How to Breed Anabantoids

Anabantoids are fish that have a labrynth organ, these fish include siamese fighting fish and gouramis. The male builds a bubble nest to keep the eggs and fry in. Below is my guide to breeding these fascinating fish:

You must first condition the two fish you have chosen to become parents. Conditioning is when you feed a fish live food almost everyday and extra flake food to get them ready for spawning and to get the female full of eggs. You should condition the fish for 3-4 weeks for optimum results.

A spawning aquarium should be made ready. There should be no substrate in the bottom of the aquarium. Water should be left in it for a week to mature and for the dechlorinated and it should be softened. A sponge filter or small box filter should be put into the aquarium but should not be turned on. The water should be still so a bubble nest can be constructed by the male.

Introduce the male to the aquarium an leave him there alone for 24 hours. The next day add the female in a floating breeding trap and leave her in that for 24 hours. Raise the temperature in the aquarium gradually by 1-2 degrees and let the female loose.

The male will chase the female and will coaxe her under his bubble nest. If he doesn't after 12 hours take the female out put her into the floating breeding trap and try again the next day. When the female is under the bubble nest he will wrap himself around her so she drops a few eggs. She will be momentarily shocked, he will pick up the eggs in his mouth and blow them so they are safe in the bubbles. They will continue with this for hours. When you believe the female is tired remove her back to her home and treat any wounds she may have and give her some live food as a treat!

He will constantly care for the eggs and the fry. He will keep collecting them and bringing them back to the nest. After the fry have hatche dif he isnt interested remove him and lover the water level to about 5cm deep. The eggs hatch in 3-4 days and will like little threads dangling from the bubbles. When the bubble nest ceases to exist turn on the filter.

The fry will eat liquifry and infurosia. Infurosia can be created by leaving a slice of cucumber or lettuce in the water. As they grow you can feed them baby brine shrimp and microworms.

When the male looks bored of caring for the fry remove him he may turn cannabilistic!

At one month old the fries sex will be easy to distinguish and the males should be removed and kept in solitary confinement. The females can be kept together alike how they do throughout their life. 2-3 months later you could sell these fry to your local petshop, give them to friends, trade them or just keep them or at least some of them.