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New time breeder...in need of a bit of help :)

515 views 7 replies 6 participants last post by  Myates 
#1 ·
Hey everyone! As the title says, this is my first time breeding bettas. (Don't worry, I have done LOTS of research!)... This is what I have so far:


The Pair

The male: I am not sure how old he is, but I don't think he is that old...he is a dragonscale white-bodied, yellow (with a black outline) finned plakat
The female: I think the female might be around a year old, maybe not even that (I raised her myself). She is a metallic (not sure if she is a dragonscale or not) blue crowntail.




Conditioning

The male: He has been conditioning in about 80 degrees of clean water with brine shrimp/bloodworms/etc for around 3 weeks now
The female: I am not exactly sure if it is bad for her or not.... but she has pretty much gotten frozen foods all her life with me. She was part of a sorority with shrimp and cories, so that is what they all get. It is a planted tank (about 80 degrees) that she has been living in and she has been living in good conditions like this for a long time...probably at least 5 months? Not sure...



The breeding tank

The tank is a spare glass ten gallon I had. It has clean water and sits around 80-82 degrees (it has a heater). There is no substrate or anything; it is bare bottomed. I am going to pick up a few more live plants to throw in there on top of the few that are already in there. The water is filled up only a few inches, and the top of the tank is covered.



The introduction

I just introduced them for the first time today; they have only been in there for an hour or so. He is swimming freely in the tank and she is inside one of those (about 1/3 gallon) kritter keepers that is sitting inside the tank so they can see each other...



Questions:

1. How long should the introduction take? I know the signs that they are ready, but about how long-ish will it be until she is ready to release?
2. As for plants, are frogbit and hornwort okay?
3. I have a spare empty 50 gallon, so I can use that for a grow out tank if need be... when should I move the fry?
4. Does what I have seem okay so far?
5. Does anybody have any extra suggestions on top of this? I am willing to hear anything! I want this to go well! :)

I will probably post more questions as time goes on... I know I had more, but I can't remember them right now!


Thank you so much for taking the time to read all that! Any help/comments are much appreciated! I will try to get pictures of the pair in a bit... My camera is dead -_-
~Meg
 
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#2 ·
Your set up sounds good..

The only thing I question is how ready is the female? You have fed her good.. but the conditioning process is very important. Good food isn't always enough, have to get her eggy before placing them together.

What works best for me, what I have learned from many other breeders is during the conditioning process you keep the male/female apart from all other bettas - don't let them see another betta. Only time they see another betta is with each other and that is for 10-20 minutes once a day. Otherwise, they should not see another (don't block them from seeing the room/you, just each other and other bettas). Do that for 5-14 days depending how long it takes for her to egg up. Make sure to stuff her full of food - small meals 3-4 times a day (frozen is great). Once her belly is HUGE (but not sickly.. gotta walk the fine line of feeding enough, but not too much.. you can judge how much your girl can handle) then you can introduce the pair the way you have.

It can take a few hours to a day being separated in the tank together - place both pairs in at the same time but separated has worked best for me - you will know when they are ready when the male has built a nest (usually, not always) and is trying to "lead" her towards it.. the female goes head down in submission (if she is darker color look for the breeding bars that go up/down her side from dorsal to anal fin). If she is flaring at him and posturing at him then she may not be ready.

It can take anywhere from hours to a couple weeks for a virgin pair to breed.

Those are fine for live plants.. I use hornort mixed in.. it's common with breeders as it's an easy to care for plant.

Yes, the 50g will be perfect for grow out.. move them when they start getting too big for the breeding tank - roughly around the 4-6 week mark depending upon how fast they grow, how big the spawn is.

I would turn the heat up to 84 personally, 80 is a bit on the low side in my opinion.

There are lots more information, and don't be afraid to ask questions!
 
#4 ·
1. How long should the introduction take? I know the signs that they are ready, but about how long-ish will it be until she is ready to release?

Like myates said; hours to a week for virgins, 24 hours for veterans. Depending on the female.

2. As for plants, are frogbit and Hornwort okay?
IMO any type of plat are OK.

3. I have a spare empty 50 gallon, so I can use that for a grow out tank if need be... when should I move the fry?

I'd move them after they're 5mm at least. At this size, they should learn that you are there to feed them so they should approach you. Otherwise, some fry will not get enough food and become a runt.

4. Does what I have seem okay so far? YES

5. Does anybody have any extra suggestions on top of this? I am willing to hear anything! I want this to go well! :)

Basically any setup/method will work. You need to find what best works for you. Often, different breeders will give you different opinions, take them with a grain of salt and tweak them to fit your needs.

Good luck. Ask as many questions as you can think of. REMEMBER; the only dumb questions are the ones you didn't ask. :)
 
#6 ·
You've gotten wonderful advice! I can't think of anything else to add!! So good luck and keep us updated on how it goes!!
 
#7 ·
does a spawning tank need to be that big or is it possible to get away with a smaller tank? especially for virgin fish. is there a minimum span tank size?
 
#8 ·
No real minimum.. but have to keep in mind you will have to move the fry earlier than normal which could be dangerous.. but doable the smaller the container you breed in.

I personally have had such bad luck with virgin fish in a 10g set up. They would end up living together for a week or two before I separate them.

I got my idea from another breeder who breeds successfully in bowls.. I revamped it a little to fit what I had available - such as I don't have a separate room that is heated to 85F+, so I had to do it in a 10g, etc..

But I've successfully bred virgins using small mixing bowls and small plastic storage containers. I just drill (or poke) holes in the sides to help keep the water inside and outside of them the same chemistry so transferring them when they are free swimming is easier/safer.
 
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