Spawns in spring in shallow water soon after ice-melt, over gravel or plants; each female spawns once a season with several males, and the sticky eggs are left unguarded. Rarely bred at home.
Group of 5+ adults.
Large pond with gravel and plants.
Spring temperature rise.
A female lays about 15,000-250,000 sticky pale-yellow eggs (about 2 mm) a season; they hatch in about 5 days at 18.5-22 °C and in 1-2 weeks in cooler water.
Fry feed on plankton then fine pellets.
One breeding tank for the golden orfe, drawn to scale from the breeding guide.
Water: 4–20 °C · pH 7–7.5 · gravel bottom
A plan from the breeding guide and an adult size of 50 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 golden orfe yet, so a business layout can't be drawn.
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.