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Breeding / Egg scatterers
Golden topminnow
Egg scatterers · Very easy

Breeding the golden topminnow

Lays eggs one at a time on plants, floating-plant roots or spawning mats, attached by sticky threads; spawning season April to September in the wild.

Full species page

Step by step

Pairing

A group; one male with 2-3 females.

Breeding tank

40 L planted tank with spawning mops.

What starts it

Warm water and live food.

Eggs and young

About 10-20 eggs a day for about a week; eggs hatch in about two weeks. Young mature at around 10 months.

Raising the fry

Baby brine shrimp from day one.

Common mistakes
  • No cover
  • Open tank
  • Overcrowding
Setup blueprint

Home setup

One breeding tank for the golden topminnow, drawn to scale from the breeding guide.

50 cm long · 25 cm deep30 cm12345
  1. 1
    Breeding tank: 40 L · about 50 × 25 × 30 cm, 40 L from the breeding guide
  2. 2
    Sponge filter and air pump · gentle and safe for eggs and fry
  3. 3
    Heater, 18–25 °C · this species' normal range
  4. 4
    Spawning mop · named in the guide
  5. 5
    Plants for cover · named in the guide

Water: 18–25 °C

A plan from the breeding guide and an adult size of 8.5 cm. Tank shape is a standard 2 : 1 : 1.2 box, at least 6 adult lengths long. Check each step in the guide above.

Setup blueprint

Business setup

A 120 cm rack for breeding the golden topminnow in numbers.

12234120 cm rack, 3 shelves
  1. 1
    2 breeding tanks, 40 L each · about 50 × 25 × 30 cm, set up like the home tank
  2. 2
    2 grow-out tanks, 80 L each · about 65 × 30 × 40 cm; twice the breeding tank, never smaller than this species' smallest tank
  3. 3
    Shared air pump and air line · one line along each shelf feeds a sponge filter in every tank
  4. 4
    Heat the room or each tank · 18–25 °C

In total: 4 tanks, about 240 L of water. A litre of water weighs about 1 kg, so check that the floor and rack can take the weight.

Sizes are worked out from the breeding tank in the guide. Tanks fit a standard 120 cm rack when they can; bigger tanks go on their own stands.

Male or female

Males have iridescent gold or blue flecks, 7-11 faint dark bars and red dots on the sides, and rows of red spots on the tail; females and juveniles lack the bars, gold flecks and red spots but may have small bluish spots.

Can I breed it in my tank?

  • Use a separate small tank with a sponge filter and spawning mops, so the eggs aren't eaten.
  • Good for a first breeding project.

Day-by-day plan

Typical for egg scatterers

  1. 14 days beforeCondition the parents

    Feed live or frozen food twice a day. Keep males and females apart if you can.

  2. Day 0Spawning

    Eggs are scattered over mops or fine plants, often at first light. Remove the parents straight after.

  3. Day 1Eggs hatch

    Most eggs hatch in 1–2 days. Keep the tank dim and remove white (fungused) eggs.

  4. Day 4Free swimming, first food

    Fry use up the yolk and start swimming. Feed infusoria or liquid fry food several times a day.

  5. Day 8Baby brine shrimp

    Switch to newly hatched brine shrimp or microworms. Start small, daily water changes.

  6. Day 21Crushed flake

    Add finely crushed flake. Sort fry by size so the big ones don't eat the small ones.

  7. Day 60Ready to move

    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.

Simulator: guided

Stage 1 of 7Condition the parents

Feed live or frozen food twice a day. Keep males and females apart if you can.

Simulator: try it yourself

Set up a virtual breeding tank and see what would likely happen.

No spawning
  • Without live or frozen food the parents aren't in breeding condition.

An educational estimate from the breeding rules, not a promise.