Minnows Breeding...

[Wynter]

Hello there everyone!,
We have a school of minnows in our pond and they have to have been breeding because over the last year they have survived the pond freezing over etc....and when I went to see if anything was in there at the beginning of spring I caught a few minnows . Plus there was more of them and they were bigger than we last saw lol.

I just want to ask a few questions about Minnows as I can't seem to find much clear info about them. Firstly, what is their lifespan? And when do they breed?, Do they change colour?; is it obvious that they are breeding?. Do they lay eggs in the bottom muck like Sticklebacks or on the weeds?. I have not seen the spawn of the Minnows; I havn't been looking really but I would guess that the babies stay beneath the weeds and water plants so are hardly seen.

I hope someone can clear up my questions lol. .

~Gem

[Dogghound]

Firstly the life span - Minnows can live upto 8 years in optimum conditions although they are usually eaten by this time, however in a garden pond there are less predators so around 2-5 years a more likely estimate in a pond.

Breeding time - Breeding occurs between april to june in the wild, depending on your pond size and depth will alter this slightly.

Colour - Yes it is obviouse, in the breeding season the males develop darker features such as their back, their sides become a deep gold, and their belly becomes dark red, Males also develop tubercles on their heads when in breeding season, minnows are sexually mature at 1 year of age.

Eggs are scattered on the bottom as far as im aware breeding can take several days

hope this helps