How to Breed Fish in an Aquarium for DS

Breeding fish in an aquarium can be rewarding and extremely challenging. Timing and observation play critical elements in the fish breeding process. The clown fish (a ocellaris) is one of the most desirable fish to breed. Clown fish appear to be monogamous and pair for life. These fish also posses the ability to change sex. Most clown fish initially start off as males and can later change to females for the mating process.

Things You'll Need

  • Mated pair of clown fish
  • Ceramic pot or flat tile for fish to lay eggs on
  • Small brood tank (a tank used to separate the eggs after they hatch)
  • Grow out tank, usually about 10 to 12 gallons
  • Live feed such as rotifers, copepods, baby brine shrimp
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Instructions

    • 1

      Find a mated pair of clown fish. You want to find two fish that get along with each other. Clown fish can be picky sometimes and you do not pick the mate, they do. It takes about a year for your fish to start spawning.

    • 2

      Feed your fish well. Fat and happy fish equal egg spawns. Usually foods rich in vitamins work well, such as Cyclop-eeze (highly specialized zooplankton). Feeding your fish two to three times a day will also help trigger spawning.

    • 3

      Expect spawning to occur about once a month, with a higher chance of spawning occurring six days prior or after the full moon. Once your fish get into a routine for spawning they will generally spawn at the same time every month. Provide your fish a "home" or an area to lay their eggs in. Ceramic pots or a flat tile work best, this will train your fish to lay eggs in the same spot month after month as well as provide you with an easy way to remove the eggs when it's time for them to hatch. Clown fish will care for the eggs by fanning them and keeping constant water flow over them. It generally takes about six to seven days for the eggs to hatch.

    • 4

      Watch for the eggs to begin hatching an hour after sunset on the seventh day, although you will want to check on the sixth day as well. The fry will appear as little specs in your tank.

    • 5

      Remove the pot or tile from the main tank and place in the brood tank. The brood tank must have a constant current to mimic the flow that the parents provided the eggs. Fry must be fed a constant, almost microscopic diet; morning, noon and night. Live rotifers works best at this stage. Mortality rates on young clown fish are high, so don't expect the majority of your hatchlings to survive. Out of one hundred eggs maybe one or two fish will survive and mature.

    • 6

      Feed your fry rotifers for about the first 20 days. At day 21 you can start to introduce Artemia (live baby brine shrimp) into their diets. Also around the 20-day mark, you'll notice that your fry have started to take on the markings and characteristics of clown fish.

    • 7

      Remove your little clowns to a larger "grow-out" tank at day 30 and cut back feeding to twice a day, in the mornings and at night. This will allow them more room and give a chance for them to start to explore their surroundings. Grow out tanks can have live rock and simple corals in place to encourage curiosity. At the 40-day mark, you can include dry foods, larger brine shrimp and flakes in their diet.

    • 8

      Once your baby clowns are moved into the grow-out tank, you can start fresh.