Do I have everything for a new spawn? :")

[Mo]

BBS eggs just need to be hatched then fed into the tank, You need to start a new culture every few days..
also. To feed egg yolk all you have to do is boil and egg, then take the yolk. Get a cup of water and take off a small piece of the yolk then rub is lightly until it is a fine dust/powder then put your fingers in the cup to wash them off lightly.. you should see small clouds of the egg yolk dispersing.. repeat this until you have enough and feed with a pipette.. DO NOT OVERFEED it will deplete the water quality FAST

[LittleBettaFish]

Feeding exclusively MWs can lead to missing ventrals in splendens fry, particularly if you are not fastidious with cleaning the bottom of the tank. Infusoria is not going to be enough for large numbers of betta fry. I have two or three fry that have raised themselves on infusoria since I could never get them out of their parents' tank and they grew extremely slowly and needed to have their diet supplemented after a while since the amount of infusoria and other small organisms in the tank dramatically decreased after a month or so.

Does New Zealand have a fish or betta forum? Purchasing supplies through forums is often a heck of a lot cheaper than purchasing them from stores or online suppliers, even when you include shipping. A lot of hobbyists are always eager to help out newcomers and live food cultures are generally something most breeders have.

If BBS cost a fortune in New Zealand, foods such as grindal worms may be better to transition over onto as soon as fry are big enough. My fry now get mostly grindals mixed with MWs and they do fine on that diet. I can't be bothered hatching BBS every day for only 18 fry so I rarely if ever feed it.

Also how much are you getting with your BBS? You don't need to purchase 1kg of the stuff. I have only a 20g satchet of eggs and it has lasted me quite a while. I always manage to put more on then I actually need as a little goes a long way, particularly if you get high hatch rate eggs.

I really don't see anyone making fun of you. Breeding is a lot of hard work. You don't know how much until you have to deal with the hassle of live foods, constant water changes, making sure everyone is healthy and growing the way they should be etc. I only have around 60 or so fry all up and I get sick and tired of it from time to time. That's why it is best to do things right the first time around.

Nothing more disappointing than having spawned and hatched your fry successfully to lose them later down the track because of what could have been an easily avoidable mistake.

[moonsand0wls]

Oh, okay. So I shouldn't just feed micro-worms. I get that now, thanks :)
I was reading on http://www.bettatalk.com/rearing_basics.htm that the first meal can be micro-worms? Is this correct? I'm trying to write down a feeding plan to follow, is all. I like to be organised lol.

New Zealand DOES have a little group of fish keepers, and I could try there, though I have seen people try reach out for some, but with no luck. It really sucks. I might try again, but what should I be asking for? I'm not sure what I should be feeding, and when to. I will figure before I breed, though!

You can make a DIY hatchery for the BBS, right? I miiight try that, and just buy a few packets of BBS from the local pet store if they have them... or online. I will look in both for the cheapest (New Zealand is rather expensive...)

Yeah, I don't want to start a spawn until I know for sure I absolutely have everything under control and running well. I don't want to have the fry free swimming just for my cultures to crash, or to not have enough jars etc. That would really suck.

Which reminds me I should get some more containers... :)

Thank you all for your help.

[MSG]

The quickest way to solve your BBS issues, is to talk to the person at the pet/fish store or wherever you bought your fish.

BBS is a staple for anyone who has raised fry before & splitting a order for 1lb of BBS between 3-4 members would be your best bet.

Just don't have this discussion in the petstore. Do ask the manager/owner if it's okay if you post some sort of flyer to track down other fellow fishkeepers.

The people who are really into the hobby are pretty knowledgeable on how to keep their costs down.

Why spend HOURS doing research on microfoods/fry rearing products when these enthusiasts already have the experience & most importantly the answers?

There has to be at least 1000 people in your country involved in aquatics.


When you're spawning, you will NEVER have absolute control over what happens. Being prepared is all you can do. It's a challenge, but fun if everything works out.

Good luck

[moonsand0wls]

Thank you - that's a good idea! =)

[MSG]

Whenever you're NEW to a hobby, you WILL overpay for EVERYTHING. (Been there done that.. not fun.)

The only thing I suggest is when you create a flyer/ad. Just put up an email address ONLY, limit your contact to emails first.

Better yet, create a NEW email.

Meet these people at the grocery store/coffee shop/shopping mall the first time. Bring a friend in case strange people show up & you want to split the scene early.

It's a risk, but it's worth it because most fish keepers have surplus equipment they've upgraded that's just sitting around gathering dust.

[moonsand0wls]

That is such a good idea.. and yeah I might make a new email if I do that or keep pushing out to groups :)

I know what you mean about the over-spending thing, you worry that you might get things WRONG because your stuff isn't good enough. But I can honestly say I've saved myself a few hundred because I'm getting my friends and family to save any old jars they may have that I can have, and also I'm using two of the heaters in two of my tanks for the fry's tank and just seperating my fish in some of the other heated tanks :)

[KirstenMarie]

I don't know about the eggs, but as for the egg yolk. All you need to do is hardboil an egg, take out the yolk, take a substantial amount of it (depending on your spawn size), and grind it up into EXTREMELY small pieces (almost powder-like). That was what I found worked best with my first fry.

[moonsand0wls]

Cool thank you :)

So.. MW, BBS and egg yolk..?
If I don't have enough infusoria what could I feed for the first few days?