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Conditioning

595 views 10 replies 3 participants last post by  MattsBettas 
#1 ·
Since I got a gorgeous delta tail and my plakat girl is loaded with eggs, and I have a giant barrel that can serve as a growout, basically everything, I only need to work on conditioning the male. The female has been fed Omega One 2 times a day, she's in the sorority so I don't know exactly how much she's eating as she scrounges around at the bottom a LOT. Will this work to condition he male or will I need to pick up some bloodworms? For the fry I plan on hatching some bbs but would chopped or frozen blood worms work for the first week or so? I have a good size tub for the spawn to take place and the fry to do initial growing before moving o the barrel. How does his all sound?
 
#2 ·
Is there anything else I need? Will Omega One work to condition them or would some supplemented things like bugs and mosquito larvae be better, also not instead of.
 
#3 ·
To condition, you need to feed them at least three times a day and you need to feed live or frozen foods along with pellets. (I feed either three feedings of nls and one of brine shrimp or two nls and one brine shrimp and one mealworm gut). The reason for this is that in their natural mating season, there is a sudden abundance and a large variety of food. You also need to increase water changes (stimulated rainy season), and you should let the female see the male for 5-10 minutes per day. I have told you already, a delta/plakat cross will give you veiltails. It takes the same amount of time and dedication to raise show stopping halfmoons as it does veiltails that you will have a hard time selling. Choose good starting stock.
 
#4 · (Edited)
Is the female truly eggy or is she just big from eating more than her share in the sorority? Conditioning is usually recommended both the male and female in their own small tanks side by side - place something between the two tanks to block their view of one another - don't let them see any other betta at all.
Once a day for 5-10 minutes allow the pair to see one another after a meal..
Feed 2-3 times a day live and frozen being ideal with some pellets tossed in here and there is fine.

I would make sure this female is eggy before attempting - once she is in her own tank then don't feed her for 24hrs and see.. if her stomach is still very enlarged then she is most likely eggy, if not then she is just large from being a piggy with the other girls.

As for fry food...

BBS is fine after a few days.. frozen food most likely won't work yet. You won't be able to chop it up small enough and most fry will refuse anything that isn't moving for the first month or so.

Best first fry food is Banana worms, walter worms, vinegar eels, infusoria.. they are micro cultures and very very tiny.. and BBS after a few days to a week as some of the fry will be too small to eat the BBS. Most times when BBS is fed it's after the fry have spent a few days eating other first foods and grown a little bit to be able to eat the BBS without choking.

I would look into ordering either Banana or Walter worms from a breeder and getting those cultures going before you attempt to breed, it can take a few days for them to ship and then another few days for them to set up.

Food is very important to fry - for overall health, future health, growth, etc..

Good luck!
 
#5 ·
I think I might swap it to my CT girl to get some combtail in there. I think the plakat is just fat. She is pretty even from head to tail but very thick. The CT is flat out eggy. I'll condition her a bit more and get him started up. Which would be a better food, the Walters or Micros or Whites? I need some that can stay in the basement with minimum care. I plan on using decap brine eggs for switching to pellets would that work? We will get some barrels from this local place that has them for cheap/free, they have some 60+ gal but we will probably use some of the smaller 30-40s.
 
#7 ·
Are vinegar eels a good size? I know they swim around and don't sink so that's better and they live longer in water. However they are harder to find.
Infusoria is also easyish to culture I believe, get live plants and trim off leaves and let it sit in water with some oak/IAL to let bacteria come in nibble up. I'll also add some algae to it.
 
#10 ·
Since I will have a sorority down to likely 3 girls which won't work, I'm going to cup the girls until I get another girl or two. I will look for a delta or halfmoon for him but I can't find any US breeders somewhere other then AquaBid! Anyone know of any?
 
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