Fish Holding Tanks: Best Practices

If you’re an aquarium owner interested in breeding your fish, you will need to get a holding tank. Trying to leave a female fish in your main aquarium will create many possible problems: she could be harassed and picked on by other fish, or the tiny fry might be eaten by other tank occupants as soon as she releases the eggs.

Although holding tanks can solve the aforementioned problems, they also come with some challenges of their own. Keeping a holding tank properly cycled can be difficult when there are no fish present to keep the ammonia cycle going. And a holding tank will also have variants in the quantity and the size of its fishy inhabitants, as smaller fish have much less waste and therefore create fewer components for the needed nitrogen cycle.

These variances in fish means an inconsistent nitrogen cycle, since essential bacteria count diminishes as soon as fish are removed from the breeding tank. No fish means no fish waste for bacteria to feed on, so the nitrogen cycle is disrupted. This disruption can cause dangerous levels of nitrites and ammonia when new fish are introduced to the holding tank, since there are not many bacteria left to consume the larger amount of waste created by the new fish.

One easy way to keep the nitrogen cycle going in your holding tank is to keep your bacteria colonies alive once you have removed the fish fry. There are a few different ways to do this: add ammonia directly to the tank, or add fish food to the tank, which will create ammonia as it decomposes. Another trick is to put part of a filter from another aquarium into your holding tank, which will keep the nitrogen cycle going by adding healthy tank bacteria.

Do not clean your holding tank once the fish have been removed. You’ll take all the “good” bacteria out, and destroy your nitrogen cycle. Any of the remaining organic material in the tank will feed bacteria colonies, as it will keep producing ammonia.

When dealing with holding tanks, the other cycle you’ll need to be concerned about is the life cycle: multiple breeding females. Since some females will wind up holding eggs within a week or two of each other, you run the risk of the new fry being eaten by older fry, or the other female. One way to prevent this from happening is to use a tank divider. A tank divider will keep older fry from preying on younger ones, and also keep holding females from getting territorial or aggressive.

While there are some issues to consider, keeping a holding tank for breeding your fish is easy. By knowing potential problems ahead of time, you’ll avoid pitfalls and be ready to welcome baby fish into your aquarium.

By: Lee M. Michaels

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Lee M. Michaels is an avid fan of the outdoors and lives in the Northwest. Lee works with Fishyfieds.com. Created by an avid aquarium hobbyist, Fishyfieds is a worldwide fish classifieds site. There's no registration required, and listing is completely free.