Help me make the most of my tanks!

[bmarine]

Lately i (and my parents) feel like i've been spending way too much money in this hobby. Now i realize that i'll always be spending, but it would be nice to gain a little money back from it too! So I'm really hoping to get bigger into breeding. I have 6 tanks to work with (i know thats not a ton, but if i can do any more breeding than i've already been doing, its a plus), and i'd like to breed fish that i know people/the LFS will take. So here's the tanks i have and my plans:
A 125-african show tank---hoping to maybe breed some synodontis in this though or plecos
55-thinking about breeding lemon jakes,  but open to other ideas
29- hoping to breed in this too, but no idea what to breed
20, 10, 5-i'm thinking these will be fry tanks.

Now i've been looking at some fish and think these could be interesting ones to breed:
Angels
Rams
Something from the apistogramma genus
Peacock gudgeons

So are these good fish to breed? Would anyone take them if i bred them? Any other ideas on fish to breed or stock lists for the tanks?
I really appreciate your help! Sorry its kind of a long post too!

[Marty]

Angelfish will almost always sell if you have a nice strain.  They're also not too difficult to spawn once they get to breeding size.  Rams and Apistogramma are both neat fish, but I don't know if they'd sell as well.  A few other species that the stores will almost always buy are Nimbochromis venustus, Neolamprologus leluipi, and Electric Yellows. 

If you breed peacocks, you may find that stores will only want colored males.

[bmarine]

Okay so angels are a big one! I know my LFS breeds their own leleupi in the back room, and they told me they won't take them from customers, and i've thought about venustus,  but the only way i could do that is my 125, and i already have a few different species in there. And yeah i'm pretty sure my LFS doesnt have any apistos, so i wasnt sure if they would be one that they would definitely take. Thry do have lots of rams though! What about the gudgeons? Any other good fish? I'm open to any ideas!

[Sean]

personally, if i were going to breed rams i would have to go with something bright. i would suggest electric blue rams or gold veil angel rams

[bmarine]

I don't believe they have electric blues! So they are an idea! Could i breed angels and rams or apistos in the same tank?

[linuxrulesusa]

I don't want to discourage you but the best you'll probably do is break even on say your electric bill.  Or possibly pay for the cost of raising the fry.  At least with the number of tanks you have now.

Do it for fun...if you need cash sell a tank or two vs try to breed...just my two cents.

If you do breed you need species tanks...eg angel pair in a 29 high, 20 high for rams.

[bmarine]

Yeah, i know i won't get even close to breaking even. Part of its trying to increase my experience with fish (i've done african cichlids almost the whole time i've been in the hobby), and maybe try just to get a little more money towards the hobby. I'm a teen so i don't pay electric bills quite yet, Although i should try to chip in with how much i use! Basically i'm just hoping to breed more, and get some more money from breeding than i am currently, but i want to breed exciting fish, not the common ones like guppies or platies.

[Sean]

I wouldn't suggest trying to breed them in the same tank

[bmarine]

K i figured. Aggression issues probably?? My 55 is also kind of a show tank, so could i actually get some other fish in there with angels?

[jkeeler]

Breed some bristlenose in the smaller tanks and probably put some fry in there too.  People use bristlenose across many set-ups.  They help pay some of expenses and are pretty easy.

Maybe just use the 125 as a show tank and use the other tanks for breeding.

[Sean]

Yeah i'd be worried about aggression. a lot of angels will kill the rest of the group after a pair is formed so they could be aggressive towards other fish after they form a pair. i second the bristlenose pleco idea, they really cut down on algae scrubbing, breed regularly, and look cool.

[African cichlid Keeper]

Breed some bristlenose in the smaller tanks and probably put some fry in there too.  People use bristlenose across many set-ups.  They help pay some of expenses and are pretty easy.

Maybe just use the 125 as a show tank and use the other tanks for breeding.

I agree

[bmarine]

K i could do plecs! I would assume the LFS would take them cuz everyone needs them! What could i breed those in? Do they need their own tank? And what if i bought a breeding pair of angels, and then put them with some schooling fish and maybe cories or something?

Oh and yeah the 125 is mostly for show, i just figured i was gonna have synos anyway for it and maybe i'd get lucky and they'd breed!

[Sean]

You could put a group of synodontis petricola or multipunctatus in the 125 and see how it goes. You could do a pair of plecos in each of the tanks except the 10 and the 5 and use those for fry growout. With the angels you could probably get away with doing a breeding group of cory cats or a pair of plecos or maybe even both. Schooling fish could do well with the angels, not 100% sure, but as long as they're a faster moving fish like tetras I don't see a problem. You may even be able to get them to breed in there. In the 55 i would suggest a smaller group of haps, mbuna or peacocks. Lemon Jakes should be fine but they can get aggressive

[linuxrulesusa]

IMO, if you're serious about breeding egg layers do species only tanks. Cories love eggs and tetras do to a certain extent...so either do a show tank or a breeding tank...hard to mix the two.