How to Breed Wakin Goldfish

The Wakin is a goldfish breed from Japan that is also popular in China. It's distinguished from other breeds by its double tail and double anal fin. Wakins -- and goldfish in general -- are egg layers. The female releases eggs and the male fertilizes them. If you're interested in breeding your Wakins, you will need separate breeding and grow out tanks. These tanks must be large. Goldfish need high gallonage to thrive. Wakins do well in large tanks and even ponds. Goldfish generally breed in the spring, however some will breed year round.

Things You'll Need

  • Aquariums
  • Aquatic net
  • Plants (real or plastic)
  • Fish food
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Instructions

    • 1

      Place your male and female Wakins in a large aquarium. Figure one goldfish per 20 gallons. Each sex has distinguishing features when they are ready to breed. Females develop a heavier and fuller abdomen -- these are the eggs. Males develop breeding tubercles (bumps) on their gills and pectoral fins.

    • 2

      Observe the interactions of your Wakins. The male should swim close to the female's belly for hours. The female will release the eggs in batches, and when she does the male will release his milt (sperm) to fertilize them. Goldfish are mass spawners; they can release thousands of eggs at a time.

    • 3

      Collect the eggs in your aquarium net and move them to a separate grow out tank. Goldfish will not care for their eggs like some fish species, so if you want to have the babies (called fry) hatch, you must move them to a different tank to avoid parental predation. If you have limited tank space for the fry, you can leave some of the eggs with the parents for consumption.

      The grow out tank should have a sponge filter so the eggs will not be disturbed and an airstone to provide additional oxygen to the tank. The water temperature should be the same as the parents' tank, about 68 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit.

    • 4

      Wait for the Wakin fry to hatch. They will stay on the bottom of the tank eating their yolk sacs, and then they will be free-swimming. Decorate the tanks with live aquarium plants like Java moss or fake plastic plants to give the fry a sense of security. Feed them crushed flake food once a day. Conduct a large water change once a week, removing and replacing at least 80 percent of the water. Goldfish produce a lot of ammonia and waste.