The success of the entire enterprise depends on the correct choice of fish species, which is planned to be bred. The choice of fish for breeding depends mainly on the size of the aquarium.
Fish species suitable for breeding in aquariums
Carp are the most common fish to breed in ponds and aquariums. The popularity of carp is associated with a large number of valuable biological features and convenient economic qualities.
According to the variety of scales, 4 types of carp are distinguished: mirror, scaly, leathery and mirror linearly naked. Domesticated koi carps are a separate species.
Carp surpasses many freshwater fish in omnivorousness, endurance and growth rate. He is very unpretentious to the conditions of detention and easily adapts to changes in any factors.
Carps are very prolific, so they need a very large aquarium. The female can spawn more than 1 million eggs with a body weight of 5-8 kg. Fertility is associated with the conditions of detention, and the better they are, the higher the fertility. This is a large fish and in good conditions carp can reach a mass of 25 kg with a length of more than a meter. You should not expect this in an aquarium, but it is better not to keep this fish in cramped conditions.
Golden crucian carp is another very hardy fish that adapts to any environment. Able to survive in cramped conditions, in an acute lack of oxygen. Loves very silted stagnant reservoirs in nature, the aquarium with it must be filled with plants. Rare cases say that it can grow up to 3 kg, but most often the mass does not exceed 500-600 g, and in an aquarium it is worth counting on 200-300. When breeding, you can cross with other types of fish, for example, with carp.
Silver carp, like gold carp, is unpretentious to living conditions, but its size is even smaller, and its weight does not exceed 400 g. It crosses successfully when breeding with carp and gold carp.
Selection of fish for breeding
Most often, the choice of fish for breeding in an aquarium stops on carp - scaly or koi. According to legend, the domestication of carp took place in Persia.
Koi are often found even in small aquariums of apartments, since they are unpretentious, and their colors are very diverse, in total there are about 14 types of color. There are red, blue, yellow and orange koi, not counting a variety of spotted ones.
The best breeding environment for any fish for slaughter is a pond where conditions are close to natural, but carp, due to their endurance, can be successfully bred in spacious aquariums. All equipment needed to filter and aerate the water should be installed in the aquarium, and the water should be changed weekly. For carp, it is important that there is soil at the bottom of the aquarium that completely covers it. You can replace the soil with sand or pebbles.
