German Breeding Rings


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Catfish Convention!

I am heading to Vermont for the Catfish Convention in Burlington from Oct 30- Nov 5. No shipping during this period. Since I am flying, I will have only limited items on hand that ship ahead. If you want to make sure I have something you want on site, you need to preorder by Oct 20, 2024. Hope to see you all there!


US and Canadian customers, see terms for shipping rates.
For all other countries, please,
Email me first to receive a shipping quote for your order.


GBR with airstoneGBR airstoneGBR-airstone-overviewGBR-airstone-detailGBR-airstone-bottom
Sm Betta Ring

GBR with jetlifter-Catfish
Lg GBR with jetlifter-Cichlid

Check out our new taller GBRs for Bettas and Cichlids

German Breeding Rings (GBR)

$25.00 – Sm 4-in GBR-Airstone
$32.00 – Lg 6-in GBR-Airstone
$30.00 – Sm 4-in Betta Ring 5-in tall
$34.00 – Sm 4-in GBR-JL-Catfish
$38.00 – Lg 6-in GBR-JL-Catfish
$40.00 – Lg 6-in GBR-JL-Cichlid 5-in tall

German Breeding Rings



German Breeding Rings or GBR (“Aufzuchtringe”) are a genius invention by several of my German pleco friends: GBRs are floating egg and fry rearing incubators with airstone or integrated Mini-Jetlifter that supplies them continuously with fresh water. Intended to raise small batches of almost any type of fry, the bottom is covered with a 153 micron nylon gauze (which is replaceable if need be but rinses very well). That means you can feed your fry with Artemia nauplia (baby brine shrimps), rotifers, copepods, and powdered dry food without flushing the food out. Because GBRs float on the surface of a bigger tank, the water quality remains much more stable thanks to the larger volume and the babies do not disperse over a large area, which would make it difficult to feed them adequately.
The GBRs have been conceived and improved over the past 3 years via several prototypes and redesigns to make the most convenient and long lasting gadget possible. I have tested these myself for over two years and successful breeders such as Robert Budrovcan, Ernsti Schmidt, Andy Tanke, Ingo Seidel, and others have contributed to optimizing them. For example, there are no corners that tend to accumulate waste or areas that have no flow, since the bottom is porous. A great trick is to add a few Malaysian Trumpet Snails (MTS) to consume food leftovers, eat the bacterial slime, or clean up any dead babies, all of which can harm your fry. MTS do not eat live fish larvae or babies and because they are live-bearers, you do not have to remove egg packages as with ramshorn snails. MTS leave behind loose snail waste, which you can simply vacuum up daily with a large syringe or turkey baster to keep the GBR clean. MTS are easily contained since their babies can be vacuumed up with the waste to control the population.
Lg-GBRs-Cichlid-vs-Catfish-comparison


Last modified: May 27, 2023 at 3:40 pm