How viviparous toothcarps are reproduced
© Mirko Rosenau – stock.adobe.com
One to two males and two to four females of the species to be reproduced are necessary for the reproduction of livebearers. This means that new young are constantly secured. In order to keep inbreeding and the associated losses to a minimum, a few new males and females are bought from time to time.
If a group is only to be maintained, the age of the parents is immaterial. In this case, even one fertilized female is sufficient because of the reserve fertilization. Otherwise young animals of about 6 months are preferred. Youngsters who are not in top shape are sorted out. So too small, weak or sick boy. The group only stays healthy if only the really fit animals reproduce.
Breeding or breeding is much more complex and demanding. You either have to deal seriously with the theory of heredity or keep passing on the complete stock and set up a new breed. You can keep some particularly beautiful males and mate them with newly purchased females, which must come from a different breed.
Before beginning reproduction or breeding, it must be ensured that the young are taken by other aquarists.
Young animals must be fed five times a day for optimal rearing. Using a good feeder makes sense. The dirt caused by the food (faeces, etc.) must be removed with daily water changes. Alternatively, flow-through aquariums with a connection to the tap and sewer are used.
Propagation variant 1
The largest aquarium that one can afford is procured. Due to the high reproduction rate of livebearers, there will soon be hundreds of young fish. Even the largest aquarium is filled relatively quickly. Because of storage fertilization, they can reproduce themselves if there are no males in the aquarium.
Propagation variant 2
If there are permanent buyers for the young, a single female is allowed to give birth in a densely planted aquarium. An aquarium with 10 liters of water is sufficient. Then the mother is removed.
After two to three weeks, the young are transferred to an aquarium with 60 liters of water. There they will continue to be reared until they are handed over. Young of different species of livebearers can also be raised in this tank, e.g. B. Guppy, Swordtail, etc.
Propagation variant 3
In several, larger aquariums, the juveniles are sorted according to their size once a week so that the juveniles are of equal size. Otherwise the bigger ones will constantly eat the food away from the smaller ones and the size differences will become more and more noticeable.
breed
At least 8 small aquariums with 10 to 20 liters of water are used for breeding. Males of different generations are kept in 4 of these tanks. Females of different generations are kept in the four other tanks.
The females are separated from the females no later than 14 days after birth. The females must not become pregnant unintentionally by the brothers. The males of z. B. Guppies become sexually mature at about 21 days.
Much more small aquariums are required to breed new breeds. According to Mendel’s crossing rules, this requires several lines.
Xiphophorus variatus and Xiphophorus Helleri in natural environment:
Different species of livebearers can breed together
The most important facts about viviparous toothcarps