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. To allow the eggs and fry to escape, you can place all adults or a pregnant female livebearer in the trap. The parents can also be placed outside the trap so that the fry can swim in safety. Our CEO Cory and master breeder Dean have their own methods of making fry traps, so we’ve included instructions for both down below:

How to make Cory’s DIY Fried Trap

1. Gather the materials. Most of these items can be purchased at arts and crafts stores. 1. Acrylic yarn 2. Rectangular sheet of plastic craft mesh (size #5 or #7) 3. Circular sheet of mesh canvas made from plastic (size #5 or #7) Plastic yarn needle, which can fit through the mesh hole Scissors 6. 2 binder clips 7. 2 binder clips 7.

1. Use a running seam to connect the ends of your craft mesh. 1. Insert the yarn into the craft mesh with the needle and then pull it through 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. Take the yarn ball and tie the ends.

1. The circular mesh canvas should be cut so it fits into the bottom of your cylinder.

1. Continue threading the needle with yarn, and then sew the circular canvas onto the bottom of your cylinder using whipstitch. 1. Insert the needle into the bottom most edge of the cylinder and angle the needle upward so it goes through the circular base. You will need enough yarn to complete sewing the entire edge. 2. Insert the needle through the next hole along the bottom edge in the cylinder and then through the circular base. Pull the yarn through. 3. Repeat step 6b until the entire bottom seam is sewn together. Take the yarn ball and tie the ends 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. Place the cylinder into the aquarium. To keep it from floating, add gravel or rocks to the container. The cylinder must be tall enough that it is not visible above the water. This will prevent adults from jumping over the walls.

How to make Dean’s DIY Fried Trap

1. Gather the materials. (As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases, and commissions may be earned from the links below.) Polyfoam caulk Saver Pond plant basket 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. The caulk saver should not fall out. If you wish, you can line the basket rim permanently with 100% silicone sealant. 3. Place the basket into the fish tank. If you have a 10-gallon aquarium, you can place the basket on the tank’s rim. A larger aquarium can have the basket floating in the water.

DIY trap basket for pregnant female guppies

Your new fry trap will increase the number of fish that you can breed and raise. You might also consider selling extra fish to your local fish shop or to hobbyists. Learn more about how to breed aquarium fish for profit in our article How to Breed Aquarium Fish For Profit.