Here's my journal.. just me getting my thoughts into check!!

[moonsand0wls]

Hmm.....
What to write, what to write...

I'd just like to start off about how sad and disgusted I am about how some exporters and shops treat their fish so POORLY. I hate doing to the LPS because I just want to buy the whole store. It saddens me so much. And the owner of the LPS is really, really rude.. I guess he doesn't know that the manager of the fish have been trying to employ me as their Betta Supplier... hahaha.

I'm currently trying to get everything on order and check so I can hopefully start a summer spawn. Hopefully. I ran out of things I need and replacing them is going to cost me a few more dollars than I'd hoped as recession is tight. I'm pretty excited for this spawn and to see how it's going to turn out. The pair i've decided to breed is my gorgeous, VT (who was so excited to see himself in the reflection, I woke up one day to a big bubble nest) and a pretty PK. I'm excited to see what they turn out like. I'm sad because I'm going to have to cull a lot of them before I raise the others, as I don't want large large amounts. I'm going to keep most of the girls for a sorority and won't carry on this strain. It's for an experiment really, and they will go like crazy, because Betta in general are rare to find here.

One of my rescued girls is doing SO well and she's even got her color back. Sad thing is, though, her heater broke and I don't have any dividers ATM. So I have to keep topping up her water with warmer water. She's pretty happy, though, but my golly, she looks like an ant in a desert in that tank. Once she's healthy and better I will be stocking the tank up with more plants and getting her some tank mates (not one of the girls who bullied her...)


OKAY :D That is all for now lol.

[LeoTheLakerBetta]

I hope that spawn goes well, but there is no gaurantee that your offspring will have a good amount of girls; there have been instances when it has been all male offspring lol. But good luck anyways :D

Adding hot water to warm the tank might not last too long; you could cup her or put her in a breeders box if you have one and float her in a heated tank. Just a suggestion :)

[moonsand0wls]

Yeah, I'm hoping that there will be a decent amount of girls for me to keep!! :) .. And thank you.

And yes, I know, sadly it goes a bit cold overnight :(, so I put blankets around her tank at night to help keep it warm. I had her in a breeder box at the start, but because she's a rescue, it stresses her out a lot she likes to have space. AND her light blew today. Ugh. I feel sorry for her. I will be getting a heater today or tomorrow though.. *fingers crossed*

Thank you for your suggestions :)

[moonsand0wls]

1) Are you aware of how much time caring for a spawn takes? A lot.
2) Do you know what culling is? Basically killing a fish/fry.
3) Are you prepared to cull if necessary? Yes, I am and will be.
4) How will you find new homes for your fry? I will be selling to the local fish stores, online, giving away as gifts and keeping.
5) How is your breeding going to help the Betta splendens species? It can help them to evolve to the new world, and also Betta aren't very common here and breeding them may help with that.
6) Are you aware of the general costs involved with breeding? It's not cheap, but that is a con I'm willing to take.
7) Are you willing to ship fish if need be? I may look into it, though I'd prefer not to.
8) Do you know how to go about packing and shipping correctly? Not completely. I will find out.
9) How do you pick the best breeders? Breeder fish? Stamina, finnage, health etc. Colours.
10) What are the general tail types and what happens if you cross them? I am looking into what the offspring would be if I crossed a VT with a double tail, as I write this.

11) What is conditioning? Preparing your Betta for breeding, ensuring optimum health.
12) How long do you condition? Up to a week or so prior.
13)What foods do you use to condition? Live foods is best. You can get special foods from your pet store too, I think.

14) What items do you need for the spawning tank? A hiding place for the female, a few live (or silk) plants, something clear to keep the female from the male (e.g a jar or hurricane glass), a few Styrofoam cups cut in half lengthwise, if that's what method of spawning you choose.
15) What temperature should the spawning tank be? It can be 26C or slightly higher.
16) How do you properly introduce the breeders? Place the female in a clear jar or something without a top for a few days so that the male builds the bubble nest and she female shows her breeding stripes.
17) What do vertical bars mean? They are her breeding bars - She is ready to breed.
18) How do you know when to release the female? When her vertical bars are prominant.
19) How can you tell the difference between normal and abnormal aggression? There will be a lot more fighting than usual, and biting and nipping. The bubble nest may get destroyed and either Betta injured.
20) When do you remove the female? After she has dropped her eggs and hiding.
21) When do you remove the male? When the fry are able to swim freely. Unless he is a egg eater, then you would straight away.

22) On average, how many eggs are produced per spawn? Anywhere between 100-300.
23) On average, how many fry usually survive to adulthood? Depending on how well you raise them, around 150.
24) How long does it take eggs to hatch? Three-Four days.
25) How long does it take the fry to become free swimming? Around another four days?

26) At what day should you introduce foods to the tank? If you are feeding infusoria, which may already be in the tank, then a week. Otherwise the day after hatching: one.
27) Which foods are better: live, dried, or frozen? Live, as it promotes swimming, and healthy eating habits - having to chase food (which is normal)
28) How do you get live foods? You can get cultures for local fish stores, biological stores, online, through a friend or family member, aquarist club, or streams etc.
29) What foods are appropriate for newly hatched fry? Infusoria - up to first week, three days to four weeks - Daphnia, baby brine shrimp, or micro-worms, week four to seven - white worms, 7 weeks+ - Blood worms, White worms. Live food. 1 month old? Adult food 2+ months?Adult foods
30) How often should you feed fry?Twice daily.

31) At what point should you start doing water changes? I personally would do them at about one month, unless a fish was sick. And as soon as I started jarring.
32) What is the stunting hormone? GIH. The fry release it, as part of natural selection - The stronger survive.
33) How often should you do water changes? daily.
34) How much water should you change? First month or two 50%. Onward 100%

35) At what point do you jar males? Some people jar from a month up. Some at first signs of aggressiveness.
36) How do you keep jarred fry warm? Heat lamp, or float in heated tank.