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. Many fish farms and breeders have significantly increased their fry survival rate by making DIY fry traps – simple enclosures with holes that are small enough for the young to swim through but not big enough to let the parents pass. The trap can be used to allow eggs and fry to escape. For safety, parents can be placed outside of the trap while the fry can swim within. 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 all the necessary materials. You can usually find most of these items at arts and craft shops. 1. Acrylic yarn 2. Rectangular sheet in plastic craft mesh (size #5 & #7) Circular sheet made of plastic mesh canvas (size #5 and #7) Plastic yarn needle that can pass through the mesh holes Scissors 6. 2 Binder clips 2 binder clips 7.

1. Sew the two ends of the craft mesh together using a running stitch. 1. Use the needle to insert the yarn downward into the craft mesh and pull it through the inside of the cylinder. You should pull enough yarn through to finish sewing the edge. 2. Pull the remaining yarn through the cylinder by pushing the needle up through the next hole in craft mesh. 3. Repeat steps 4a and 4b until the entire edge is sewn together. The yarn ball should be cut off. Tie the loose 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. Place the needle in the bottom edge of the cylinder. Angle the needle up so that it passes 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. Continue repeating step 6b until all of the bottom seams are sewn together. The yarn ball should be cut off. Knot the 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. Place the cylinder into the aquarium. To keep it from floating, add gravel or rocks to the container. 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 Fried Trap

1. Gather the materials. Gather the materials. Pond plant basket 1 Scissors

1. Cut the caulk saver to size so it fits the diameter of the basket. 2. You can reinforce the caulk-saver by pressing it into the basket’s rim. You can secure the caulk saver by pushing it into the basket rim. However, it shouldn’t come out. 3. Place the basket into the fish tank. The basket can be placed on the tank rim for a 10-gallon aquarium. A larger aquarium can have the basket floating in the water.

DIY fry trap basket with pregnant female guppies inside

The number of fish you raise and breed should increase significantly with your fry trap. If this is the case, consider selling any extras to your local fish market or to hobbyists. For more information, read our article on How to Breed Aquarium Fish for Profit.