How to Make a DIY Fry Trap for Breeding Aquarium Fish

In our previous article How to Raise Baby Fish Fry in Your Aquarium, we mentioned several techniques that help prevent the adult fish from predating on their offspring. DIY fry traps have been used by many fish breeders and fish farms to increase their fry survival rates. These simple enclosures are small enough that the young can swim through, but not large enough to allow the parents to pass. All the adults and a pregnant livebearer can be placed inside the trap to ensure that eggs and fry are able to escape. Conversely, the parents can be placed outside the trap and the fry can swim inside for safety. The master breeder Dean and Cory, our CEO have their own methods. We have included instructions below.

How to make Cory’s DIY Fry Trap

1. Gather the materials. You can usually find most of these items at arts and craft shops. 1. Acrylic yarn 2. Rectangular sheet (size #5/#7) of plastic craft wire. Circular sheet made of plastic mesh canvas (size #5 and #7) Plastic yarn needle, which can fit through the mesh hole Scissors 6. 2 binder clips 2 binder clips 7.

1. Use a running stitches to sew the ends together. 1. The needle can be used to insert the yarn down into the craft mesh, and then to pull it through inside the cylinder. Make sure you pull through enough yarn to complete sewing the entire edge. 2. Push the needle upward through the next hole in the craft mesh and pull the rest of the yarn through to the outside of the cylinder. 3. Continue repeating steps 4a through 4b until all edges are sewn together. Cut the yarn ball off and tie off the two loose ends of yarn.

1. Make sure the circular mesh canvas is cut to fit the bottom of the cylinder.

1. Thread the needle again with yarn and sew the circular canvas to the bottom of the cylinder using a whipstitch. 1. Place the needle in the bottom edge of the cylinder. Angle the needle up so that it passes through the circular base. Pull the yarn through so you have enough to finish sewing the whole edge. 2. Next, insert the needle into the hole along the bottom edge of the cylinder. Then, insert the needle into the circular base. Pull the yarn through. 3. Keep going until you have sewn the entire bottom seam. Cut the yarn ball off and knot the two ends of the yarn together.

1. (Optional) Make a few spawning mops without the cork and tie them to the outside and inside of the cylinder to attract the baby fish. 2. To stop it floating, place the cylinder into the aquarium. The cylinder should be tall enough so that the top edge is out of the water and adults cannot jump over the walls.

How to Make Dean’s DIY Frying Trap

1. Gather the materials. (As Amazon Associates, we earn from qualifying orders. You can also earn commissions by clicking the links below. Polyfoam caulk saver Pond plant basket 1. Scissors

1. Make sure the caulksaver is cut to the right size for the basket. 2. Reinforce the caulk saver by firmly pushing it into the basket rim. It should not come loose, but you can seal the basket rim with 100% Silicon Sealant if necessary. 3. Place the basket in the fish tank. If the aquarium is 10 gallons, the basket may rest on the tank rim. You can also allow the basket to float in the aquarium if you have a larger one.

DIY fry basket with pregnant female gouppies inside

With your new fry trap, your fish breeding and raising abilities should improve. Consider selling excess fish to local fish stores or to hobbyists. For more information, read our article on How to Breed Aquarium Fish for Profit.