If one looks at the spawning tendencies of each family of fishes, one will discover a trend: Each group of families has an underlying pattern of reproductive behavior. The parent fish of Perciformes tend to guard their smaller clutches until the young fry can go out on their own. The Atherinids produce eggs in which the embryos develop until they are free swimming fry. But Characins and the closely related Cyprinids, collectively known as "the scatterers," scatter an abundance of eggs during the spawning frenzy. As a general pattern, the adults show no parental care and the fry hatch days before they can swim.

This talk examines this general pattern and recommends tactics and techniques for aquarists who wish to spawn scatterers. After this generalized pattern has been covered, discussion will look at various subgroups that deviate. For instance, one family spawns on leafs or rocks while another spawns in caves. One subfamily reproduces by internal insemination! Because breeding tropical fish is a central part of the aquarium hobby, the talk centers mostly on pragmatic advice for the aquarist. The scientific realm is tapped only when that information is beneficial to breeding efforts.