Saltwater Aquarium Blog

Best Book for Anyone Who Wants to Breed Saltwater Fish

Interested in Breeding Saltwater Fish? Then get this book first, it’s the best book for anyone interested in breeding saltwater fish.
 

This is by far my favorite book on my bookshelf. I have read through it, cover to cover at least 5 times, and I have referred to it probably fifty times. In The Breeders Guide, Matthew L. Wittenrich writes in great depth about the reproduction of saltwater fish, the culture of the rotifers and phytoplankton (critical to feeding the newly hatched larvae) and goes into detail about each individual species that had been bred in captivity at the time it was written. In the species-specific chapters, the book highlights the breeding requirements of fish including the: Clownfish, Neon Goby, Banggai Cardinalfish, Royal Gramma, Neon Dottyback, Orchid Dottyback and others.
Here is part of the description from Amazon:

Once considered an impossible dream, the breeding of marine fish species by home aquarium hobbyists is becoming an enticing reality. As pressures mount to develop sustainable sources of aquacultured livestock for the aquarium hobby, reproduction mysteries of captive reef fishes are fast unraveling.
The All-New & Complete Breeder’s Guide to Marine Aquarium Fishes is the first detailed guide to amateur marine fish breeding, and reveals the techniques and for successfully spawning and rearing more than 90 species marine fishes. This hands-on resource provides comprehensive coverage of the following species:
* jawfish
* grammas
* marine bettas
* assessors
* gobies
* blennies
* cardinals
* dottybacks
* damsels
* chromis
* clownfishes
* angelfishes

It also includes all the essential breeding steps for each family:
* securing breeding stock
* pair formation
* breeder conditioning
* spawning
* larval feeding
* juvenile husbandry and growth

Ever since I got this book for Christmas last year, I have been adding small breeder tanks to my basement–I’ve tried to breed the Banggai Cardinalfish, Neon Goby and Ocellaris Clownfish. I will update other threads with information about those endeavors. This truly is an addictive book and will have you itching to breed these fish. My favorite chapter is the chapter about the potential financial rewards of being a fish breeder. Anyway, check it out. Since it was the most influential book I’ve read on the saltwater fish topic, I figured I’d give it a special focus here. Thanks Matt for writing such an awesome book.

For more information on breeding marine fish, also check out www.mofib.org.   A very cool website