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. 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. We’ve provided instructions below for both Cory, our CEO, and Dean, the master breeder.

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 of plastic craft mesh (size #5 or #7) 3. 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 Gravel or rocks

1. Use a running stitch to join the ends of the craft mesh. 1. The needle can be used to insert the yarn down into the craft mesh, and then pull the yarn through the cylinder. (Make sure to pull enough yarn through so you can finish sewing the whole 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. 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. 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. 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. 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. Place the cylinder in the aquarium and put gravel or rocks inside to prevent it from floating. 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.) Pond plant basket 1 Scissors

1. The caulk saver should be cut to fit the basket’s diameter. 2. You can reinforce the caulk-saver by pressing it into the basket’s rim. It shouldn’t fall out, but if desired, you can first line the basket rim with 100% silicon sealant to adhere it permanently. 3. Place the basket into the fish tank. For a 10-gallon aquarium, the basket can rest on the tank rim. A larger aquarium can have the basket floating in the water.

DIY trap basket for pregnant female guppies

With your new fry trap, the number of fish you breed and raise should increase substantially, so consider selling the extras to your local fish store or directly to hobbyists. For more information, read our article on How to Breed Aquarium Fish for Profit.