cannot see a fair number of eggs in that partitioned part add a few pieces of water plant which have a good sprinkling of eggs on them.

When you put the partition in be sure that it is tight at the sides. The fry are so very tiny when they are first hatched that they will be able to get through the slightest crack and can then be eaten by the older fishes. Get a piece of rubber tubing and cut this down lengthways with a razor blade. You can place a piece of this tubing down each side of the glass partition to seal any crack. Although there is no need to increase the warmth of the water for the hatching I am sure that it is advisable to get a fairly quick hatch.

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