As a goldfish keeper, you must be curious to know whether your fish can get pregnant or not. So can your goldfish get pregnant? Let us discuss this below:
Goldfish don’t get pregnant as they carry eggs. Goldfish usually lay eggs when the cold water gets warmer during the spring season. Male goldfish fertilize the eggs by releasing milt. Experts suggest placing the fertilized eggs in a separate tank to avoid any threat from their parents.
Let us dive into the article to learn about the behavior of your goldfish while laying eggs. In addition to this, we will also discuss goldfish breeding.
Contents
When do female goldfish lay eggs?
Female goldfish require the right tank conditions to lay their eggs.
Goldfish usually spawn when the cold water gets warmer during the spring season.
You can encourage your goldfish to spawn by gradually increasing the temperature from 50 °F to 64 °F to ensure healthy spawning.
Maintain appropriate tank conditions for your female goldfish to lay eggs.
Outdoor goldfish can spawn three to four times a season in warmer climates, whereas goldfish kept indoors in good water conditions can spawn all year long.
Goldfish can lay thousands of eggs at each spawning, but only a few get fertilized by the male goldfish as many of the goldfish fry get consumed by the adults.
It usually takes a few days or a week for your goldfish to complete the spawning process.
The spawning process lasting more than a week can lead to stress in your female goldfish.
It takes around four to seven days for your goldfish eggs to hatch. You should provide good water conditions to your goldfish to make them lay eggs.
How to determine the gender of your goldfish?
| Male Goldfish | Female Goldfish |
| Male goldfish have a thinner body shape | A female goldfish have a rounder and thicker body shape |
| Male goldfish develop white spots are known as breeding tubercles | Female goldfish have a swollen vent |
| Male goldfish releases milt to fertilize the eggs | Female goldfish releases eggs |
| Male goldfish have a flat vent | Female goldfish vent gets swollen during spawning season |
| Chase’s female goldfish | Gets chased by the male |
| Male goldfish are slightly smaller | Female goldfish appears somewhat larger than males |
Therefore, with the help of the above table, you can determine the gender of your goldfish.
Signs of female goldfish laying eggs
Here are some signs of female goldfish laying eggs:
- It appears more broad than usual
- Lethargic
- Chased by males
- Less food consumption
- Hiding behavior
- Eggs are coming out when picked up
It appears more broad than usual
Female goldfish are bigger in shape due to their round belly than the males.
However, if you discover them getting more broad than usual, it indicates your goldfish is about to lay eggs.
Therefore, there can be many other reasons behind your goldfish getting chubbier than usual. Some of them are as follows:
Overfeeding
Overfeeding can also make your goldfish look chubbier. Excessive eating further can lead to serious health issues in your goldfish.
Also read: What happens When You Overfeed Goldfish?
Infections
Abdominal infections can also make your goldfish look broader than usual.
Dropsy
Diseases like dropsy can also make your goldfish look swollen behind the gills.
Lethargic
If you discover your goldfish swimming slow in the tank, it indicates that your fish is about to lay eggs.
However, there can be many reasons behind your goldfish showing lethargic behavior, like stress and poor water conditions.
Chased by males
If you discover your female goldfish being chased by the males in the tank, it indicates that your female goldfish is ready to lay eggs.
The female goldfish signal the male by releasing pheromones in the water, indicating that she is about to lay eggs.
The male goldfish then rub himself up against the female goldfish to make her release the eggs. This process continues until the eggs get laid.
However, there can be many other reasons behind your goldfish chasing each other, like competing for food.
Also read: Why Is My Goldfish Chasing Each Other?
Less consumption
If you detect your female goldfish eating less than usual, your fish is about to lay eggs.
Goldfish do not prefer to eat much at the time of spawning.
However, there can be many other reasons behind your goldfish not eating, like poor water conditions.
Hiding behavior:
If you discover your goldfish hiding at the bottom of the tank or behind the aquatic plants, it indicates that your fish is about to lay eggs.
However, there are many other reasons behind your goldfish hiding, like aggressive tankmates.
Also read: Why Is My Goldfish Hiding?
Eggs are coming out when you picked up:
When you place your hand inside your goldfish tank to pick up your fish and discover lots of eggs coming out while she twists and turns around your hand, it is a clear indication that your fish is about to lay eggs.
It also shows that there are still many eggs inside your female goldfish.
It will be advisable not to squeeze the eggs out from your fish as it can lead to severe health issues for your goldfish.
The male goldfish does that by rubbing up against her, making her release eggs.
Male goldfish behavior
It would be best if you also eyed at the male goldfish to detect whether the female is about to lay eggs or not.
As the male also starts to prepare for their role in fertilizing the eggs.
Here are some signs of male goldfish behavior at the time of spawning.
- Chasing the female goldfish
- Tubercles
Chasing the female:
If you discover your male goldfish chasing the female and rubbing himself up against the female, it indicates encouraging the female to lay eggs.
The female goldfish signals the male by releasing pheromones in the water, after which the chasing starts.
However, there can be many other reasons behind your goldfish chasing each other, like being territorial.
Tubercles
Tubercles are tiny white bumps that appear in your male goldfish’s pectoral fins, head, or gills.
However, there is no clear statement behind the use of tubercles in male goldfish.
The male tubercles can also be a differentiator between the male and the female goldfish or indicate a healthy male; a male with more tubercles is healthier than those with fewer spots.
So, it will be advisable not to jump on to the conclusion just by seeing these tiny white bumps in your goldfish’s body.
Breeding your goldfish
You can encourage breeding by just placing the male and the female goldfish in the same tank during the breeding season.
However, if kept in suitable water parameters, goldfish in captivity can spawn year long.
All you need to breed your goldfish is a male and a female goldfish kept in proper water parameters.
Goldfish spawns when the cold water starts getting warmer during the spring season. To ensure healthy spawning, you can gradually increase the temperature from 50 °F to 64 °F.
The items you need to breed your goldfish are as follows:
- A suitable size tank with a sound filtration system to maintain the tank’s water quality.
- A separate tank for the fry, as keeping the fry with the adults can threaten the fry. It is because the adult goldfish will eat all of them.
- A spawning mob to protect the eggs from the predatory parents.
Once you place your male and the female goldfish in the same tank with a suitable water temperature required for spawning, you will soon start discovering breeding behavior in your fish.
You will discover white spots known as tubercles in the male goldfish, whereas the female will get broader than usual.
In addition to this, you will also see your male goldfish chasing the female and rubbing himself against her to make her lay eggs.
The spawning process can last up to a few days or even last up to weeks.
Female goldfish lays thousands of eggs near the planted area or the spawning mop. Due to its sticky nature, you will find the eggs stuck in the plants or the spawning mop.
Goldfish eggs appear milky white before fertilization. Male goldfish fertilize the eggs by releasing milt on them.
Once the eggs get fertilized, it seems light yellow with a dark spot at the top of one end.
Once the eggs get fertilized, it will be advisable to move them away to avoid any threat from their parents.
How can you protect your goldfish fry?
Goldfish are peaceful species that do not prefer aggression in their tank.
Goldfish like to eat anything that fits in their mouth, making them a threat to the fry in the tank.
So, it will be advisable to place your goldfish fry in a separate tank for their well-being.
It will be advisable to provide mosquito wriggles to your goldfish fry as it helps your fish to grow and develop.
Conclusion:
- Goldfish usually spawn after the cold water gets warm during the spring season.
- Goldfish can lay thousands of eggs at each spawning.
- Male goldfish appear thinner, whereas females appear slightly bigger than males.
- Male goldfish chasing the female indicates that the female is about to spawn.
- You can protect your goldfish fry by placing them in a separate tank.
- Mosquito wriggles provide many nutritional benefits to your goldfish fry.
Reference: ResearchGate , ScienceDirect