Not bred in home aquaria. In the wild it spawns at the start of the wet season upstream of shallow sandbars; eggs settle and hatch as the water rises, and fry move into flooded vegetation. An albino form has been selectively bred for the trade.
Not spawned in home aquaria; farms inject breeding pairs with hormones.
Hormone-induced spawning in large farm ponds or tanks; not practical for hobbyists.
Hormone injection (carp pituitary or synthetic) given by trained farm staff.
Large numbers of eggs released after hormone induction in ponds.
Fry raised in nursery ponds on zooplankton and prepared feed.
One breeding tank for the black shark, drawn to scale from the breeding guide.
Water: 20–26 °C · pH 6.5–7.5
A plan from the breeding guide and an adult size of 60 cm. Tank shape is a standard 2 : 1 : 1.2 box, at least 6 adult lengths long. Check each step in the guide above.
A rack of breeding and grow-out tanks.
The breeding guide gives no tank size for the black shark yet, so a business layout can't be drawn.
Hard to sex; mature females are likely deeper-bodied and may grow larger than males.
Typical for egg scatterers
Feed live or frozen food twice a day. Keep males and females apart if you can.
Eggs are scattered over mops or fine plants, often at first light. Remove the parents straight after.
Most eggs hatch in 1–2 days. Keep the tank dim and remove white (fungused) eggs.
Fry use up the yolk and start swimming. Feed infusoria or liquid fry food several times a day.
Switch to newly hatched brine shrimp or microworms. Start small, daily water changes.
Add finely crushed flake. Sort fry by size so the big ones don't eat the small ones.
Most small fish reach about 2 cm in 2–3 months and can join the main tank.
A general guide for this breeding type. Days change with temperature and species.
Feed live or frozen food twice a day. Keep males and females apart if you can.
Set up a virtual breeding tank and see what would likely happen.
An educational estimate from the breeding rules, not a promise.