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how do I keep the females

1K views 11 replies 8 participants last post by  jeffegg2 
#1 ·
Hey guy's,

Being new to Betta's I only have one female so far but have three on the way.

I am going to be breeding, what is the best way for me to house my females? Should I keep them solitary like the males or do I need to start a
"Sorority tank"

I do not want to lose any females or have them so stressed that they won't spawn so any advice is appreciated.

Thanks
Bruce
 
#2 ·
In my experience, a sorority is good for housing females you don't plan to breed. They tend to chase each other here and there, and don't get into peak condition like they should. Keeping them in solitary confinement and feeding them VERY well several times a day will spark egg production like mad, especially if you let them see a male for a few minutes a day.

That being said, can you answer all of these questions?
1) Are you aware of how much time caring for a spawn takes?
2) Do you know what culling is?
3) Are you prepared to cull if necessary?
4) How will you find new homes for your fry?
5) How is your breeding going to help the Betta splendens species?
6) Are you aware of the general costs involved with breeding?
7) Are you willing to ship fish if need be?
8) Do you know how to go about packing and shipping correctly?
9) How do you pick the best breeders?
10) What are the general tail types and what happens if you cross them?

11) What is conditioning?
12) How long do you condition?
13)What foods do you use to condition?

14) What items do you need for the spawning tank?
15) What temperature should the spawning tank be?
16) How do you properly introduce the breeders?
17) What do vertical bars mean?
18) How do you know when to release the female?
19) How can you tell the difference between normal and abnormal aggression?
20) When do you remove the female?
21) When do you remove the male?

22) On average, how many eggs are produced per spawn?
23) On average, how many fry usually survive to adulthood?
24) How long does it take eggs to hatch?
25) How long does it take the fry to become free swimming?

26) At what day should you introduce foods to the tank?
27) Which foods are better: live, dried, or frozen?
28) How do you get live foods?
29) What foods are appropriate for newly hatched fry? 1 month old? 2+ months?
30) How often should you feed fry?

31) At what point should you start doing water changes?
32) What is the stunting hormone?
33) How often should you do water changes?
34) How much water should you change?

35) At what point do you jar males?
36) How do you keep jarred fry warm?

Preparation is the #1 way to succeed at this hobby.
 
#3 ·
I have 5 females in a 7 gallon. Keep the water clean and monitor just like any other tank and they will be healthy... If filtered, change water before nitrates get high... I change the water about once a week.

Jeff.:)
 
#6 ·
Enkil,

I have been reading that in a sorority tank all but the Alpha female get bullied to greater and greater degrees down the pecking order and that the stress created stops the females from reaching breeding condition.

I have a 10 gal. that I am thinking of setting up as a sorority, how would I set it up and how do I keep the females happy and healthy?
 
#9 ·
Enkil,

I have been reading that in a sorority tank all but the Alpha female get bullied to greater and greater degrees down the pecking order and that the stress created stops the females from reaching breeding condition.

I have a 10 gal. that I am thinking of setting up as a sorority, how would I set it up and how do I keep the females happy and healthy?
Don't believe everything you hear. My females are doing quite well kept together, they don't fight and have no fin damage. I have kept all my breeding females together and I have three spawns running now with zero failure rate. You want to keep your breeding females in jars, that is fine, but I think they eat better when there is a little competition for food! hehe.
 
#7 ·
My setup was this:
-10 gal tank
- fully submersible and adjustable heater
- thermometer
- several silk plants
- several decorations that serve as hiding places
- live plants (floating water wisteria, java moss, floating anubias)

I had one female that I did have to remove from my sorority because she is too aggressive for sorority life. Had to take her out before she could finish picking a fight with the girl who was queen of my tank.
Other than that, my girls got along once they established their pecking order. I kept a close eye on them to make sure no bullying was going on that was being too stressful. Now and then, one would puff up at another, but I didn't have any nipping in my sorority after I removed the aggressive female. Always made sure that every girl got enough to eat and kept them on a varied, high protein diet. Only time any of them stressed was if the flash of my camera was on while I took pictures.
 
#8 ·
I keep my girls in big plastic tubs and stuffed with plastic plants. Water changed 75% daily if I don't have a filter.
 
#11 ·
You can keep them all together and in great condition, just feed well and keep the water clean.
Having them together could make the time spent in the tank with the male longer but you can take out the female you'll be using a few days before and isolate her. Then introduce into the spawning tank.

What I do to avoid nipping is float the females in cups for a few days before releasing in the tank. They will get used to being around eachother without access. Works like a charm
 
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