Breeding bettas - All you need to know

[frogipoi]

For starters in breeding, I know a lot. I have't had a spawn because I only have one betta, but I

know enough to get some people to get a good spawn. Let us start, but first I need to say this is like

Breeding bettas but you can share your tips here and I have an breeding challenge, so lets get our

supplies:

-a 10 gallon tank or bigger, this is where the bettas will breed

-two other tanks for the male and female, before and after they breed

-your two bettas, one girl one boy

-food, water conditioner, a sponge filter, plants, a place for the bubble nest, micro worms and VE

(that is correct, right?), lots of jars, heater, test kit, thermometer, etc.

This is most of the stuff. If I forgot something please correct me. Now the steps, remember, all the

betta babies will not live, some will and some won't.

Set up the tank. Put plants and smooth rocks on the bottom. You may put decor too. Now slowly pour

or use a hose to place the water in the tank. Let the water age for 1 day to reduce shock and stress.

Heat it to 78-80*F in the ageing process. The petstore cup will be useful to get your betta in the tank

and feel better lol. The male first. When the male is in his breeding tank safely, put the female's by it.

This will encourage him to build a bubble nest and get the female ready. After he has been in there

for a week and is ready, put the female in her cup and float it. Now your male betta is really ready.

Do the petstore cup method and get the female in. Get ready for possibility of nipping and tearing

fins. Soon in a few days or less, they will finally get under the bubblenest and embrace. The eggs

will be put in the nest and you should wait a day to see if they are done. They eggs will start

hatching and you will see tails. Little white tails. Clear to be exact. When they start swimming in 1-3

weeks remove the male betta. Soon they will grow, but some will die. After you can clearly tell boy

from girl separate them. Now you can sell some and keep others. Good luck!

If this is missing stuff, please tell me. Post it here to make this correct. Now time for the betta

breeding challenge! Try to breed to get a red betta. Easy peasy. No certain tail, just a red betta.

This challenge changes every month so you can enter this one or see the next. I am not forcing you

to breed, just a challenge. I did not copy and you can paste pics here and more tips.

TIP #1

Lots of plants means more bettas! True or not?

They can hide more but they are harder to count. Please comment!

[Dead Sunlight]

NO gravel on the bottem... With gravel, fry can get lost there because the father may not see them and eventually lost fry will die of starvation or lack of air.

[frogipoi]

I meant a smooth stone, sorry. But I would stay with the floating plants.
TIP# 2
NO gravel on the bottem... With gravel, fry can get lost there because the father may not see them and eventually lost fry will die of starvation or lack of air.
By Dead sunlight, a fellow betta lover
THANKS!

[Pixierella]

My personal food type for when I go to breed will be boiled and freeze-dried egg yolk (got this tip from adastra), (from oldfishlady) mosquito eggs collected from a rain bucket out back (btw, make sure to watch out for Dragonfly eggs/larvae, they'll eat the fry, vicious larvae), cultures for live Bananaworms, Microworms, Walter worms and Vinegar Eels and non-hatching brine shrimp eggs for when they get bigger (got this from researching). Some people use freshly hatched brine shrimp but I'm more comfortable with not having to worry about the shells (not good for fishies apparently). I will also have 3 different kinds of live (guaranteed snail free) plants. For the conditioning of the adults I will be using freeze-dried bloodworms and non-hatching brine shrimp eggs. Although this will be what food I will have they are suggestions and do not have to be followed to a T persay :)

[FloridaBettas239]

No gravle and no stone, when they spawn the eggs are falling every where and the dad is trying to catch them. And they will be falling in between the stones and he will not be able to get them. Bare bottom tank only. If you want all the eggs.

2nd thing is you don't just age the water in a breeding tank you cycle it. You put a sponge filter in there and you cycle it. If your not using a filter your gonna have a mess on your hands. Ammonia spikes and fry can't handle that.

I only fill my 10 gallon up half way so what I do is run the sponge filter in a cycled tank for 3 days. Then I take 2 gallons from that cycled tank and put it in the breeding tank then I put 2 gallons of fresh water. So running that sponge filter let it get the good bacteria in it and your putting 2 gallons of cycled water.
If your not in a hurry then just put 5 gallons in your breeding tank with the sponge filter and let it cycle.

[Oldfishlady]

Lots of different methods to spawn this species that work well-
I use a spawn method that is a more natural way with great success.
I get an average of 30-60 fry to adult after culling with this method

10g-mature/heavy planted and full to the top with water, no filtration, soil based with sand cap, 80F, lots of pond, ramshorn, trumpet snail and RCS for clean up.

I use 20-75g tank for grow-out and can keep my males together for up to a year if the fry are left with the father for at least the first 30 days

I intro the breeders in the spawning tank at the same time and usually will have spawn within 1-3 hours

I let the male pick his nesting site-usually under a floating plant

I start 50% daily water changes once I start adding live food to the tank when the fry are about 6-7 days old, they feed off the infusoria and other micro-critters the develop in a mature NPT

First foods-infusoria (grown in the spawning tank) then NHBBS, HUFA supplemented BBS, white worms,
the mosquito larva are for the adults for conditioning along with other live foods

What I have personally seen in the two method I have used-bare bottom-half full, remove male and the natural method......a few differences I have noted...
BB method-easier to count and clean-but I get more deaths related to pathogen/parasites, more neurotic type behaviors as adults, swim bladder problems
Natural method-hard to count until they learn the feeding tap, no health issues, less aggressive Betta.

Like I said-lot of way to spawn-it is finding what works for you, your set-up and breeders...sometimes you have to tweak things from one spawn to another

[frogipoi]

Good! That is well thought, oldfishlady! I would recommend that, it is perfect! Just like the wild. Good job! (^) What a good set up. I like all your posts and ideas and I wonder if this helped anyone.

[JKfish]

You forgot to add that you need to seperately condition your pair for two weeks on frozen or live food before you set about introducing them.

[frogipoi]

*hitshead* Yes I did. I am forgetful.

[FloridaBettas239]

I don't think anyone should really listen to this thread! He even say " I haven't spawned yet" he also says sorry if I'm missing Anything correct me" if someone that doesn't no any better and was looking for breeding info and found this and don't no any better. And listens to all this he gonna have problems with his spawn, and who suffers? The fish!

The next thing you have people out trying to breed bettas just because what? Because it's your challange. We already have enough bettas getting bred just because. 2nd thing is there is 3 different types of red, which one are we supposed to breed for "you". The 3rd thing is, it takes a good 4-6 months to see the betta at his/her best. Plus spawning and conditioning period makes it a little loner so at the best 4 months later we come back and say ok here is your red betta! LoL
It just seems like this thread would have a rookie all messed up. I no frog is just trying to help and real interested in breeding. But he don't have enough under his belt to have a thread like this. He is on the right path and would be able to have a spawn his self. But he hasn't yet. Don't have that hands on knowledge that helps so much.