What gets your fish to spawn?

Ok, so after a long spell of limited spawning in my fishroom, things have started firing up again and I'm actually concerned I won't have room to raise all of the cool things that are hatching. It got me wondering about which factors really contribute to spawning success and which are coincidental.

So let me recap what's been going through my mind and you all can weigh in.

The fishroom was moved in November 2014, so not quite two years ago. Moves are hard on fish and it take a while to recover. A lot of fish just didn't make it. Maybe they just finally settled in.

My fishroom is on the cool side and I'm ok with that. Last winter, the fishroom ranged between 69 and 72 degrees. I have some species that really appreciate the cool down. A few didn't and some of those got heaters to tide them over. We've finally gotten our HVAC updated and all of that so the HVAC guys gave me the OK to cover the ventilation intake from the fishroom (they weren't even sure why it was added) and I added door sweeps to all of the doors in the room and now I'm able to keep a lot more heat in the room. In the past 2 months, it's been in the 75 to 78 range. So is the increase in spawning a combination of some species being happy that they got a winter cool down and others happy that it's warm again?

I'll be honest, I'm really bad about my waterchanges so let's not even discuss that here. Just know that maybe a few species prefer being left alone, but I think that doesn't explain it.

I haven't adjusted the lighting in the room much as far as photoperiod goes. I have the lights come on mid-afternoon and go off around 11 pm. They get around 8 or 9 hours of light every day, all year. I do have a window'd door in that room so they might get some influence from the changes in the ambient light. The light from the door doesn't really penetrate far into the room though, but perhaps the fish are more sensitive to it that I think.

Recently, I had someone I respect point out that my spawns were happening in the last quarter of the lunar cycle. Though some fish are known to use that as a spawning queue, I had dismissed it as a light-only phenomenon and I wasn't quite willing to go so far as to simulate the lunar cycle in my fishroom (yet...trust me I've thought about it). Perhaps it's more than just light as this person has suggested to me? Anyone else know of research about this?

I haven't changed feeding much, thought I do tend to over feed. But I don't feed every day. Most tanks have plants of some sort and a mattenfilter for grazing.


Maybe it's just chance.

I'm lending toward temperature as being the most likely factor.

What are your thoughts?

I think it's primarily temperature and feeding for most fish.

When we have a period in which the HVAC is off or doesn't turn on, the fishroom warms up...and lots of fish spawn, especially if I've fed well the prior week or two.

Skipping a week or two of water changes and doing a large one also tends to get things going.

Matt

triggers

Boy, I wish I knew what causes my fish to spawn! I think it varies a lot by type of fish and even by particular species (i.e., what triggering spawning in one type of corydoras doesn’t always work for another type).

I’m also inclined to dismiss the lunar phase, just because I can’t see how the lunar phase affects fish in an aquarium. On the other hand, as a kid growing up in Florida and doing fishing, I certainly read books and articles that claimed that lunar phases affected one’s ability to catch fish. Some folks claim it affects fishing for bass, for example:

http://www.in-fisherman.com/bass/lunar-phases-and-bass-fishing-results/

I still don’t really understand how fish in a fishroom would be affected by the lunar phase, however.

For corydoras, mine often spawn after they are moved into a different tank. (I moved some corydoras yesterday for this very reason.)

Obviously, temperature changes sometimes seem to trigger spawning, but I don’t think I’ve noticed more spawning just when temperatures rise. Christine, are you noticing this in cichlids only, or in other fish as well?

Food definitely can be a trigger, as can a lack of food, followed by heavy feeding.

Cool article! Thanks for sharing.

Jt731 said:

http://www.medwelljournals.com/fulltext/?doi=javaa.2011.890.893

Click to expand...

well there we are...moon phase might be a factor, in some types of fish then.

For new worlds, I hang an 8 inch hand mirror on the side of the tank opposing there home. The male sees the reflection as a threat and attacks his reflection. The females might even join in (quite entertaining).

1 or 2 days later, eggs and very aggressive parents.

Also have hung garbage bags around tank so exterior activities don't disturb them.

Having moonlighting also seemed to help alot.

Of course I have tried all of this with my current cutteri pair, and although they have spawn 3 times, the eggs did not hatch or were not cared for.

Ah, yes...the mirror works for some Westies too.


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