New to breeding :)

[jase]

Finally :), going to breed betas.

BUTTTTTTTTTTTT, only getting 1 and a half pair of blue dragon betta tomorrow.

.............one and half pair because one of the female died durring shipping T_T, good thing that there is still one female left.

Second time I decided to have fish shipped to me, last time around the bangai cardinal i was suppose to get died due to a failed heat pack and a 5"c night.

- I see now why they tell you to order two pairs instead of one................

planning to use a 60L plastic container for the spawn and a 90L tank for the rearing of the fry.
or should I just skip to to using the 90L for spawn as well?

getting a micro worm culture with it as well.

Can I keep the female and lone male in breeders inside my 200L ?
will my red betta in the tank bother the two?

It is going to be quiet hard to "can" each fry as it is currently winter here in NZ and I only have 3 spare heaters. So can i just keep the fry all together?

[ravenwinds]

It is suggested that you let the fish acclimate to their new home/surroundings for about a month prior to attempting to breed them. And they should be conditioned for at least a week to ensure they are ready to breed. During conditioning, they should be in separate tanks and fed at least 3 times per day really yummy foods like frozen bloodworms, brine shrimp, live foods if available. For about 5min per day, let the pair see each other, otherwise they shouldn't even see each other, let alone be in the same tank.
I have heard that if spawning tank is too large, the male could "lose her"...guessing it allows too much diversion from each other and they could lose interest. I would probably stick with the smallest box available within reason...I have a 5gallon opaque box that I use.
The fry won't need to be separated until they are about 3mos of age, barring major aggression, and then just remove the instigator of the aggression. Surely it will be starting to warm up in 4mos?

I hope that I have been helpful and I apologize if I was telling you something you already knew...I am new to betta breeding as well. My first spawn of 40 orange dot HM fry are about 6 weeks old .:)

[indjo]

Read the stickies and do as much research as possible while you wait and condition your breeders - I can't explain everything here. Ask as many questions as possible and make sure you're certain what you'll be facing.

How old are your pair. Usually they're sold at around 4 months. Though most are sexually mature, but IMO not enough. I'd say wait at least another month before you breed them... your choice.

The 60L is adequate at least until the fry are 1 month old (about 0.5cm). If you have less than 50 fry, you can keep them there until they're ready to be jarred. Fill the tub half way and add about 5L of water daily until it reaches the level you desire. Set it up now - let it age until you're ready to breed. Add live plants and let it get direct sunlight for about a hour each morning.... (if possible)

If you have a warm room, you don't need individual heaters. I used to keep my bettas near a room heater (in Canberra, lowest was 10*C - but I didn't breed). .... how cold does it get in NZ?

Microworms are good. But it would be better if you had other food - like BBS, etc. The more, the better. Make sure you have bigger food like frozen/live daphnia to feed when they're bigger..... or what ever. Some say they would take crushed pellets ..... I've never succeeded using man made food for fry.

You can keep bettas in small containers (with holes - so the water would constantly slightly flow) in a warm big tank. BUT keep them from constantly seeing each other (specially male - male) because it may stress them or make them uninterested in other bettas - They will be harder to breed.

If you don't disturb them - NEVER netting, moving, etc. fry should stay docile until 4 months - it should be warmer by then. Timing is important - so plan your breeding so that by the time fry need to be jarred, temps in NZ would be warm (around mid spring).

Good luck.

[jeffegg2]

If you have a lack of heaters when you jar, then jar them into a larger tub that you heat. When I imported my breeders I bred them after about 1 week with no problems.

Best of luck,
Jeff.

[jase]

Ok, so going to keep the male in the 60 liter, the other male in my 30 L and the female in my 90L
the place i have my tank is right by the window so lighting is not a problem.
just going to nick some plants from my other tanks then :P

well in summer it is usually warm, but there is the occasional storms that really drop the temperature

THeres plenty of cheap BBS and frozen daphnia in the LFS

Not too sure how old they are, but the breeder said there are one month to go before they are sexually mature.

Last week it was 5*C at night, and it isn't even winter yet.............