After the anchovy female is fertilized, her abdomen becomes more enlarged and black fetal spots appear. She will give birth soon, usually 20 to 60 babies per litter. After giving birth, the parent fish should be fished out immediately and raised separately to prevent them from swallowing the larvae.

After the larvae are born, they sink to the bottom of the water and then hide in aquatic plants. The larvae generally do not eat on the day after they are born. They start to eat on the second day. They should be fed paramecium, fish meal or egg yolk water in time.