Betta Breeding

[CalebLS]

Was wanting to get into breeding some crowntail bettas. Does anyone know how to breed these cool fish? Also do they sell much in NZ and normally for how much?

[Colour_genes]

Look in the specialist corner section on here, in the 'anabantoids' section (that is bettas and similar fish) and you will find a whole thread about breeding bettas and a lot of other info as well.

Good luck with your project. A suggestion from my experience - start small, like with just one pair to begin with, and build up from there after you have bred them successfully for the first time. I found it a lot of work, and needs practice to get everything right.

[Adrienne]

Good advice from Colour-genes.  I bred 1000s over about an 8 year period.  There is info in anabantoids on breeding, an article which Josh wrote - its accurate.  Moneywise - if you put time, lots of time, and patience into breeding high quality Crowntail you will most likely recoup your costs.  It is hard to find high quality male fighters, crowntails with good, strong and even rays to breed from and many of the NZ bred crowntail will not be pure, they will have been crossed with something else ie halfmoon, veiltail - but it is certainly possible.

Be prepared for as many as 300 fry from a single hatching and be prepared that it is likely 80% of these will be males, possibly requiring seperation and individual containers from as young as 9 weeks.  It is possible to keep a hatch together for longer however they grow at different rates and therefore the biggest but not necessarily the best fins/tails will survive.  Once separated or split it is more likely young males will fight.