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Breeding Halfmoons! First Spawn!!!

8K views 164 replies 18 participants last post by  Moby 
#1 ·
Hello, and thank you for reading this post.

I am breeding my halfmoons is a few weeks, and am super excited! (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) I wanted to run down the process I have gathered so far with you guys so that I can check that I am doing it right. I know that there are breeding Stickies here, I have read them all hundreds of times, just want to check to see I am doing it all good before I make a huge mistake and have someone get eaten or something horrible like that...

1. Condition the bettas (I am very confused on this part. Everyone one is all 'condition your bettas' and what-not, so I am really confused. They are both in warm water, being fed every day. I was thinking about getting a batch of baby brine shrimp going and feeding them that? Or would they be too small? HTey had IAL in their tanks, and are divided by a screen net. So they are constantly looking at eacheother. The male is very interstied and ready to breed,flaring at her lots and hanging by her side of the tank. He also just blew a HUGE bubble nest. But the girl does not have her verticle stripes and does not seem very interstied. Is this because she can't see him very well? Or Does she need to be conditioned? Please clarify.

2. I was going to use a tub for the 1st part of the spawning, putting the male in the tub and and female in a clear vase. When they are clearly interstied in eachother, release them. Let the magic happen, take the female out, return her to her tank to rest. Let the male take care of the eggs while I get my handy-dandy baby brine shrimp going.

3. Take the male out when the eggs hatch (or when they become free-swimming?)

4. When the fry become free-swimming, move them into my 20gal heated raising tank. I cannot get a filter, but am going to get one of those under-want suction/vacuumn thingie-mc-bobbers and clean the tank AT LEAST 2x per day to remove all dead BBS and :( dead baby bettas :(

5. When they babies start attacking each-other, move them out and hopefully into new homes soon! :))

6. Sell the babies online, here, and at my local tropical fish store, as well to all my family and friends, craig's list, school/teachers, and the good ones on Aquabids. This is assuming I have lots of fry. I want to be prepared to rehome them all, but if there are only a few friends and family and school (because I know the people) will come first.

I have tried REALLLLLLLYYY hard not to look over anything, please correct me or make any changes as you see fit. Also, one more question, around what age should the fry start being introducted to pellets? Thanks! :D


Have a great, awesome, wonderful, smile filled day!

Talk to you soon,
Thomasdog
PS the pics below are of the parents

Mommy (Sunshine on the Halfmoon Bay) ((Sunny))

Daddy (King of the Halfmoon Bay) ((Moonie))





Peace, Love, and Bettas! <3
 
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#2 · (Edited)
1. Condition the bettas (I am very confused on this part. Everyone one is all 'condition your bettas' and what-not, so I am really confused. They are both in warm water, being fed every day. I was thinking about getting a batch of baby brine shrimp going and feeding them that? Or would they be too small? HTey had IAL in their tanks, and are divided by a screen net. So they are constantly looking at eacheother. The male is very interstied and ready to breed,flaring at her lots and hanging by her side of the tank. He also just blew a HUGE bubble nest. But the girl does not have her verticle stripes and does not seem very interstied. Is this because she can't see him very well? Or Does she need to be conditioned? Please clarify.

Since your girl has a light body .. you won't see her vertical stripes .. you will have to go based on her behavior to see if she's ready to spawn .. she will swim with her head down (like a submissive behavior) .. only then should you release her from her clear vase

i would recommend conditioning bettas with 3 times a day feedings (this makes them feel the season has changed and there is more available food source which is better conditions for spawning) .. also i recommend feeding them live or frozen bloodworms.

2. I was going to use a tub for the 1st part of the spawning, putting the male in the tub and and female in a clear vase. When they are clearly interstied in eachother, release them. Let the magic happen, take the female out, return her to her tank to rest. Let the male take care of the eggs while I get my handy-dandy baby brine shrimp going.

hatching bbs .. can take anywhere from 18-36 hours and it's very difficult to time it out to be perfect to when your babies hatch .. i recommend having a back up feeding source .. just in case your bbs don't hatch in time for your babies first feeding .. also i would recommend just spawning in your 20g .. just fill it with 3-4 inches of water instead of having to move them =)

3. Take the male out when the eggs hatch (or when they become free-swimming?)

personally i don't take the dad out immediately (i keep him in roughly 2-3 weeks after free swimming).. i let him do the culling for me .. so i don't have to later .. and he knows instinctively which babies should be culled .. and i'm left with the strongest of babies =)

4. When the fry become free-swimming, move them into my 20gal heated raising tank. I cannot get a filter, but am going to get one of those under-want suction/vacuumn thingie-mc-bobbers and clean the tank AT LEAST 2x per day to remove all dead BBS and :( dead baby bettas :(

i would not immediatly move them to a 20g filled .. that would be a huge shock to them .. instead .. i'd fill the 20g maybe with 1-3g first .. then slowly introduce more water each water change

5. When they babies start attacking each-other, move them out and hopefully into new homes soon! :))

there is a huge difference between actual attacking each other and play fighting .. they have to learn how to defend themselves somehow .. make sure you don't cup them too soon .. it's nerve-wrecking watching them chase each other .. but unless you see real injury or severe aggression .. it's best to just leave them together .. and only removing the one that is being mean


^_^ last note .. good luck !! .. and i hope for a good spawn and lots of updates!!
 
#3 ·
1. She's a pale fish so you might never see the stripes.
For conditioning you have to increase feedings by a lot. Feed them protein rich foods for about 2 weeks 3-5 times a day and change their water very often. I would separate the 2 while conditioning as they can get so used to being next to each other that they will not mate.

2. You don't have to start your bbs right after they spawn. The fry eggs will take 36-48 hours to hatch and your fry will take 2-3 days until they are free swimming. BBS only take 24-36 hours. I don't recomend you start with bbs, get some infusoria going in the spawn tank by adding natural plants and having a bright light on. This is the best food for tiny fry until they are large enough to eat bbs. I lost too many fry once because I made the mistake of only feeding bbs. Also look into microworms, another great food for the first week.

3. Take the male out when the fry becomes free-swimming. He will take care of the eggs and eat the ones that develop fungus.

4. A filter is strongly recomended. They are pretty economic and will keep your water from becoming stale. Plus the bio load of so many fish will deteriorate your water quality in the blink of an eye.

5. When the babies start fighting remove them if they are too agressive and place them in heater jars. They might stil be too young to ship.

6. Yes, yes, yes. Now keep in mind that the $$ you get for them will not be a whole lot. From the looks of your pair, your fry will have a few undesirable traits that might discourage people from buying. That's why is very important to pick your pair carefully.

You can start introducing pellets from 3-5 weeks of age.The size of the pellets will determine if they will be able to eat them without you having to crush them. I'm currently feeding my fry NLS Growth wich is food made for juvies that it's very small but not in powder form. Some will eat the attison's but some are still a little too small and won't bother with the food.

Best of luck and keep us updated!!
 
#5 ·
One of many things I have picked up reading Mr. Vampire's posts and threads. His anal is SUPER long, which is what you wouldn't want when breeding, it will make more fry have it, which to many breeders isn't good for breeding. Also you won't get many HMs, be happy if you even get 20% as most will end up being deltasand super selfsame, which would bring the price down a bit.

HMs are harder to breed as if you aren't careful with the form you may end up with some rose/feather tails. Not saying you specifically will.

Heads up, you may spend more money on the spawn than what comes out of it since you are new. After breeding for a while you should be able to start turning profit once you learn how to do everything efficiently.

I wouldn't mind breeding but I don't have the time for it, I also don't have room. Only thing stopping me.

Good luck with your spawn!
 
#6 ·
i do also agree with kfryman .. i wouldn't choose these 2 as a breeding pair .. but thomas hasn't really stated his breeding goals .. so i'm not one to judge another breeders actions ..
 
#7 ·
Thanks for all the great help! I understand the costs, and since I am a minor, I am lucky enough to have the wonderful support of my parents! :) I'm not in it for the money, so I really don't care (well, i mean I do) if they come out with a few confiramational defects becuase I am selling them to locals and friends, and I know they wont care about a few fins, as long as they are healthy. Moving Moonie and Sunny to defferent sections tomorrow so they get a break from eachother and will be ready to breed soon. I am really excited and gald that I found this site so that I could get all the wonderful help of you guys!!!! :DD Thanks ooooooo much
 
#8 ·
+++ I don't think anyone else I am going to sell them to are going to breed them+++ so those bad traits wont be passed down. another thing: if I were to breed again, I would want to breed the female. What would you recommend that I breed her to? Please post pics and such so I can see, as Moonie is my only other male. Thanks! :)
 
#9 ·
This spawn is not something I'd do. The male is very unbalanced (though he is very clean colored). The female on the other hand is nicer and should be bred to a decent halfmoon red male.

You will get lots of blue with red wash and no full halfmoons.
 
#10 ·
Ok thanks, what would you describe as a 'decent halfmoon red male'? I kinda don't understand the tails and confirmation yet, what is it that you super awesome betta people look for? Thanks! Sorry to bother you so much... I really LOVE bettas and want to be able to have bred, please dont judge me and tell me that I shoulden't breed at all becuase I don't know anything, we all have to learn somewhere.......

Just trying to protect myself from future attacks, nothing against what you said Mr. vampire, now that I look at it his tail is much shorter than his anal fin, is that what is wrong?


NOTHING AGAINST ANYONE WHO HAS POSTED!!! thank you so much for all your help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait to have a sucessful spawn and see the wonderful outcome!
 
#11 ·
#12 ·
Would this be a possible good match for her?
http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwbettashm&1335887404

or this one:
http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwbettashm&1335993598

or...
http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwbettashm&1335994802


or even!!
http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwbettashm&1335996014

OK, last one:
http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwbettashm&1335997203

I got the female from Chard, she is super cute and has a great personality. I got the male at our local tropical fish store, thought he was pretty, reasearched, decided to breed, reaserached, reasearched, reasearched, asked questions, made planners, got supplies, bought Sunny online for him.... oh well! Things change, I will try to get her a better hubby! :) Please point me in the correct direction
 
#14 ·
#15 · (Edited)
Everyone else basically nailed it on the head, but I'm going to review one more time for you.

Conditioning bettas is like a UFC fighter getting into shape. He eats high protein food, drinks lots of clean water, exercises frequently, and begins to get into his peak physical condition. Similarly, bettas in preparation of spawning need to go through the same thing- lots of top quality foods like mosquito larvae, daphnia, bloodworms and brine shrimp (has to be adult brine shrimp as adult bettas won't pay attention to tiny baby brine shrimp) CLEAN clean water every day heated to 82 degrees, plenty of room for swimming and moving around in the tank. Don't let the pair see one another, EXCEPT for a few times a day for only a matter of minutes. This peaks their interest. Keep this up for a minimum of two weeks, and you will see your male become more vibrant in color and your female swell with eggs. It will almost look like she is bloated, but not to the extreme. You male will also most likely be started on a bubble nest.

For your Betta fry, I would acquire a micrworm culture on top of your bbs and infusoria. Microworms are very easy to maintain- all you have to do is make oatmeal every few weeks, and starter cultures are dirt cheap. In fact, I believe MrV is selling MW cultures (forgive me if I'm mistaken, V.)

Next, I do not recommend an undergravel filter. The bottoms of your tanks should be bare to begin with so that they can easily find fallen foods. Placing the filter in the open water will certainly suck up your fry. Keep them in the spawning tank for at least the first 3 weeks and use a turkey baster to suck up uneaten food and waste from the bottom of the tank. Moving them into a full 20 gallon at such a young age will most certainly kill them. They are extremely fragile and sensitive to their environment at this point. When they get big enough to handle a sponge filter, put them in the 20 gallon that is filled half-way, then add more water each week until you eventually have a full tank.


Alright, now let's talk genetics. I'm assuming you got these two from your local pet store, correct? (EDIT: Okay, so the male is from a petstore. xD Apologies, you guys were posting while I was typing.) That means that their DNA is extremely jumbled and scrambled, for the sole purpose of giving the customers a variety to pick from, and overall quick sales. You probably don't think this is such a bad thing, because all you want at this point is a successful spawn. Right? Well, you should probably stop and think for a moment. Bettas can produce well over 1000 fry in one spawn. Let's say Lady Luck is watching over you on this one, and you have a 80% survival rate. That leaves you with 800 betta fish that are store-quality, essentially the same exact quality as the fish sitting at the pet store right now. Ask me this- how long do you think it would take the petstore to sell 800 Betta fish from their shelves? Even with the hundreds of customers they get each and every day? Probably a very VERY long time. That means that you are in the same situation, potentially worse because you probably don't have hundreds of friends that can come strolling by your house every day. This means you need to be prepared to provide proper housing, heating, feeding and filtration for 800 fish. Not only this, but a way to separate every single male. As far as selling bettas on Aquabid, no breeder in their right mind would ever buy a pet store bred Betta with no genetic background. Take a look under the "veil tail" section and note how few there are, and how cheap they are selling. On top of the regular price, you'd be asking people to pay shipping as well. Why would they, for a poor quality fish?

Doesn't sound like a whole lot of fun, does it? The BEST way to avoid getting yourself into a situation like this is to begin your breeding hobby with quality fish with STABLE genetics. Fish that you are able to know the "pedigree" of. You also need to look into culling, and understand that it is a big part of Betta breeding and reproducing only the best of the offspring. The combination of these two will allow you to more successfully sell your fish to breeders who desire the traits you are recreating. Through this you are improving the foundation of the betta splendens society- and that makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside!

In the end it is well worth it to invest in higher quality fish, because it gives you more flexibility in line breeding as well as selling your stock. It can take a lifetime to sort out the negative genes of a pet store fish- for example, long anal fins, unclean scales, short ventrals, red and blue wash and poor conformation.

Like I said before, even though genetics don't seem like a big deal to you right now, starting out right can save you a world of hurt down the road.
 
#17 ·
Hmm. I'll have to check them out. I'm going to be importing quite a few this summer.

Yes I'm selling fry supplies. I have three different cultures and snails. Duck weed in a limited amount.
 
#18 ·
So... they are both from Thailand... both very pretty.. I have no idea which one to choose! Probably the Kaden one, since V has his eyes on the 1st one. Ok, cool. Now, for the shipping process. If I buy a fish from Thailand, how do I get it here? Does it have to go through a transshipper? How would I do that? Or would I just work that out with the seller?
 
#19 ·
Yay I just bought the one from NiceBettas! He's so pretty! V's was awesome too, but I figured that once you figure in the shipping costs, the cheaper one would be better! Thanks for all your wonderful help and I will keep you posted with pictures and such! :)
 
#21 · (Edited)
Have her ship the betta to a transhipper in the next shipment (I only recommend Linda or Jen). Pay the transhipper their fees (Linda is a bit more expensive but she's very good at what she does and her packing job is amazing) and they will ship the betta to you. Idk when the next shipment dates are.

BTW, the male is a little long finned for my liking, but he has good balance and his spread will throw a few HMs.
 
#22 ·
Glad you experts like him! We are going to use Linda, and the ship date is the 6th for Linda. I am soooo exited!!! Even if he gives 5-10 really nice HMs, I am at least making that much money back here and on Aquabid. I am not in it for the money, but you know how it is! :) What do you mean by 'spread'? Is that his tail width?
 
#24 ·
Linda is a really nice lady :) I pick up my fish from her. She helped me when I was getting started.

He is an OHM which means his spread is over 180 degrees.
 
#26 ·
IMO not good for showing but excellent to breed. It'll give that little extra chance of getting full halfmoons in the spawn.
 
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