Goldfish breeding

[pointerperson]

Hi,

We have 4 fish in our tank, 1 x 15 year old comet, 1 x 15 year old fantail, one black moor and one shub both of whom would be around 4 years old.

The black moor has the white spots on his gills and both him and the shub are chasing the 2 older ones. The other day I saw what I think was an egg come out of the fantail, which the black moor quickly ate.

Anyway if we wanted to let them to reproduce how would we go about it? Do they lay the eggs first then the male fertilises them or are they fertilised before they are laid? Do we need a seperate tank for the babies so they dont get eaten or will they lay the eggs in the plants we just put in over the weekend?

The comet is atleast 20cm long, and the fantail about 15cm long. The other 2 are only about 7 cm long. The tank is about 250 litres.

Can the different breeds interbreed?

As you can guess we have no idea.......

Thanks alot

Maree

[Caryl]

I do not breed goldfish but I understand they lay their eggs to stick to plants like the undersides of lily leaves. The male comes along behind and fertilises the eggs as they are laid. Eggs and fry will be eaten if kept in the same aquarium.

They can interbreed as they are all just variants of the same type of fish.

[pointerperson]

There are eggs on the sides of the glass, on the plants and on the ornaments.

Maybe next year we will get set up properly and give it a go

Maree