Betta Harem

[Donk1]

I have set up an 130L asian stillwater tank and have a Betta harem settling well. 1m and 2f. At this stage the only other tank mates are kuhli loaches, although a small school of rasboras will be added at some stage.

The Betta male has set up a nest and I believe one of the girls will spawn soon. I am worried about the effect a water change will have on the nest. Will the changing water level that occurs as I remove and add water destroy the nest?

[SamH]

Will the changing water level that occurs as I remove and add water destroy the nest?

Yes, it will. I had my male build a large nest a few days ago but had to lower the water level down to half way for spawning. The nest was built in the corner of the tank so the outer bubbles stuck to the place where the water level had been. The rest of the bubbles followed and stuck to the side of the tank underneath the top ones. So the nest may be damaged (if not destroyed) but if you're going to fill it back up it might be okay. I'd suggest pulling the water level down to 10-15cm if you can do so.

HTH

[xxdarnixx]

are you planning on breeding them in a communal tank? you might find that none of the fry will survive,also for the nests,try floating a ring of bubblewrap in the water with a big hole in the middle,it helps keep the nest together and encorages the male to make a nice big nest

[Donk1]

It is communal but with only the Bettas and Kuhlis. With a significant patch of Indian Fern growing in a shallow area created in a turtle tank by the turtle platform I am banking on some surviving.

I do have some other smaller tanks set aside but am curious to see how it works as a harem. Some say its a terrible idea while others think it works fine if the male is not too aggressive and there is plenty of fry cover in a reasonable size tank.

[xxdarnixx]

if it works let me know i have an exelent breeding male and two good females i would try if it does....i would be worried about the extra female eating them?

also the only big thing is that you lose alot of eggs on a planted bottom. i usually have twice as many fry on a bare bottom tank and as i feed them egg yolk its easier to clean too,what do you feed yours?

do you breed khuli loaches too?

[Donk1]

This is my first time with tropical. Frogs, axelotyl and goldfish till now. And you can't stop them breeding.

I don't expect a fantastic success rate but will learn as I go. If I set up a good environment and don't try and maximise the stocking levels I am hoping for some success. I don't want to be running multiple breeding tanks with a million fry.

I am feeding the adults betta flakes and some live food from the outside ponds.

As for the Kuhlis, I will keep 5 and see what happens. They are very interesting to watch and, contrary to what I read, they hardly spend any time hiding. I have one Black Kuhli which sticks to the stereotype more but the others spend most of their time lolling around like the local street gang with occasional spurts of exercise.

[xxdarnixx]

haha ok,i have one khuli as i liked the look of him when i was 1st ever stocking my tanks but im looking at getting him some friends,ive been breeding bettas for a while now but it took a long time to perfect the rearing process.....couldnt get enough food into them when they where 1st hatched......they wouldnt even take liquifry! then i found they would go nutty over egg yolk !!

where are you from?

[Donk1]

Hastings