How to Hatch Fish Indoors

Choose the type of fish you will be raising for food. Catfish, trout and tilapia are the most popular. Tilapia are known as the aquaculture chicken because of their rapid growth rates. The type of fish you choose will determine the proper temperature of the water and whether or not you will need tank heaters. Next, you will need the right ratio of males to females in the tank. One male can typically breed with six to nine females in the same tank. Fewer females may result in the male killing them with attention.

Set up the large fish tanks. Typically, two 100 gallon or larger tanks will work as the breeding grounds for different types of fish. Don't put more than one species in the same tank, however. Fill the tank about three quarters full with clean water. Lay the bottom tank filter screen assembly in the bottom of the tank. Add the gravel at the bottom, follow your specific instructions for the specific model of fish tank you purchased. You will be connecting the pump to the bottom screen filter. The pump should also contain its own filters to help further remove pollutants from the tank. If necessary, according to the species of fish you are raising, hook up the water heater and begin heating and aerating the water a couple of days before you add the fish.

Place the PVC sections into one side of the tank. These will serve as spaces for each of the females to hide from their amorous male when they are not interested in mating.

Place the flower pot slightly away from the PVC hiding boxes. The flower pot will serve as the bachelor male's "pad." He will take a female here to fertilize her eggs. If the male fish is able to see another female during the process, he may want to bring another female in; this will interfere in the egg fertilization process.

Set up the smaller tanks in the same way you did the larger ones, except without the gravel and hiding spaces. These smaller tanks will serve as the nursery for the baby fish or "fry." Cover the filter pump with screen so that the young ones won't get sucked into the pump. Once the eggs have been fertilized, they can be moved to the smaller tanks by removing the flower pot. Make sure the temperature in both tanks is the same. Sudden changes in temperature can kill the fry.

Remove any future generations of eggs on a regular basis. If the fry have hatched in one of the smaller tanks, utilize another smaller tank to serve as the nurseries for these fish. If you place new eggs into a tank with hatched fry, the eggs may turn into lunch for the bigger brothers and sisters.

Grind adult fish food into fine particles for your fry. This will keep them well fed until they are old enough and big enough for the larger pieces. One mating session may yield hundreds of fertilized eggs. From this number do not be surprised if you lose about 10 percent of them.

Remove the runts of the litter, or the fry that don't seem to be getting as large as their siblings. Some may not get much larger, but could still yield some delicious meals. If you don't remove them, their siblings will eat them.