Spontaneous breeders.

Most all fish, except livebearers and some Gouramis, must be specifically "set up" for breeding and the adults removed after the eggs are observed to prevent cannibalism.

I have several 4ft x 4ft x 3ft deep heated (outside) ponds available for stocking and being the lazy aquarist, I just want to stock each with (about 10 fish in each) single species and apart from periodic water changes & feeding forget about them, but still expect their numbers to increase spontaneously.
Any suggestions??

The four I have in mind presently are: Kribs, Rams, Brisstle nose and Albino cories.... will they work??

 

Hi Cheetah, I am not too sure about the others, but with Rams I doubt it. The male's tend to fight like crazy, but that can be handled to a degree. Rams can just so full of crap when breeding that I doubt this will work. I have never raised their fry even in a 'perfect' breeding environment. I find them quite difficult. Why not consider some of the rarer Malawi or Tanganyikan cichlids strains? Being mostly mouth breeders, as long as you provide good and lots of hiding spots, I'm sure they will breed like crazy!

 

I know of people who have left bristlenose to do their own thing and have landed up with plenty of babies. However, you'll want to throw some wood in, not only for fibre, but for hiding places and breeding sites as well.

And I'm with Marco on the Malawis/Tanganyikan idea. Especially the Tanganyikans - many people are looking for Tanganyikans these days, and several of them are qite easily bred. If you had just a bit more space, you could try make up a Frontosa breeding colony.

 

Hi Cheetah

I would be surprised if the albino C. aeneus wouldn't be successful in that kind of arrangement too. You might find that 3' of water is too much, but try conditioning them in less and raising the level as it approaches "rainy season." If they show any distress, lower the level a bit.

C. aeneus are not usually egg eaters although there can always be exceptions. What they do do, however, is eat the newly hatched fry if they find them. I would suggest having a mulm covered bottom to provide the fry's first food and lots of fine plants, either java moss or something similar that will grow in your ponds. This will provide hiding places for the very young fry. Once they get past that point you should have no problem raising them along with the parent group.

Temperature is a factor in corydoras breeding. If it's too warm they are less likely to spawn than if it is cooler.