Considering breeding in the future; questions

[freeflow246]

I've always loved bettas, but never had room for more than one or two. However, I'm probably going to be out of the house in a few years, and I think that I might try my hand at breeding. Anyway, after reading the stickies, I had some quick questions.

From your experience, about how many fry were hatched, and how many survived to adulthood? I just want to get a general idea of how many babies I'd be taking care of.
How large of a tank would you recommend?
Do you sell your bettas for profit or give them away? If you do sell them, how do you decide their price?
How specific are you when selecting your breeding stock? Do you use only fish with the exact color and finnage that you want, or are you a little flexible?
Would it be alright to use pet store bettas for my first spawn? Would no one be willing to take or buy the babies from me?


That's about it haha. Just trying to get a feel for what breeding would be like.

[Amphibianite]

I will answer what I can haha. I am getting ready for my first spawn here in a month or two.

Here is what I know.
1 petstore bettas can be used though they are usually not in the best health, nor best colors or finnage, but you never know what you can find. I got my CT boy Prince Poppycock from my LFS and he looks just like a high quality import. I have gotten some very pretty boys from Petsmart and Walmart even. They are not super high quality but they still warm my heart all the same.

You can sell to petstores I have two LFS who are interested in my first spawn.
Pricing is different from store to store depending on what they sell them for, the quality. and quantity. You could probably sell to stores for about a 1.50 per fish for vailtails, etc. Again depends on their selling price. They are going to try to make a 50% or more profit.
You can set your price for friends and such again I would sell for cheaper to them and setting price depends on color and fin type. Such as for my friends i am going to give them each a betta or two out of my spawn because they are my friends and I know they will take care of them
You can check out the classified section on here to get an idea of what people on here sell them for. Also take a look at aquabid.

[freeflow246]

Thanks for the reply! Let me know how your spawning goes! :D

[Creat]

From your experience, about how many fry were hatched, and how many survived to adulthood? I just want to get a general idea of how many babies I'd be taking care of.
I usually range from 20-50 fry personally becuase I tend to try to make my set ups more natural and let the fry fend for themselves
How large of a tank would you recommend?
For a first time spawn 20 gal and up although surface area is more important to me. I like to get bigger large plastic tubs becuase I get more water volume with more surfae area then a smaller one... I have bred in a ten gal I just like being able to dump water into a larger container and not move the fry.
Do you sell your bettas for profit or give them away? If you do sell them, how do you decide their price?
Depends on what the goal of the spawn was... if it was for fun meaning I crossed tail types and such I dont expect a profit I also cull harder if I have to. And usually it depends on the type like stated above by Amphibianite
How specific are you when selecting your breeding stock? Do you use only fish with the exact color and finnage that you want, or are you a little flexible?
I am very flexible I love using petstore stock unless I have a certain color goal in mind. I love the different color variations I can get from genetic mutts. And you are talking to someone who tried crossing CT and DBT
Would it be alright to use pet store bettas for my first spawn? Would no one be willing to take or buy the babies from me?
Depending on the fish no telling who would want to buy from you no matter what its personal preference. I personally would never buy an all red betta i dont know why I just dont like the way they look I dont care how great it would breed or how amazing the genetics are I wouldnt want it. So it doesnt matter really I mean you couldnt sell them as breeding stock but many people dont want that.

[freeflow246]

Thanks, Creat! Very helpful! I would mostly be breeding for fun, so I think that I would mostly use pet store mutts. But if I can make a little bit of my money back, well, it wouldn't hurt. :P I prolly wouldn't ask for much though. Maybe like $2-3.

[Amphibianite]

Also consider asking for store credit, makes life easy too. If you can get store credit at your LFS you can buy new bettas free, get tank supplies free. May not line your pockets but helps keep money from being spent :P

[freeflow246]

Ah, true true. I dunno if I would be able to handle sending babies that I had raised to live in dirty cups on a pet store shelf though. But I'll cross that bridge when I get to it lol.

[Amphibianite]

I am not saying to places like walmart or petsmart or anything. Check out your LFS and LPS my LFS actually takes really good care of their bettas. Daily water changes, if they get sick they are taken off the shelf into med-stations.
So if my LFS wants to give me some credit with some payment I will be happy happy happy lol.

[freeflow246]

Oh, I see. All I have near me are chain pet stores though. At least as far as I know..... I'll check around.
I'm staying in the same city, btw, so I'll still be in the general area.