How to Breed and Feed Goldfish

Feeding goldfish is an everyday endeavor, but the right timing is required to mate them. Goldfish mate once a year in the springtime. When goldfish are ready to mate, the female bloats quite large while the male develops white spots around his gill plate. Once the female releases her eggs, they will stick to a variety of surfaces, like live plants inside of a tank. Then the eggs are fertilized by the male. Breeding and feeding adult goldfish is not as hard as you might think. All you need is the right equipment.

Things You'll Need

  • 2 goldfish tanks
  • 20-gallon tank
  • Sponge filtration system
  • Heating system
  • Live plants
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Instructions

    • 1

      Keep male and female goldfish in separate tanks until you are ready for them to breed. Feed the fish daily with live black worms and brine shrimp.

    • 2

      Prepare a separate 20-gallon tank for the breeding. Cycle the tank by using water from an existing cycled tank or purchasing liquid solutions designed for this purpose from a pet store. Cycling removes harmful ammonia, nitrite and chlorine from the water by introducing helpful bacteria that break down fish waste. Place rocks and live aquatic plants in the tank for the goldfish eggs to adhere to.

    • 3

      Adjust the tank's temperature to about 64 degrees.

    • 4

      Set up a mating time for goldfish. Add a spotted gill male and a plump female goldfish between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.

    • 5

      Adjust the temperature in the breeding tank to between 68 to 72 degrees. The increasing temperature should encourage the female and male goldfish to breed. Wait for the female to lay her eggs and the male to fertilize them, which takes about two to three days. Once this happens, the water becomes cloudy. The eggs will hatch within 48 to 72 hours.

    • 6

      Remove the parents into another tank, away from the eggs. Separating the parents from the eggs will keep them from eating the eggs.

    • 7

      Turn the temperature in the breeding tank back to 64 degrees. Allow the eggs to incubate for approximately nine to 10 days. Add a sponge filter where the eggs are and lower the water level to 6 inches to avoid the water from being too high for the young to swim up for food after they've hatched.

    • 8

      Monitor and wait for about three to four days for the fry to complete the hatching process.

    • 9

      Feed the fry with live microworms or freshly hatched brine shrimp.