I want to breed!

[TonyK]

I would like to breed and have the equipment and space for it but, I keep thinking how am I going to move a whole batch of babies. Knowing that most people think its ok to keep them in vases and jars just doesn't sit right with me.

One more thing you can't look at it as a way to make money. You will spend more on care of fish then you will ever take in.

Good Luck on your project if you decide to start.

[dramaqueen]

Miah, breeding is a BIG responsibility as well as expensive. It takes time to prepare. You have to condition your pair for 2 weeks, you have to buy and prepare the food for the fry (micro worm and other cultures. You also have to keep an eye on the pair during spawning to make sure they're not killing each other. Things don't always work out for experienced breeders. Things can happen. If you don't do water changes religiously then your fry will get sick and die. If you start skipping feeding because you forgot or were hanging out with friends then your fry won't grow properly. There are so many things to consider before breeding. Do your research and prepare yourself with as much knowledge as you can fit in your brain. lol Remember, you are responsible for the lives you would bring into the world and it would be totally up to you to give them the best of everything.

[Luimeril]

raising live food's hard. i had to prepare a new batch of Baby Brine Shrimp every other day for ONE fry. just little Chappy. she lived in a 3 gallon, and had to have daily water changes. i had to keep an eye on the heat in her tank, too. it wasn't easy to do, and that was just for ONE fry. i can't imagine taking care of dozens, if not hundreds of fry right now. :/ no space. no time. no money.

[trilobite]

Just make sure you can place every single male in its own heated jar. and that you have enough time to feed the babies more than once a day and keep up with daily water changes. You might as well say goodbye to your social life for a while.
Remember you have the potential for 100s of babies. The sex ratio is not always going to be 50/50. you can expect more males than females or vice versa.
Try and make sure you are not breeding a mess, otherwise you will not be able to sell many (if money is what you are after...you wont make a profit though).
Think carefully about your fish you choose and what they might produce.

But at the end of the day if you are not allowed anymore tanks I dont know how you can sneak them in...
What I would do is tell them you are very interested in genetics and you are trying to see first hand the effects of dominant and recessive etc genes, trying to expand your knowledge on the keeping and behavior of bettas and that you will give them half of what you make from selling your fry haha...
If that fails you have to wait until you move out

[dramaqueen]

There is no way to hide 100 plus fry. lol

[trilobite]

Originally Posted by dramaqueen

There is no way to hide 100 plus fry. lol

[purplemuffin]

I'm interested in breeding one day as well, but I know even now at 20 I am not yet in a place where I could do it properly. Meanwhile I know others who are 13-14 who have the time, money, and experience to do it right.

I live at home where my parents are trying to move, they aren't interested in new pets and I don't have a job--so all the money spent would be theirs or christmas money. Christmas money runs out eventually though, so though I might be able to grab some cheap tubs, a pair on aquabid, and maybe scrounge for heaters and jars on the cheap, I might just barely have enough...Now what happens..if the fry get velvet? If the male beats up the female? If I barely had enough to start the program up, it means there is no room for error. I don't like the sound of panicking over having enough to save baby fish who I brought into the world. I might be able to handle it, I could even raise them all into adult hood. But it would not be a fun experience right now. I'm just not financially ready for that, nor do I have the time honestly with my other pets and school work.

However, others the same age, older, younger, who happen to be in a better situation than me.. Can easily make it work. They can dedicate the time and money into doing it right and having the whole breeding process a rewarding and enjoyable experience!

I don't want to ruin breeding for me by having a horrible time by not being prepared, so I'm willing to wait. That might mean next year, or it could mean five years from now. I'd still rather wait personally, until I know I can really handle it, no matter how much I really really want to. I just know I won't be able to give the project my time and devotion right now.

But if you think you can handle the responsibility and the time and money and all that comes with breeding, than you can do your best. Just make sure you can handle it all three months down the road :)

And sneaking pets(especially when they are for breeding) never works out... Just puts the animals in harms way!

[Pitluvs]

I have everything set up for breeding (literally have my second bathroom set up with everything) and I have fry foods, money, space, live on my own and pay my own bills plus I have all my fish in suitable tanks. And I'm still scared whitless to try and breed a spawn! It must be the fact that I'm getting old, but breeding (to me) is such a big responsibility. You're bringing living things into this world that would normally NOT be here. I mean, if Bettas bred in the wild here I would love to grab a batch and raise, but to actually make my fish breed? It's scary. And then think, what if something goes horribly wrong and one of your fish dies while mating and you get no fry. What was it all for? Right? I'm so scared to breed Spidey, especially since I am so attached to him now. Pleaseeee... if this mature 27 yr old with kid and a home is iffy on breeding, think about it ok?

Give your babies what they need first, then look into breeding. I know it's hard cause everyone is on here posting spawns and showing pictures, it's hard for me. Why not get a 20g tank, and house the tropicals you have properly with the right numbers in groups first? I see you still have only one Cory :(

[Curlyfatbottom]

Breeding for money....
Don't expect to much out of it...
If your just breeding pet shop Betta vt....
You will b lucky if u can move then for a dollor each(average price)....
All the time n effort to raise them will coast u more then what u make....
What about the fancy....
Will the price on a decent pair will run u 30-100(before shipping)....
Trying to sell it at the same price as u got them for will b hard near impossible...
Even cutting the price in half will b hard to move...
Since your not a known breeder....
Plus this is the wrong time of the year to b breeding....
It will cost more to feed n house the fish.....
Since it getting cold.....
If your truly going to breed no matter what....
Wait till late spring....
Where u can grow your own fish food....
Infusion will bloom quicker....
Room temp should keep the Mircoworm to produce daily feed...
Get a bucket that hold about a 100+ gallon just for daphnia n mosquito larvae( if your living with your parents.... They will hate u on this)....
A few bucket that hold 20 gallon plus(depending on your size of spawn)
Heater( for each tank)
spong filter( for each tank)
Lot of jar(100+)....
Lot of live plants....
Do massive research on breeding....
Trust me on this...
Don't expect a big profits out of breeding....
Even if u can move a few fish for 10$-30$....
With 200+ fish....
Only a hand full will b bought....
Female r really hard to move.....
Pet store will give u $.60 a fish( most pet store don't accept local breeder fish)....
It hard to give away a fish that u took all your time n money to raise it for $.60.....
When it coast u $40 for the parent..



They only take male....
B lucky if they take a few female....

[Sena Hansler]

Oh I forgot to mention - if you see on here lots of spawns, ones like mine are really not in expectation of money (although it'd be nice in the future to get spawn pairs which I have seen for 100.00 which does not include shipping and handling) and you gotta make sure if you can find homes... If not you will have to commit to having lots of bettas!

I was lucky to have zero illnesses in my fry. Will I risk it again? No. :p read up on stuff like velvet, ich... Maks sure you know why the fish could get it, how to keep it away or get rid of it. That way you'll be even more prepared! :)