The Best Tool When Breeding Fish - Breeder Boxes!

[@chandlee3968]

I have a Finnex version of the breeder box that is powered by a small water pump with a spray bar instead of the air-driven system. It makes a good egg tumbler alternative. I have found with Pleco fry that if you add the “matten” filter that the fry can become trapped between the side of the sponge and box and can die. I haven’t yet found a good screen material for the outlet but I’m sure it’s out there somewhere.

[@BentleyPascoe]

I would look at sheets of micron mesh or even cheese cloth

[@7602sm]

I use a piece of pantyhose stretched over the outlet grate

[@blondvet]

I’m coming back to the hobby after about 15 years. There are so many new cool toys! I mean, equipment and tools. Thanks for helping me learn about all of these things.

[@josemontalvo4532]

They can be used as a catcher for egg layers. Using an air stone connected to a screen mesh with plants on top which will suck up the eggs after fertilizing takes place. The second breeder box will safely hold the egg until they hatch. You can then feed the new fry’s micro worms, brine shrimps, or whatever they need until they get big enough to spill into the community tank. It can be used as an automatic egg collection as the way big aquatic companies use, but on a smaller scale. I enjoy your videos on the Lights. Great stuff.

[@Audiojunkabus]

I love these things -- so versatile - they make a great custom HOB filter and planter box for emergent plants. I also use them to seed filters. I connect mine @ lift tube bottom to a mini in-tank water pump that is 2" x2" x 1". Much quieter and better flow.

[@PugWrangler]

Thank you for this great video on the use of breeder boxes. My C. fasciata Kali Web decided to have a brood of about 40 fry and I had absolutely no idea what to do and information online is somewhat sparse and conflicting, and I stumbled upon your videos! Super helpful. Just my 2 cents on this Fluval breeder box its infinitely better than most of the in tank ones you find on Amazon. Imagine spending hours netting up a bunch of rainbow fry into one of those cheap boxes, there is a loud noise from the vacuum and seconds later every fish that was in your box has now slid through the >500 um slits and have to be re-wrangled again. I did encounter 2 issues with the fluval box which I think if people know about can easily be worked around. The first issue is if you run the box at a low drip rate there is a pretty sizeable temp difference between the box and the tank. I had a empty 10g tank set to 80F and the fish room (unused basement kitchen) got to about 65F at night and when I woke up noticed the box was only around 74-75F and half the fry were dead. To get around this problem I set the fish room to 80F instead of just the tank. The second issued which I noticed you already mention is the small fry will use the water out take like a water park slide even with the gate on. I used the smaller gate and shoved a piece of dense sponge into the outlet and for the first week all the fry stayed in the box no problem. On week 2 I didn't ocd clean out the fry food powder 20 minutes after feeding and a large amount of the food went through the outtake and the the babies decided to attempt to army crawl through the gate and through the bottom part of the sponge and follow the food. I found 8 of the fry dead or dying stuck in the sponge and 2 of them happily swimming around in the main tank like it was no big deal. I definitely should of followed your advice in the video and used the fine wire mesh and partitioned off the last 1/3 of the box.

[@ryanhansen8363]

I like to put pothos, taro, bamboo, sweet potato, in HOB filters and these work like that by helping remove nitrates and such. Generally cheaper than HOB and less power consumption with lots of space for massive root structures.

[@FishRoomFever]

Great video! 2 tips I would add: run your airline into a 2 way valve. You run 1 off to the uplift tube and a second one to an airstone which goes right down through the feeding hole in the top. This gives you adjustable flow to the uplift and added circulation and aeration in the box. Great for keeping pleco eggs from getting fungus. #2 i use a small wire, like a bread tie, or string attached to the little gate, which I also upgrade with mesh, and tie the other end to the box so that pesky tiny gate doesn't run away!

[@Shelzbells]

Those breeder boxes are so nice......really a must have in the fish room.

[@omarmonsif6313]

Hey Bentley great video, for a great product. In my experience they are great for fry, but they are SUPER LOUD EVEN WITH THE AIR TURNED WAYYYYY DOWN. So i diy rigged mine with a tiny pump that sits in the tank and a cut to fit aquaclear sponge, which works as a madden filter! And voala ! Dame near mute ! With better flow, and zero noise. As long as you keep the sponge from clogging( which happend once) it shouldnt overflow. Nor should the babies make their way into the main display. One other really important tip that you missed is the small leg part that levels the box to the tank!! Just like a hang on back be sure to level it to keep the water level at a good hight so it doesnt overflow!! Thanks for all the great knowledge that you've shared !! Much apreciated !!! Give that man a like he deserves it !

[@jasonbrady6560]

I like your matten filter idea with the divider. Lately I’ve been wrapping the divider with a fluval media bag to keep smaller fry in. Seems to be working well so far.

[@brianklimaszewski]

I love these! Been watching the price on them for awhile to get more and I just ordered 3 large ones of these two days ago as they had a price mixup or something. Got them for 2.40 each!

[@juliecaton3329]

Great find! Where?

[@brianklimaszewski]

@@juliecaton3329 it was on Amazon. I suggest putting items you like in your save for later and watch the prices. That what I do for all my supplies I can't get from my local fish store.

[@fitmanaquatics1467]

Never had one of these per se, but similar items and one use I like is to isolate a sick/bullied fish. I know the fish police will say put in a QT tank, but here me out. Currently I have a parasite problem in my 40. I am dosing the whole tank as a precaution, but I have one fish in particular I suspect. I can isolate him to try and feed separately with medicated gel. Same concept for a bullied fish, it is good to isolate and reintroduce. Also, could use to isolate a bully fish for a little while and then reintroduce later to hopefully keep your tank more peacefully, big help for cichlid people. Definitely will have to get some of these though!

[@matt5754]

I was recently suggested to use pantihose over the filter inlet for my baby shrimp and fry, it would work over the outlet gate on the breeder box too.

[@peggysue182]

Thank you for this video! I came to this video to help during set-up. I'll be using mine for my corydora eggs.

[@gordduff3021]

When I have eggs I take the box remove the air and put the box in the water. This lets me treat the water with anti fungal and keep the water heated since the box is hard to regulate temp in when not connected to air hose. The air hose can then be connected to bubbler and put in for oxygenation. When the eggs hatch I flip it around reconnect the airline and dump out half the water. Does a small water change keeps the temp the same and starts water flowing from the tank.

[@James_Hande]

Wish those were available back in the days when I was selectively breed fancy guppies. I tried those net breeders which was a mistake. I then moved on to the regular old hang in tank breeder boxes and would put mama in a few days before she gave birth. I would always hang the box in an empty 10G tank so the babies would be safe. Yes I needed and used LOT'S of tank. Then Penn Plax came out with the Aqua-Nursery which help a little in a pinch when extra tank space was limited.

[@erikgraham9481]

thanks for your insight, I just got same one shown as my Cory Doras are laying eggs like crazy and need to help them out . As well my endlers could use a place to hang and pop out fry. hopefully this will be a good addition, thanks EG

[@patriciakloeppel9863]

so many great ideas for a hob breeder box love it

[@brianklimaszewski]

I also use a section of air line hose to suck up the detritus on the bottom and section the fry off to one area if I'm worried about sucking them up too.

[@Adrianpr5]

Thank you so much for this video. I have 3 large boxes on the way from amazon and you just gave me some great ideas that I didn’t think about. The matten filter idea was genius!!

[@spitz-mv6zb]

great stuff Bentley, always learning new things from your videos!

[@kenjiro2676]

12:15, it is possible to put this on a 10 gallon tank, raise daphnia in the tank, and raise some blackworms in the breeder boxes.

[@BentleyPascoe]

I believe so

[@jaxntax5509]

Wonderful and useful ideas thank you so much. I have used to check rocks leeching into the water because of flow usually on my QT. I use pool strips with a lot more checks and to check a new wood I want to try.

[@RescueDogTreats]

Maybe you can do a review or try the Ziss Aquarium Coop breeder box...it looks awesome also!

[@SimplyBetta]

Do you think the marina or that other smaller brand is small enough to hang on the narrow side of a 10g?

[@BentleyPascoe]

They are almost exactly the same size which makes them both about half an inch too wide for the narrow end of a 10, you'd be forced to use the smaller marina box for that.

[@SimplyBetta]

Bentley Pascoe thanks!

[@ReneesZooTube]

The large size is too big, but rhe medium size will fit on the short side of a 10 gallon. I've done it and it works well.

[@SimplyBetta]

@@ReneesZooTube thanks Renee :)

[@stuartmanstible-cutlass8425]

Thanks for a very helpful video mate

[@niclaspalmqvist6199]

Hi I just found this video, I realy like your videos by the way, and I wonder how would this fit on an Akvastabil Move aquarium I like to have one but I am a bit concerned that they wont fit to my aquarium. I have also looked at this, Ziss EZ Breeder GL-1T, this also looks great and is inside the aquarium and as I understand it has the same benefits as the Fluval. I hope you will have time to answer this even if it is an older video. Thanks in advance.

[@ReneesZooTube]

I love these boxes and use them regularly. Thanks for the extra ideas for other uses! I'll definitely be using some of the ideas.

[@KevinsCaninesAndAquatics]

I love it and you can use it just like Lee's Specimen container. I purchased them in October 2020 because it was like a few dollars. I would have purchased 15 of them but didn't have a tank at that time to fit it on.

[@rockypointrabbitry3749]

Love the hat! GO HAWKS!!!

[@floydsfishes2856]

Thanks Bentley!! I learned something new👍👍

[@jrookerson]

I also use mine with the air turned down low to drip acclimate new fish and shrimp.

[@sakana_katana2039]

Ditto

[@nancyzepp7247]

Great ideas!

[@FishTankBarn]

Love breeder boxes! Very easy to use.

[@reaver6070]

The hole in the piece that attaches to the uplift tube can clog up where the air comes in if you have hard water. Just have to have something small enough to feed into the spot the airline goes on to break up the blockage.

[@AQUARIUMFREAK123]

can you verify if those intake tubes that supply the water to the boxes are the identical size ?.. OUTSIDE DIAMETER OF TUBES.. i want to make something that must fit universally to either box ... THANK YOU

[@djditto47]

In my tanks with drift wood I have the smalls as settle tank filter. We’re the mulm settles and easier to remove.

[@reboot530]

I have bristle nose Pleaco in a aftican cichlid tank. The last night (8-14-22) the mail pulled out all the eggs. Would this be the best for the eggs? Thanks Aaron

[@sujangurung8454]

the way to dampen the sound is to use small powerhead; 300lph will do fine.

[@sakana_katana2039]

I use breeder boxes to do water changes on my caridinia shrimp tank.

[@andyjwall2]

I was thinking the same, how do you do yours

[@sakana_katana2039]

@@andyjwall2 i just run the breeder box with the max amount of air to fill it. I dump out the water, and then I fill it with the remineralized RO water. I set the air to output like a drop or two per second. I let it drip overnight. The next day I dump the water in the breeder box into the tank.

[@juliecaton3329]

Wonderful video! Love these tips. Fir those of us who are new to things like this and who maybe don't think things through properly, you might mention that they are NOT suitable as quarantine tanks or for isolation with medicine! Also, what are CBD's? Something else to be aware of… Amazon has a 1 to 2 month wait to ship the Marina boxes. But the ISTA brand you can get right away.

[@BentleyPascoe]

CPD = celestial pearl danio

[@andrewchavalia5839]

It could work with a sump but I would worry about that maybe being too much flow. Adding an air stone might be an idea and add a filter to the intake. I am watching this with the intention of getting one and really looking at it I feel like It could be modified/upgraded to optimize oxygen going in and quiet the gurgle you mentioned.

[@BentleyPascoe]

There's a few folks out there who commented that also have videos of mods they did to quiet it.

[@TheTricks1122]

You are the reason I got into planted tank bro my fish group I made with over a 100 member we make it a point to go over all ur videos i try doing ur membership but it won't let us anyway love u bro

[@BentleyPascoe]

Thank you so much! It's incredibly humbling to know I could help someone get into something I love so much

[@TheTricks1122]

Do you ever give talks or meet and greets just wounding im not a stalker just be a honor to meet you

[@BentleyPascoe]

@@TheTricks1122 I've done some yes, covid is kinda ruining that for now.

[@ReneesZooTube]

I've modified my uplift tube and use an airstone to quiet the sound so it sounds no worse than a sponge filter. No more slurping. I've got a video of how I modified the lift tube on my channel. 😊

[@BentleyPascoe]

I will check that out!

[@RedFishBlueFish]

Nice informative video. I have a marina but I could do with a few more... New guppy strains incoming Amigo! ❤️ 🐟

[@bonnieandshanestevens4198]

Great vid cheers from australia

[@Sec_coach]

Neat stuff

[@KevinsCaninesAndAquatics]

Should you use white or black? A lot of people say to use black instead of white.

[@BentleyPascoe]

White makes the fry easier to see

[@atkinsnatureaquariums3552]

I've thought about turning the marina breeder box into a deep sandbed filter. Maybe I should make it and do some testing

[@BentleyPascoe]

I'd be super curious to see how that works out

[@arthurwieczorek4894]

Bentley, I was looking to see a BB on a tank --with a fish in it.

[@user-bz4uz8jj2t]

What non-toxic paint do you use to paint the bottom?

[@BentleyPascoe]

So when you're painting the bottom of the tank, you're painting the outside not inside the tank. I don't know if there is a possible solution to paint the inside of the tank safely outside of something like plastidip, which I'm not sure how well that's going to stay in place Submerged

[@mangala666]

Just turn the air down, and then it’s not a gurgly mess anymore. :) I have also used these things as a really gentle hang on back air driven filter on a Breeder tank.

[@pedrofisk]

I keep some guppy grass in mine and with that Daphne will be self sustaining along side the fry.

[@LordBarron75]

Hey hey Mr. Bentley how are you. I am slowly getting back in the game lol and have a quick question about substrate basically I'm looking for recommendations for a planted tank I'm about to set up

[@BentleyPascoe]

Some of the easiest planted substrates are Brightwell, Fluval Stratum, and Eco-complete.

[@LordBarron75]

@@BentleyPascoe thank you sir and I see the channel has blown up congrats

[@BentleyPascoe]

@@LordBarron75 slow and steady, good to see you back!

[@davidl5402]

Here’s what I use my Fluval box for. I replaced the airlift with a small water pump to increase the flow, and use the box as a K1 media filter, with some bio media in the last section to keep the media in place. kzbin.info/www/bejne/jnymmYd7YseKr8U

[@jupercio]

Looks a great fit for adding a BCB for anoxic filtration

[@ock538]

help me what should i breed first have a few 10gallon empty now

[@BentleyPascoe]

What fish do you enjoy the most? Breed those.

[@bellyup7530]

nice man, definitely some interesting food for thought, thanks for sharing some of your tricks! Also I don"t think you mentioned the possibility of purchasing a new HOB filter, taking it home and finding out it is the worst HOB you"ve seen since the last one you spent hard earned pay on...anywhoo i took the powerhead off the brand new POS and converted my extra breeder box into a DIY HOB. probably not new idea to most but might be worth mentioning. thanks again helpful vid man

[@RxCoffeeRx]

Thank you!

[@KevinsCaninesAndAquatics]

Can you put a new link for the breeder box it says it doesn’t work.

[@Knights.of.Ni.]

Thank you 👍👍

[@totaltropicals_tv1010]

Maybe a home, alcohol distillery ? lol. Cheers Bentley

[@BentleyPascoe]

It's sanitizer for your insides!

[@capefearkayakfishing1539]

Mine is full of bio balls planted with bamboo and pathos

[@davidlfm777]

You may use this as a bio media filter for beneficial bacteria.

[@Joel_G_NZ]

This is a supportive comment

[@spyrit35]

Awesomeness :)

[@KevinsCaninesAndAquatics]

What the heck it looks like it is $15.99 and now they charge $11 for shipping... I have Amazon prime too. When I purchased it a year ago it was $13.99 and now they charge $27 for the Marina Breeding box. I think it is cheap since it is all plastic and no moving parts. I was so happy because to me it was so cheap and was a steel but didn't have a tank for it. I wish I had purchased a ton of them since these things are absolutely amazing. I am so upset they jacked up the price because $11.99 is 3/4 of the price of the actual product and only $3 of what I paid for it originally. Does anyone know where to purchase them now? Apparently, it was only $2.30 at one point looks like 2 months ago... It showed up on slick deals when I typed it in. Of course, I purchased my 5 tanks during the dollar per gallon sale less than a month ago.

[@BentleyPascoe]

I would wait for another deal through Amazon

[@fistofthenorthstar9010]

i got one for free. i put pothos in it. its kinda a bog filter

[@davem.3309]

Comment for growth

[@Jagdpantherl]

breeding boxes are not needed for breeding they are the worse tool to use cause it stress's that the fish dont have to be put through. ive been breeding guppies and mollies for over 30 years and have never used one. best method of breeding is a heavily planted tank.

[@ReneesZooTube]

I've been having very good luck putting a ready to drop female guppy into a large hang on breeder box with live hornwort in it. Female drops in the box and I move her back to the main tank, the fry stay in the box for 1-2 weeks before being moved to the main tank. I've improved my fry survival doing this by 50% or more.

[@no-knickers-emma1112]

I'm currently using my small,breeder box for my pothos

[@BentleyPascoe]

Cool hang on natural filtration idea

[@Cebos359]

I'v ordered the smallest 1.2l for my Bolivian ram fry, not having to worry about water quality for your fry is a major - I thumbs down twice and thumbs up three times take that! 😅

[@BentleyPascoe]

🤣