Cheap Breeding Traps

[Pegasus]

Hi members,

Sometimes when waiting for fry to drop or for egg scatterers to spawn we sometimes lose more fry or eggs than we need to and can't keep a constant watch to see the happy moment happen. The following is just a simple idea that can be used for both livebearers and the egg scatterers, and will give you a maximum results with few losses and will cost you only a few dollars.

Most commercial breeding traps for livebearers should be avoided, as they are small and tend to stress your fish.

Try this. In the garden centres there is a product called "Netlon" which is a semi rigid green plastic mesh with holes around 2-3mm. The idea is to make a mesh basket of sorts that will fit in your tank. Find a cardboard box just slightly smaller than your tank you will use. Cut down each corner to the base and lay out flat. This is your pattern. Take your "Netlon" or similar product and cut to the shape of the laid out flat box. Then seal each corner of the Netlon to form a box of mesh that will fit in your tank. This can be done with a hot knife or glue gun, but be careful. Drop the Netlon box into your tank and introduce some plants, and your gravid female or fish you are ready to spawn. The fry, or eggs, when dropped will drop through the holes in the mesh to safety. Ensure the "box" is clear of the tank base by around 3" and secure it to the top of the tank with clothes pegs. The above is ideal for all livebearers, danios, barbs and such, as the eggs will drop easily through the mesh before being eaten. Several females can be left quite safely in this manner, without stress and your concern about eggs or fry being eaten is removed.

The traps can of course be made to any size to suit your tank and do not have to fill the whole area.

Bill.