Goldfish Care Tips

A Free Monthly Resource For Goldfish Enthusiasts
July 2019
Issue #067

In This Issue
Unplanned Spawnings

www.about-goldfish.com/

You are about to feed your fish in the morning, and find they are either in the act of spawning, or there are hundreds, if not thousands of eggs scattered all over the aquarium.

Unplanned Spawnings

Because we are keeping our Goldfish in pristine conditions, they will get into breeding condition with the approach of spring.

The females will get a little more rounded, and the males will start showing white tubercles on the leading edges of their pectoral fins and on each operculum (gill plate), but in the case of the males, not always.

It is the lengthening daylight hours that signal the breeding season is approaching. It is a jump or drop in water temperature, a water change, or a meal of live food that will trigger your fish to spawn the following morning.

Abandon or Save the Eggs?

If you choose to abandon the eggs to the parents, a water change and filter clean will be necessary as milt will start to foul the water after a few hours.

If you decide to save the eggs, you have two choices:

1. Remove the parents to another container, which will maximize fry numbers or
2. Remove anything in the aquarium that has eggs attached.

The majority of eggs are probably stuck to the bottom, so unless there are a reasonable number stuck to plants and ornaments, the first option may be the best.

Having said that, unless you know the parents are parasite free, the fry will quickly succumb to any present, particularly gill flukes (Dactylogyrus) that can wipe out an entire brood in days.

By removing plants and ornaments with eggs attached, they can be flushed in fresh, clean de-chlorinated water that hasn’t been exposed to fish which should remove the danger of flukes.

Are the Eggs Worth Keeping?

As an example, if a dorsal-less variety such as a Ranchu spawned with a dorsal variety, many fry would have partially formed dorsal fins and irregular back profiles. The number of faulty fry from a spawning of very high quality dorsal-less varieties can still be as high as 40%.

If a single tailed variety spawned with any fancy variety, the majority of fry would have single or misshapen caudal fins as the single tailed gene is very strong.

You may not be too worried about the quality of the fry, but when you need to dispose of several hundred or more cross-bred fry, you will find the market very limited.

Have You Got the Time Right Now?

Raising fry for the first month requires at least twice daily feeds, plus water changes, not to mention frequent culling or spreading out to ensure there is enough room for the best fry.

You will need more containers, filters, a brine shrimp hatchery, and the space for all this extra equipment.

If I haven’t put you off having a go at raising some fry, the only advice I would give is if the fry are a cross, then I wouldn’t bother attempting to raise any. Ask any serious breeder how hard it is to produce high quality fish. Adding to the difficulty, the time and effort required to raise fry is high, so you may as well spend the time and effort raising quality fish.

If you are still keen to raise some fry to adulthood, use this spawning as a trigger to get yourself properly prepared for the next spawning, which will be in about two weeks.

For more detailed information about how to raise Goldfish fry, click here…

Next Month's Topic

www.about-goldfish.com/

www.facebook.com/aboutgoldfish