Jump to content

So you want to breed your Bettas?


Joshlikesfish

Recommended Posts

  • Replies 53
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Wow very cool article :hail: Send it to Caryl so it can go in the Aquarium World magazine :) It definately inspires me to breed bettas if I ever get a fishroom :D

Thanks for the positive feedback :D

You could easily breed bettas with only a few tanks. Just need somewhere to house the males which isn't too hard with the bottle method :wink:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I don't have the room for it (only allowed 2 tanks max, and a hospital tank which is pushing it... Currently I only have 1 set up and I'm looking after a friend's tank). I've decided to grow plants and breed some species of Dwarf Cichlids and some Tetras and maybe some Fancy Plecos. I need to stop putting off getting my breeding tank :roll: I can't decide what sort of overflow I want for the sump :roll: :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

From what i've seen, a lot of fancy pleco's are reasonably easy to breed. So far, the hardest part looks to be getting the money for expensive ones and waiting for them to spawn :lol: I reckon you could do it!

My clown fry are living with the parents, and they're still spawning. My BN wont spawn for me though. Maybe I can get my spotted/rio's or whatever they are to spawn once I give them some caves :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm thinking Whiptails, Queen Arabs, Blue Phantoms, Tiger Peckoltia L002, Dekeyseria brachyura L168 and some type of fancy unusual Bristlenose species. For tetras I really only want to breed Hyphessobrycon heliacus and Hemigrammopetersius caudalis at the moment. And Dwarf Cichlids - Wild Kribs and as many Apistos as possible that I can get my hands on :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Poor male Krib :tears:

Yeah I want a tank like what phoenix44 has and I'll raise the fry in a seperate tank. I'll try and breed large amounts so I can sell them in groups of 15-25 or more and have a good price on them. I emailed Organism two days ago to see if they have the H. caudalis and they haven't got back to me yet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow thanks for the break down on breeding tips n tricks. Am really into these fish aye and looking to set up a breeding fish room where I am. I have been looking at the 'Betta Barracks' idea but after searching around I found a how to vid on making a Betta Drip System.

Has anyone tried this concept? which really looks like hydroponics for fish lol.
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome to the fishroom Devilfish :)

I have considered it many times but found the cost to be too great for the small number of fish being kept. If keeping Bettas in the hundreds it should work out cheaper, but the coke bottle method is cheaper for keeping a few males. Also, the lack of suitable containers in NZ for a drip system is a let down.

Hope you enjoy your time here :D

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow thanks for the break down on breeding tips n tricks. Am really into these fish aye and looking to set up a breeding fish room where I am. I have been looking at the 'Betta Barracks' idea but after searching around I found a how to vid on making a Betta Drip System.
Has anyone tried this concept? which really looks like hydroponics for fish lol.

Welcome to the fish room :wave:

A link to that vid is already in my guide :wink:

The coke bottle method is wonderful. Adrienne, the person whom owns the tanks in the photo's, uses it. She produces some amazing fish.

For your room could you have the room temp warm enough to keep them in bottles? I'm planning on using juice bottles as cheap tanks with daily waterchanges in my fish room

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks! yes good to be here. I am contemplating the drip system as I have space and like the plumbing aspects too. I only have x2 male fighters at the moment but what I am finding difficult is tracking down females in my town? Anyone know of anyone with females for sale in the hutt valley, Wellington Area? PM me cheers Steve

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...
Seeing so many posts on how to breed Bettas, I thought I might make this. I will explain my method and also note other methods.

I also suggest spawning a Betta with a tail type other than veiltail. They are much easier to sell/move on once they're grown up and they require the same effort. Plakats are usually more aggressive than longer finned bettas

Warning:You may end up with more fish than you can handle. You could get anywhere from 10-300 males. Make sure you are ready and you have everything set up before you start

Spawning

Items Needed:

Small tank with a lid for spawning

Heater

Pair of Bettas. Make sure the female isn't too big for the male to wrap his body around

Bottle, cage, or another way of separating the female from the male but have them still in view

Suggested items:

Polystyrene cup, polystyrene sheet or Indian almond leaf

Moss and other plants that do not need substrate

Optional items that I don't use but others have and still do:

Betta extract or Indian almond leaf tea bags

Thermometer(doesn't actually help with breeding I just thought I'd add it in as other guides do)

Sponge filter

The steps I take to spawn:

1. Isolate the female wanting to use to breed

2. Feed up the pair on blood worms(3-4 each and feed individually), micro worms, mosquito larvae, flake food and any other live food available

3.Do a 25% water change on the tank the pair is in

4. Set up the breeding tank using tank water. The temperature should be between 24 and 28 degrees. Fill the water to about 15cm depth. Add any extracts if you are using

5. Place the square of polystyrene, the cup broken in half from top to bottom or the Indian almond leaf in the corner of the tank where its easily in view. This is where the male will make his nest. Place the female in her cage/bottle close this.

6. If moss/plants are going to be used, add them now

7. Place the male freely swimming in the tank.

8. The male and female should show interest in each other. He will flare at her, and she will flare back. The female will look as if she is doing a head stand. They may also follow each other around. The female may also get vertical barring, where her body shows dark colored bars along her body. This means shes keen for him.

9. Leave them separated for at least a day. The male should build a nest, but not all males do until spawning. Keep feeding them small amounts of food like blood worms

10. When you are ready to release the girl, do so. Watch them carefully as the male may kill or, or vice versa. The male should woo the female to his nest. Where he will wrap his body around her, shake, and the eggs are released. He will then pick them up and place in the nest. This can go on for a few hours.

11. Once the male starts chasing away the female, catch her and move her to another tank. Pay extra attention to her as she may be injured and weak from the breeding.

12. Congratulations, you have now spawned Bettas! Leave the male to watch the eggs. After 2-3 days they should hatch. The fry will be hanging from the nest and the male should be looking after them. After another 2-3 days the fry will be swimming horizontally and their egg sacks will be gone. They are now free swimming. Remove the male, being careful not to net any fry. Use a net with decent size holes, or your hand.

First few weeks

Now you have free swimming fry!

Possible food:

Insuforia(green water)

Micro worms

Egg layers liquid drops from the LPS/LFS(I found them useless)

Feed a few drops of green water 3-4 times a day for the first week.

If you're not using green water, feed a small amount of microworms 3-4 times a day

If using liquid drops, follow instructions

In terms of water changes, some people believe its ok to do water changes from the very start. I personally just top the water off untill its at the top of the tank, then start with daily 25% water changes. Remember to clean the bottoms of the tank and to remove any dead fry.

At two weeks old you need to make sure there is a lid and you can now start feeding brine shrimp if you want. Decap works too, just remember to soak it first otherwise it'll expand inside the babies and they may die

Continue with the 3-4 times a day feeding and 25% daily water changes. You can add an airstone or sponge filter with very little flow if wanted.

At 6 weeks old the fry should be moved to a bigger tank.

Getting older and separating

Items needed:

Grow out tanks with heaters and sponge filters

A way of separating males(will explain later on)

Keep feeding 3-4 times a day. You can slowly introduce a flake food if you like. You can also increase or even decrease water changes

Once the fish start fighting, its time to start separating the males.

A few methods are:

Plastic bottles. Solder some holes into them for water flow (make sure they're not too sharp) and cut the tops off. Put them all in a tank with a bit of flow and good filtration. Add some gravel to each bottle(not much is needed) and fill the tank level high enough so that there is still a few cm of bottle sticking out of the water. Each male has a bottle. Do water changes like normal. Also clean the bottles by soaking in a bucket of water with some bleach added. Make sure to rinse it really well after. Have some spare bottles to put the males in while you clean their homes

Another method is to use pegs to attach bottles to the sides of the tank.

With either method you can let the females swim around, or you can choose to put them in another tank

malestankshot.jpg

malesjarred.jpg

Individual jars/bottles. Place each Betta in a 2-4L container. Do a 95% water change every 3 days (or more if feedings are heavier). This method only works if the room is warm enough 24/7 for the water to stay warm. Id also suggest something like a barrel full of water at the same temperature as the jars for easier water changes

Drip system.

This video series explains it really well

Betta Barracks. Divided tanks to keep each male separated. You can make these yourself or purchase them. You basically just need to create a series of individual cells that keep the fish separated, but allow for water flow.

Once the fish are around 3-5 months old and are a decent size, they are ready for sale! You've done well to make it this far :D

Please give positive feedback on improving this guide, and help me correct any errors

Great article, makes me want to get back into breeding fighters. Nice setup....looks familiar :wink:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Before this becomes a sticky someone should cut out all the conversation so it's just the plain facts so people (like me) who go hunting for information in the search function don't have to trawl through posts looking for the guts.

I don't know if anyone else goes here http://www.aquahobby.com/e_freshwater_t ... m_fish.php but they have a section where they start info on a fish and then others can submit their tales. You often get very useful information and lots of contributions in the one place. Obviously these guys are doing it already but the yankees do things differently sometimes, FNZAS might have their own take on it. I don't know if someone gets paid to run the other board, I suspect not for how often it gets updated.

that's my 5c worth anyhoo

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 month later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...

×
×
  • Create New...