Ornamental Fish Farming

This is one of ten eBooks on the commercial production of ornamental fish. It is based predominantly on the author's 30 years of experience, mostly on his own farms. While a few of the eBooks are purely commercial, others, particularly those on breeding, will also be helpful to hobbyists, understandable even by beginners. The following description is provided as a guide. PART 3 gives extremely detailed and comprehensive, but understandably written methods for all stages of breeding the egg-scatterers - usable even by beginners! It tells how to hold and condition breeders (including diets), set them up for spawning, detect eggs, look after larvae, give the first feed (with food options), raise fry, maintain water quality, deal with health issues etc. This section is based on the egg-scatterers, but is also used as a technique guide and reference for all other species because there is so much common ground between them. Strongly recommended in conjunction with PART 4, for both hobbyist and commercial breeders.

This is one of ten eBooks on the commercial production of ornamental fish. It is based predominantly on the author's 30 years of experience, mostly on his own farms. While a few of the eBooks are purely commercial, others, particularly those on breeding, will also be helpful to hobbyists, understandable even by beginners. The following description is provided as a guide. PART 3 gives extremely detailed and comprehensive, but understandably written methods for all stages of breeding the egg-scatterers - usable even by beginners! It tells how to hold and condition breeders (including diets), set them up for spawning, detect eggs, look after larvae, give the first feed (with food options), raise fry, maintain water quality, deal with health issues etc. This section is based on the egg-scatterers, but is also used as a technique guide and reference for all other species because there is so much common ground between them. Strongly recommended in conjunction with PART 4, for both hobbyist and commercial breeders.

The author, Brian Andrews, started keeping tropical fish as a hobbyist at the age of 8 years. Prior to fish farming, the author’s career included 2 years of work in food microbiology and 5 years in marine aquaculture research. This was followed by the development of Amatikulu Hatchery Pty Ltd in South Africa by the author and his business partner. The farm grew to be the largest in the southern hemisphere at the time, marketing around 2.5 million fish per year of over 100 species/varieties, including egg-laying tropical fish and livebearers, as well as a range of goldfish and koi. In 1990 the author immigrated to Australia and launched Kilcoy Ornamental Fish, a farm which grew to produce 800 000 fish per year, of about 50 varieties. Over his entire fish farming career, the author was always acutely aware of the lack of books on ornamental fish farming, and as a result decided to write and share his knowledge. The outcome is a very detailed 528 page manual written in easily understandable language by a breeder/farmer, from over 30 years of personal experience. The book is intended to be usable by both commercial producers and serious hobbyist breeders. (See the book website at www.ornamentalfishfarming.net) Although still available in hard copy, the eBook is offered in sections which enables commercial or hobbyist breeders to purchase just those sections which are of interest to them.