Things that mate....

[curlyq]

In stocking my 58ga. tank, I'm interested in putting things in there that mate. Not necessarily for the purpose of raising anything (perhaps someday) but rather as a natural nutritious food source. I currently have a pair of true percs (hopefully someday), and a single cleaner shrimp. I want to put another cleaner in there in hopes of mating. Also, I wanted to put a few pep. shrimp in there as they've also been known to mate. I don't need instant results, but setting up the possibility is kinda cool. So, if there are things that mate, reproduce, or otherwise provide a natural food for the tank lets hear them!

(They also shouldn't take much/any extra work than normal reef care)

[hypertech]

I've heard hermits do a lot of spawning. Snails too.

[coralreefer]

I've had astreas mass spawn. I only noticed it once so I am guessing it doens't happen too often. The water turned pretty cloudy and provided a lot of food for my corals.

[christensonjes]

Banghaii Cardinals

[NaturesPalette]

Do hermits really spawn? Do the babies make it?

[lottie_pufferfish]

Ive seen a female hermit with eggs. They carry them inside their shells, they where them like a little saddle, around their back. the ones i saw where bright red. Who knows if any hatched.

[Chad Vossen]

clownfish
dwarf angel fish http://www.marinebreeder.org/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=411
hermit crabs - always breeding! im always catching baby hermits in my larva snagger..
shrimp- cleaners, fire, peppermints can be kept together
royal grammas- one super tiny paired with one thats larger usually makes a pair.
blennies-not sure how to go about this one, but its possible with certain species.
dottybacks
neon goby
dragonettes
emerald crabs
any reefsafe crab... arent crabs great??

of course there are more but not much more i can think of right away.

[curlyq]

That is a pretty good list! I didn't know hermits bred that much. Any other critters/fish that breed readily?

[David Grigor]

While not necessarily a good idea in a tank with very delicate corals but you can get adult snails to spawn pretty much on demand.

Just do a water change with new salt water that is a good 10 degrees warmer than the show tank. When combined there is a instant spike of several degrees and THERE HE/SHE BLOWS !!!!!


Also, if you ever wanted to try your hand at raising them, you can put the "stuff" in a small container set it up on top of the tank near the lights, algae will likely start to grow and they can be raised with no real effort as long as protected by predators. I don't know exactly how long it takes I never tried by Shimek told me all about it when he was in town doing tank tours years ago.

[crayonbreaker]

cara found a web site that sold just mating pairs of fish and there were a ton of them I will ask her what it was when she gets home.

[Chad Vossen]

any fish will breed in aquaria given the right conditions. anthias will if given enough space, as will tangs. large aquariums have spawning events from such fish all the time.

[PLNelson]

Also stomatella snails. Might have the wrong name, but they are the small abalone looking snails.