Debate on whether to start up breeding or not..

[Myates]

Boyfriend wants me to set up breeding of bettas, and I think it's great that he has faith in me and supports me.. and breeding isn't something I am scared of doing.

What makes me go "Gah!" is if I decide to get into breeding fish once more, I don't want to do what I did before and have multiple species being bred at once. I want to breed just one, as one species is plenty enough work as it is. Back then I didn't have kids and as many responsibilities so I could spend all my time learning and breeding when I wasn't in classes. So that means I need to decide what I want to breed..

Live bearers? Been there, done that, not that exciting nor hard. Most of the time the fry from live bearers are served as food. What I'm going to be doing once the cichlid tank is stocked (very very picky on type/quality/breeder of those fish- long process of finding breeders and setting up for spawns, etc. My boyfriend is a bit pickier then me when it comes to those fish lol) so the fry would be good food for the juvenile cichlids.
Angels are such wonderful fish with just as much individual personalities as a betta- literally. They can be trickier to breed, and the patterns can be fun to play with. Panda angels are my favorite, but would bring in some white and black laces, possible koi into the mix for the spurts of orange and yellow.
Killifish are cute and fun, but again, not that hard nor can you do much in the way of playing with patterns.
If I go bettas I actually wouldn't mind bringing in some wild bettas to breed over the common fancy ones.

So you see, I'm like "Gah!" on whether to start up breeding again, and what to breed. Le sigh...

So my question is: What made you guys get into breeding, and what made you decide the tail type/species? Maybe a different perspective on this may help me make up my mind, and see what maybe I am missing.

[MrVampire181]

I'm spawning several lines of bettas and guppies. I would just go with your favorites. I have a dedicated fish room so I can handle all these spawns (I also have a python so that makes cleaning easier).

Also one spawn of bettas, takes up a lot of room. At least 2-3 tanks and several jars. Not like guppies which I just breed and raise in a plastic tub.

[indjo]

I'd go with what ever is your favorite. I do agree that you should do only one type and color - less hassle in the long run. So set up a definite plan before getting your pair.

If you like variety, try breeding multi colors. That way you only work with one type but get a lot to choose from. For example : work with red dragons (the ones that have white rays on fins) - you can get metallic and dragon; red dragon, cambodian like colors, platinum, gold, yellow, orange.

[Myates]

We are currently looking for a larger house that we are all happy with- has to be 4 bedrooms so he can have his den/game room and me a room to do as I please, which will turn into a fish room for breeding purposes, the pet fish will be out in various places of the home to enjoy. Have two locations to sell to, regardless of my choice of species.
I just fear adding more bettas out there without proper care- if I go with bettas I will set up a care sheet that will be given free to any that purchase them from the stores and me directly.

Every time I look at my bettas, just makes me want to breed them. And whenever I see your work, along with some others on here makes me want to go the betta route even more. Hmm.. some fancy along with wild bettas may be interesting to work on, something new for me. I'm confidant in my care for them, and have done research on breeding for the last 9+ months specifically for bettas, as when I get into a species of fish I prefer to learn every aspect of them.

[Myates]

Originally Posted by indjo

I'd go with what ever is your favorite. I do agree that you should do only one type and color - less hassle in the long run. So set up a definite plan before getting your pair.

If you like variety, try breeding multi colors. That way you only work with one type but get a lot to choose from. For example : work with red dragons (the ones that have white rays on fins) - you can get metallic and dragon; red dragon, cambodian like colors, platinum, gold, yellow, orange.

Too hard to pick :)

Definitely dragon in the mix.. colors I love marbles and koi..
Super Delta and Double Tail are probably what I would lean more towards, possible work on feathers and hearts/fuses with the doubles.

Such high ambitions but would be fun to work for. Even though veils are my classic favorite, I love to create interesting and vivid colors/patterns when I breed fish, and bettas aren't any different.. and I think the colors and patterns would look better on another tail type than VTs. It's a whole new canvas I haven't explored, so it's a little exciting.

Sounds like I have almost made up my mind lol.

[Oldfishlady]

I base most of my breeding or species choice on demand and this can change from year to year-then you have the trusted stand by that never go out of popularity or high demand.....I know with my Bettas people want or like the unique more than anything else since most common buyers are just hobbyist with zero interest in showing or even breeding themselves and now since I added HM into the mix along with the double tails in every color you can imagine-I can't keep up with the demand in my area.

One species I have been wanting to breed is the Carinotetraodon travancoricus (dwarf FW puffer)...one of these days.....lol....and I have said that for years.....from what I have researched it can be a real challenge to spawn and that is what I want....a challenge...but they are not a big demand species so that may be an issue-I got the time, space, setup and natural food source...all I need are the fish......

Then Angelfish....lol....that is still a year or so down the road....

Would love to try Discus-but my hard well water stops me, hopefully I will be able to successfully spawn the Angelfish...time will tell.....

Florida flag fish-from my research its a pretty easy Killifish to spawn-time will tell.....but I have thought about getting the annual Killifish eggs and try them-sure are some pretty fish-I just don't like the idea of them only living for a year.....lol.....but if I was successful with them spawning, collecting eggs and then the drying process etc.....that might be fun and a challenge...

I have spawned lots of different species-a few I did have to change water chemistry for the eggs/fry-like the Neon tetra-but once the fry got a month old I was able to change them back to hard water...

Still a lot of species I would like to spawn at least once.....

Betta splendens are a fun species to work with and I think why I have worked with them for so long-while they can be easy enough to spawn-rearing the fry can be tricky-but what I like about rearing the fry....is seeing what you get as they mature and part of the reason I like adding unknown genetic.....the surprise you can get......

[Myates]

Very true.. it's why I used to like the angels, as when mixing patterns and such you just don't know what you are going to get- pattern wise. But not color- which can be a surprise with bettas. You can aim for specific colors and tails, but you may end up with a few surprises along the way which is something to look forward to.
I guess deep down I knew what I was leaning for, just wanted to make sure.. and the statement you made about "seeing what you get" pretty much sealed it for me.

I am curious as to what I can come up with- if possible. I have actually started researching different breedings between the bettas, such as splendens, imbellis and smaragdina. I know some have been done before, but unsure of the success rate. Just have to make sure not to pick any of the mouthbrooders though. Be curious to see what will become of a mix of a splenden and an smaragdina.

A smaragdina can be quite pretty.. would love to work on the colors.


Hmm.. this can be interesting.

[indjo]

Metallic and dragon were produced from crossing to wilds. The irid layer on imbillis is a bit different - they reflect more yellow to yellow green. I'm guessing you want wilds that show more irids on them for this purpose.

people often discuss spade tails. So if you want to cross breed, you can also try VT x wild with spade looking tails. Not sure what you'll get. But I know wild form is partially dominant in the sense that some of their offspring will show spade shaped caudals (I've seen this with HM and PK).

Personally, I can't tell the difference between imbillis, smagdina, and mahachai. They all look the same to me - long body with extra shiny irids. But they look similar to splendens. While other wild species may look more like snake heads (?) or gurami - you don't want these.

[MrVampire181]

A lot of people believe that they're all the same species with regional and slight color differences. They are very similar and often can interbreed so I am of the belief they are the same species.

[indjo]

Could be - variants of the same species. The only difference is that splendens have shorter but wider bodies.