Gold Fish Cultivation

When you've had your goldfish for a while it's normal to think about breeding them. It seems that everyone that has been keeping goldfish successfully goes down this path. Breeding goldfish in an aquarium will require some preparation and attention to detail.

It's not as easy as how you breed goldfish in outdoor ponds. This is because in their natural habitat fish have more, space, oxygen and plants to leave their eggs on.

Let's go step-by-step trough the things that you need to do in order to provide the ideal conditions to encourage goldfish to breed successfully.

It's a fact that goldfish are ready to breed from 1-2 years old, but usually they breed best at 3 years.

They spawn once a month from April to August, when the weather is warmer. Spawning provides a wonderful opportunity to learn more about your goldfish.

How to Sex Goldfish

Sexing goldfish is not as simple as telling the difference between a duck and a mouse. The only way to sex your goldfish is during the breeding season. You must know how many males and females you have before you can start breeding goldfish. Here are the differences:

Female :

has abdomen swollen
more rounded than the males (easier to observe when looked at from the top)
when she is ready to spawn, vent becomes protruded

Male :

has breeding tubercles or white "stars" covering its gills and pectoral fins
when he is ready to spawn, the vent becomes more open and longer
the "Chase"
Males start to pursue goldfish relentlessly, creating quite a splash. The males are persistent, determined and don't give up. This behavior is normal, although males may start to appear "aggressive". The chase will continue as the male nudges the female's stomach area, encouraging her to release their eggs so he can release the milt.

The process of external fertilization means that both the milt(soft roe) and the eggs(hard roe) are released from the male and female outside their bodies. Females can lay up to 1000 eggs, though only a small portion of these become fertilized and grown into healthy adults.

Goldfish Breeding Cycle

The process is initiated by the female. She sends out pheromones to let the male goldfish know it's time to prepare for breeding. This encourages the production of milt.

Your male starts to nudge the female and chase to encourage her to release the eggs. He will follow by spraying his milt onto the roe to fertilize them.

Now, breeding goldfish is not that easy. Sometimes knowing how to breed goldfish is not enough. It often takes a bit of trial and error before you get successful results. You have to be patient and encourage your fish to start the breeding process.

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