[Fluval]

I'm going to start breeding bettas soon when school is out as a summer job.

I'm not going to care for one hundred fish; I'm going to remove the female after she releases fifteen eggs or so. I'm going to silicone containers together, about two to three gallons each. I'm making three rows, each with five containers. I'm drilling holes in sides of containers so they flow together as one tank. I'm putting a filter on the second and fourth tanks. The heater will go in the center. I'm going to put the rows on a shelf, and make it my betta barracks.

The main thing I'm asking is what food is the best and cheapest? Betty Splendens guide to hobbyist breeding left off at where you can feed the fry microworms, infruorsia, daphnia, etc.

My next question is when do I seperate the fry so that they don't kill each other? I understand they can be in their 5 gallon, half filled tank with their father until they're free swimming. When they do need to be seperated, they will be placed in their barracks mentioned above.

Next, how often do I change the water? I have to be careful not to suck the fry up.

 

[LebronTheBetta]

For the Food, I've heard that you could grow Infoursia by yourself. I think that's what I've heard. Separating the Fry, Uh, I don't know. I've never bred before. I'm guessing 1 week after Free-Swimming. Does it Matter for them to be Separated early? Cause I don't know. And for the Water Changes, ever so carefully, just do a 25% Change 1-3 times per week. Watch Out for the Fry!!!

 

[jeffegg2]

I'm going to start breeding bettas soon when school is out as a summer job.

Nice to have a goal.

I'm not going to care for one hundred fish; I'm going to remove the female after she releases fifteen eggs or so.

Good idea, but you won't have much to choose from that way. If you are selling for profit then better to raise the fry and pick the best ones and euthanize the rest in as humane a manner as you can.

I'm going to silicone containers together, about two to three gallons each. I'm making three rows, each with five containers. I'm drilling holes in sides of containers so they flow together as one tank. I'm putting a filter on the second and fourth tanks. The heater will go in the center. I'm going to put the rows on a shelf, and make it my betta barracks.

Been there done that. It's a B to keep clean, and you still have to do water changes anyway...

The main thing I'm asking is what food is the best and cheapest? Betty Splendens guide to hobbyist breeding left off at where you can feed the fry microworms, infruorsia, daphnia, etc.

Microworms are probably the cheapest, but there are many stories about feeding only microworms and Bettas growing with no pectorial fins.... Baby Brine shrimp eggs look expensive at 40 bucks a can, but that can last quite a long time... Best is a combo of MW and BBS. (The plexi to build your barracks will cost you much more than the food will)

My next question is when do I seperate the fry so that they don't kill each other? I understand they can be in their 5 gallon, half filled tank with their father until they're free swimming. When they do need to be seperated, they will be placed in their barracks mentioned above.

When they get aggressive and bite fins... I hear many different times. If you check up Youtube videos you can see brood tanks with fry almost near adult all kept together. I think they pick out the males to jar when they can Identify them. Females can usually be kept together anyway.

Next, how often do I change the water? I have to be careful not to suck the fry up.

Depends on tank size.... Get a master API Test kit for fresh water and carefully monitor your water.

Good Luck with your Projects!!
Jeff.

 

[Fluval]

Good Luck with your Projects!!
Jeff.

Thank you.. I'm probably not building my own tanks out of plexi glass. I want some completely see-through acrylic containers. I'd like at least 2 gallons per container.

 

[jeffegg2]

Thank you.. I'm probably not building my own tanks out of plexi glass. I want some completely see-through acrylic containers. I'd like at least 2 gallons per container.

I saw some 5 gal acrylic tanks in the local Meijers Inc. Why do you want acrylic?

Jeff.

 

[Fluval]

I saw some 5 gal acrylic tanks in the local Meijers Inc. Why do you want acrylic?

Jeff.

It will most likely be cheaper, easier to find, and easier to drill through.

 

[KadenJames]

My experience with acrylic is not too pleasant. Drilling through it is not as easy as you'd think, it cracks and spiders out really easily. Best way to do it is laying it on a piece of scrap wood and clamping or taping it down, then drilling through the acrylic and wood and pray it doesn't chip and crack up the sides. xD

You don't need to separate the youngsters until they are old enough to start fighting. They will play fight each other, but when the males become old enough to really want to kill each other, that's when you separate them.

As far as water changes, the water for the fry needs to be impeccable. They will be fine for the first week or so, as they feed in the infusoria, but after that you have to start doing daily water changes. I recommend 50% every day, at least. The tricky part is doing this without disturbing the fry. The best way is to take airline tubing, stick an air stone on the end and siphon the clean water into the tank at the same time you siphon the dirty water out of the tank. I also recommend putting a piece of brine shrimp net, or even pantyhose, over the tip of a turkey baster and removing uneaten food and waste from the bottom.

Getting a snail or two into the tank will also help. I add mine in during the night as a cleanup crew, and remove them in the morning. They won't bother the fry, and do a fantastic job.

 

[Fluval]

My experience with acrylic is not too pleasant. Drilling through it is not as easy as you'd think, it cracks and spiders out really easily. Best way to do it is laying it on a piece of scrap wood and clamping or taping it down, then drilling through the acrylic and wood and pray it doesn't chip and crack up the sides. xD

You don't need to separate the youngsters until they are old enough to start fighting. They will play fight each other, but when the males become old enough to really want to kill each other, that's when you separate them.

As far as water changes, the water for the fry needs to be impeccable. They will be fine for the first week or so, as they feed in the infusoria, but after that you have to start doing daily water changes. I recommend 50% every day, at least. The tricky part is doing this without disturbing the fry. The best way is to take airline tubing, stick an air stone on the end and siphon the clean water into the tank at the same time you siphon the dirty water out of the tank. I also recommend putting a piece of brine shrimp net, or even pantyhose, over the tip of a turkey baster and removing uneaten food and waste from the bottom.

Getting a snail or two into the tank will also help. I add mine in during the night as a cleanup crew, and remove them in the morning. They won't bother the fry, and do a fantastic job.

This is what I had in mind for barracks, only smaller:
http://i895.photobucket.com/albums/ac154/damo2904/050.jpg

Also, do you have to hatch the brine shrimp eggs? Or do you just drop the eggs in and the fry suck them up? How much will a hatchery cost? And can you link me to a cheap can, I don't need a whole lot since I'm only caring for 15 fry.

 

[KadenJames]

Nice. A few things to keep in mind-

In order for the clean water to circulate through all of the compartments, you need a powerful in and out system. A lot of people will have the water move left to right through the tanks, then down a tube into a sump filter. The water passes through the filtration system, and is pushed back up to the barracks using a powerful cansiter pump. Then the clean water starts at compartment one, and starts again. Putting a couple of filters in every other tank probably isn't enough to fully circulate the water in all compartments, unless you crank them on full speed, but that would certainly send the bettas who share the compartments with the filter flying and swirling and toppling around in the water. xD ROFL. Similarly with the heater- one of my tanks is a 10 gallon divided into three, with a heater in the middle compartment. I can feel a big difference in temperature from the middle water to the water on the edges. It's the dividing walls in the tank that keeps the warmer water away from the colder water.

I plan on constructing a Betta drip system when I move into my bigger house this November. It also uses the sump and pump system, but the water goes into a tube that is fixed above the barracks, and it has spouts for each compartment that drip the water in. Similarly, each compartment as an "out" spout, where the dirty water on the bottom drains into a slanted rail that leads back down to the sump. This way, none of the bettas water will touch each other, its all individual clean water supply and drainage. This stops any chance of spreading disease, in case one gets sick. I'd rather deal with one sick Betta than have to deal with an epidemic in the barracks. xD

 

[Junglist]

Building a barrack takes a little investing, time & patients to set up. I'm still building mine from last summer cause I'm still trying to figure out the pipe lines and I'm building it from scratch. There are no instruction manual when building your barracks, it takes a lot of study to build your own system. Unless your rich and have a professional tank specialist set in up for you. So far I've invested almost $1,200 in a my system, The lighting and filtration system will grab you by your pocket the most and that's not including the electric & utility bill...:shock:

 

[EvilVOG]

after reading all that i come up with a few things...

"As a summer job" - it may be 3 months before you can sell them, and at a likely price of $15 per fish or less, you're not going to make a lot of money. Especially if you're new, as in not a known name breeder.

foods: Inforsia once free swimming for a week or so, then onto MW/ BBS and at another week or two maybe daphnia. MW are the cheapest as it's a live culture that is easy to care for so you can buy a starter really cheap. MW however can decay and affect the ventrals so i would not feed primarily. BBS are probably the most expensive, and care-intensive as you have to set up a couple hatcheries to hatch the eggs, but it's about the most effective once you have it going.

In addition to those there are also Vinegar eels, Walter worms, Banana worms, and grindal worms that you can buy cultures of and raise. They say worms make for bigger and faster growth.


Trying to limit the # of fry you are going to find difficult. she may drop 15 eggs after a single embrace, and you have to be lucky enough to catch them in the act, and then trying to grab her at that point may disturb the eggs/nest. Then there's the question of how many eggs dropped develop into wigglers, how many wigglers develop into fry, and then how many fry make it to adulthood. That's why they have so many eggs. Also you have no way to know that the 15 you let be born will have the qualities to make them worth selling/buying.

fry can live with each other up to 3 months, maybe more. it all depends on their temperament. Most of my spawn was jarred at 2 months. the runts still live together another month later.

Water changes... Size and health depend greatly upon this. I left the water for the first couple of weeks, after that it was 25% every 3 days or less trying to be careful not to suck fry up (you will anyway, it happens) after about a month i went up to 50% every 2 or 3 days.

Personally I was pretty lucky in my spawn. All made it to adulthood, and most of them are breeding quality (I don't think any except 3 of the 40 i've sold were for pets) and i've made probably just enough to recoup my initial investment, and not really going to be much over that when all is said and done.

 

[Fluval]

Ugh.. jars are expensive too.. now I really have no idea what to do..

 

[Fluval]

Well, I'm going to be using these:
http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?aquariums005&1337958002

I won't need heaters since it gets pretty hot in Pennsylvania, about 82 to 90 degrees daily in the summer, sometimes even up to 95 degrees. Even in late August or early September it is still about 75 to 80 degrees. I'm getting $100 on the first of the month, and I have $5 on me right now, so I will have a total of $105. I'm going to be buying cups, two bettas, microworms, 10 gallon tank, three sponge filters, air pump, indian almond leaves, etc.. My prices are as below:
Cups: $15 - http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?aquariums005&1337958002
Two bettas (going to have to use PetSmart ones): $10
Microworms (culture on Amazon): Only $1 - http://www.amazon.com/Live-Microwor...X23Y/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1337546950&sr=8-2
Sponge Filters: $10 - http://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Bioc...s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1337547058&sr=1-10
10 Gallon Tank: $25 - http://www.amazon.com/OCEANIC-SYSTE...?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1337547089&sr=1-8
Air pump: $7 - http://www.amazon.com/gp/cart/view-upsell.html?ie=UTF8&HUCT=1&newItems=C3O79TVXHB0URB,1
Indian Almond Leaves: $2 - http://www.amazon.com/Indian-Almond...6C7G/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1337547152&sr=8-2

Comes to about $85 with shipping. Already have TetraMin mini floating pellets.

 

[KadenJames]

Building a barrack takes a little investing, time & patients to set up. I'm still building mine from last summer cause I'm still trying to figure out the pipe lines and I'm building it from scratch. There are no instruction manual when building your barracks, it takes a lot of study to build your own system. Unless your rich and have a professional tank specialist set in up for you. So far I've invested almost $1,200 in a my system, The lighting and filtration system will grab you by your pocket the most and that's not including the electric & utility bill...:shock:

I agree, expensive expensive expensive. Luckily I will be well able to afford the costs of everything, and I will have the assistance of my amazing man and his skills in construction and wiring. xD I've gotten instructions from several breeders on their setups, and have found the most efficient route for me. Definitely not for everyone, but for us breeders who require the best organization and efficiency as possible, its a crucial installment. Luckily I have a while to continue planning.

 

[jeffegg2]

Ugh.. jars are expensive too.. now I really have no idea what to do..

I buy one gallon square plastic jars from walmart for 3 bucks each. They have the quart size for about 2. You have to be consistant and buy out their entire stock then wait for them to restock.... In Thailand I see them using 2 liter pop bottles with the tops cut off for cheap jars.

Jeff.

 

[jeffegg2]

Two bettas (going to have to use PetSmart ones): $10

Well, there goes any profit... You will never sell petsmart 5 dollar bettas... Best you will do is trade them to petsmart for fishfood credit.


Jeff.:-(

 

[Fluval]

Well, there goes any profit... You will never sell petsmart 5 dollar bettas... Best you will do is trade them to petsmart for fishfood credit.


Jeff.:-(

Really? Even if they're nice crowntails? I would buy from AquaBid if shipping wasn't $30.

 

[KadenJames]

To get quality you have to breed quality. :/ it ends up being less expensive in the end for you, because breeding pet store bettas results in offspring that you can only give away, or have to continue housing permanently. Breeding quality results in offspring that other breeders will buy, so long as they have good form and genetics. You don't know the genetic history of a pet store fish, so you never know what you're going to get and it often results in deformed, runty fry.

 

[Fluval]

To get quality you have to breed quality. :/ it ends up being less expensive in the end for you, because breeding pet store bettas results in offspring that you can only give away, or have to continue housing permanently. Breeding quality results in offspring that other breeders will buy, so long as they have good form and genetics. You don't know the genetic history of a pet store fish, so you never know what you're going to get and it often results in deformed, runty fry.

Dang... I need more time to get more money, then it will be colder, I'm going to have heating issues... ugh..

 

[KadenJames]

Betta breeding is expensive, unfortunately no way around it. :/