OMG OMG I AM GETTING MY FIRST PAIR!!! questions about filter in breeding tank?

[peaches3221]

OMG i am soooo exited I am getting a black/white marble HM CT PK pair from AB!!! my first time breeding!!! now... my question, I will prob be using a 5 gal barebottom w/ heater, is a filter necessary? or can I just wait like a week untill the fry are bigger and CAREFULLY do a partial WC? thanks!

[tpocicat]

For breeding, a 5 gallon tank may be a little small, expecially if you get a lot of eggs. Bettas have been known to produce 200-300 eggs in a spawn. I've never tried without a filter, maybe someone with more experience can help.
Congratulations on the new pair! Please post pictures when you can.

[peaches3221]

my dad may have a empty 10 gal that I could use, I just dont have the special sponge filter and don't feel like messing around with cycling :(

thanks, and I will DEFINITELY post pics as soon as they get here, which should be no later than saturday ^.^

[PitGurl]

You can buy cheap sponge filters on AB. I'd also recommend buying some food cultures. And you'll need around 50+ small containers to jar fry. Good luck .

[peaches3221]

do I need to cycle the tank though? and thanks!

[GreenTea]

This is what OFL told me to do - put the sponge filter running in an established tank for a couple weeks, which is the time it'll take you to get your pair and condition them, and then just move that sponge filter to your fry tank. Boom, instant cycle. I didn't turn my sponge filter on until the fry were like 5 days old, and just removed water every day, just a little, sucking up waste on the bottom. Then I started adding.

I know people use 5 gals but it will be too small for growout, so if you use a bigger tank, the less moving fry around you'll have to do, which lots of people prefer as fry can be fragile. At the end of the day it's up to you and what you feel like is going to work.

[peaches3221]

oooh good idea... umm how much does a spong filter for a 10 gal typically cost?

[bettafish15]

You'll have to look it up yourself. Honestly, breeding is costly, but if you have the money its fine.

[LittleBettaFish]

Sponge filters are cheap. Like under $5.00 usually.

You will however, need to buy a small pump to run the filter if you don't have one already.

[peaches3221]

I have a small pump I can use, let me go check petco.com ^.^