Goldfish are one of the most famous freshwater aquarium fish, that belong to the Cyprinidae family.Goldfish are an invasive fish species and can thrive in any condition. Due to crossbreeding of this fish with many distinct breeds, goldfish breeds vary in coloration, fin configuration, body shape, and size.Though these fish can survive any conditions, to breed, goldfish require the perfect natural environment or it can be tough to make them spawn in captivity. You need to mimic the conditions and make them similar to the wild. The basic requirements for the fish to breed is dependent on the water condition, tank space, and proper diet. Goldfish reach their sexual maturity at the age of eight months old but it is better to breed them when they are at least one year old. Once males reach their sexual maturity they develop tiny breeding tubercles also known as breeding stars on their gills along with the pectoral fins. They produce milt inside their body and start chasing female goldfish around the tank.If you like what you read here, do check out other articles like how big do angelfish get and how do sharks mate.How do you mate goldfish?Breeding season for the goldfish starts when it is cold in winter and continues till the beginning of spring, and it is easy to mimic the natural conditions to help in breeding goldfish in an indoor tank.To breed goldfish, you need to follow a certain process as these fish do not spawn until they have the perfect conditions. To meet the favorable conditions for these fish to breed you need to make sure that you provide them a period of cooler temperatures for several weeks to indicate the winter season in the tank, and then shift the water condition to warm, triggering the mating behavior. The favorable water temperature for the goldfish to breed is 50-78 °F ( 10-26 °C). During the cold temperature period, you need to delay water changes in the tank and feed the fish lesser to help mimic the winter dormancy. Once you start changing the water and provide proper food, the goldfish starts spawning. You need to make sure to separate males from females for a week before the spawning conditions are met. In the wild, as the winter ends the days get longer and to mimic this in the aquarium you need to provide extra light for hours to induce the production of the hormones for breeding.Goldfish can spawn multiple times during the spawning season. Once the goldfish are comfortable in the water quality you need to make sure that you provide them with high protein frozen or live food such as live earthworms, frozen brine shrimp, and frozen bloodworms. The protein-based food helps the female goldfish to develop eggs. Once everything is set, the female goldfish becomes a little heavy and her stomach becomes softer as it is filled with eggs. The male goldfish starts to develop breeding stars and produce milt inside their bodies. During this period feeding the goldfish with proper protein-based food is extremely important, as the brine shrimp and other protein-rich food help in triggering the spawning.When breeding goldfish, the spawning mop plays a very crucial role. Hornwort is one of the best plants to be used as a spawning mop, as the goldfish avoid eating these live plants. The male goldfish pushes the female goldfish in the spawning plant where they get temporarily stuck. There the female goldfish lay the unfertilized eggs and the male goldfish follows, releasing milt and fertilizing the eggs externally.How do goldfish mate in a pond?In the uncontrolled environment of the pond, goldfish spawning occurs when the water temperature falls between 50-78°F (10-26°C) which is the ideal spawning condition and during this period male goldfish becomes more active and starts chasing the female goldfish around the pond.The female goldfish attempts to flee the chasing male, females hide in the vegetation available in the pond where they lay 500-4000 eggs. Male goldfish fertilize the eggs externally and once these eggs are fertilized they turn into embryos. Goldfish eggs are full of nutrients and the inhabitants of the pond feed on them, not all eggs get to fertilize, the remaining fertilized eggs get hatched, birthing baby goldfish, in 2-7 days depending on the water condition of the pond. These baby goldfish then live on the yellow egg sac and move towards the surface to inflate their swim bladder.How do you know when your goldfish is ready to mate?Once the goldfish are ready to breed it is extremely easy to recognize them, both females and males show mating behavior in their own ways.In preparation for breeding, female goldfish become a little bulkier with their puffed stomach and male goldfish start developing breeding tubercles on their gills along with the fins while producing milt inside their bodies and chase the female around.A male chasing a female around the pond or aquarium is a sign of breeding behavior. Following this behavior, females try to hide near the planted areas of the pond or near the spawning mop in a tank, and lay eggs. Once a male notices the female’s eggs, it starts to spray the milt, which contains its sperm, on the unfertilized eggs and turns them into fertilized eggs.Goldfish Eggs - How To Protect Them From Other FishGoldfish eggs are full of nutrients and regrettably, goldfish parents eat their own eggs making it difficult for the eggs to survive and hatch into baby fish known as fry.Once your pet goldfish has released all her fertilized eggs, you should remove the eggs or the entire spawning mops, a string mop can be very useful to transfer the fry away from their parents and into a separate fry tank before they get eaten. The fry tank should have a similar water condition and temperature just as the tanks for the adults. You don’t need to feed the fry for the first couple of days after they are hatched as they do not need external food, they survive by eating their own egg sacs. Once the fry is able to swim around the tank you need to provide these fry with egg yolks for the next few weeks until they are able to eat other food.These fry should not be kept together with other goldfish until they are big enough to survive on their own or become strong swimmers to avoid getting stuck in the tank filters or get eaten by the adult fish.Changes In The Goldfish’s Body Shape During BreedingFemale goldfish usually appear to be more circular in their abdomen area and when they are near the spawning season, females become very bulky, enlarged with eggs on either side of the belly.Males appear to be thinner in their abdomen when compared to their mates. The growth of the breeding stars, which look like tiny white dots or grains of salt, usually appears on the males’ gills along with the pectoral fins. The vent of the goldfish is placed under the anal fin, which releases the waste. A female goldfish vent is visible from the side, and when they are closer to the breeding season their vent becomes small and lumpy. The male goldfish have thinner and longer front fins, whereas females have shorter and thicker front fins.Can koi and goldfish mate?Koi (Cyprinus rubrofuscus), also known as Nishikigoi, is a large ornamental fish that can grow quite larger than goldfish. Adult koi can reach up to 36-52 in (91.4-132 cm), whereas adult goldfish can reach up to 12-18 in (30.4-45.7 cm). They do look similar in appearance but the major difference between a koi and a goldfish is the set of barbels available in koi.Goldfish and koi are both specially bred genus of carp, these fish can actually breed with each other, spawning hybrid babies. The interbreeding of goldfish and koi is similar to the interbreeding of dogs with wolves and horses with donkeys to create hybrids.Koi and goldfish hybrids mostly have one set of barbels, which is in between the koi having two sets and the goldfish having none. The easiest way to determine the appearance of a hybrid of koi and goldfish is the presence of a single set of barrels. Both sexes of goldfish and koi hybrids are sterile like many other interspecies hybrids.The Recommended Aquarium Size For Your Pet GoldfishThe ideal tank size for a goldfish is 10-20 gal (45.4-90.9 l), the larger the tank and filter are the better it is for the fish. The most important factor to be considered when choosing a tank for the goldfish is how big the fish turns out to be when it reaches its adult size and the number of fish you want to keep.One male and one female fish are enough for you to start breeding but if you keep a 2:1 male to female ratio there is a much better chance for them to spawn. Slim-bodied goldfish are active swimmers and need more space to swim around the aquarium. Conventional fishbowls are too small for a goldfish and should always be ignored.A goldfish tank needs effective filters to maintain the water quality as these fish are heavy feeders and produce lots of waste. You should choose a filter that can adjust the currents created by them, as strong currents can make swimming difficult for the goldfish. Weekly water changes of about 15-25% of the tank water are suggested together with a gravel cleaner to pull out the waste and help keep the goldfish well.Goldfish require sufficient plant cover to fend off stress and assist activity as they are prey animals. Healthy plants in the aquarium absorb waste products and provide environmental enrichment in the water which is the key to healthy goldfish. The more cover you provide in the aquarium, the more active your goldfish will become. To prevent algae from forming in the tank, it should be kept away from windows and sunlight, you can leave the tank light on for 8-12 hours a day.Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly facts for everyone to enjoy! If you liked our suggestions for how do goldfish mate then why not take a look at facts about coral reefs, or goldfish facts.
Goldfish are one of the most famous freshwater aquarium fish, that belong to the Cyprinidae family.
