Diggly

Right i have 3 bettas in a 20 g tank


hahaha how many of your hearts jumped then? admit it!!


But seriously I have divided my 20g tank and bought 1 male and 1 female, I have the female in the middle and there is little to no flaring which I am happy about.

I have noticed though that Randy seems to be stopping randomly when he sees her and sticking his fins out, it is like looking at a photo he just stays so still!! He has also been building huge bubble nests frantically so am I right in thinking that he likes her? or at least thinks of her as a potential mate?

Both randy and the girl are such beautiful colours that it would be awesome if I could get little fishy babies (the other male is a bright yellow colour and pics are to follow!!) Randy is blue and purple and the girl has a white body with a pink and purple tail and one of the most adorable faces (I am biased of course!!

My main concern with breeding them is space, I know I need to pull out males to stop them tearing each other apart if I do decide to go and get a breeding tank but I am in a flat so space limits the amount of extra tanks or whatever I would need to hold them whilst they were growing up for their forever homes.

Basically I would love advice on how I can seperate them out while taking up as little space as possible and I dont have a ton of money to spend on it all so cost effective would also be good! I would also like to consider the maximum amount of fry I could expect to survive, I would rather be over prepared than under prepared

The LFS would take them in for food and store credit so that is all sorted if I do go ahead with it.

- I think that is everything!


I look forward to your replies!

Martinismommy

Bettas are one fish I would never breed for store credit....There is far too much involved and it is very time consuming....Not worth what you would get for store credit....

Another thing to consider is just because they are pretty colors does not make them worthy of breeding....

Diggly

No I agree with you and I dont believe they are breeder quality, but I thought it would be a good place to start and the store I was considering will look after the bettas (they dont put them in cups they have tanks and they feed the bloodworms and pellets etc) if I was unable to find them a good home.

I understand it is time consuming and what is involved, I would never breed any animal lightly without doing research. I am just starting at square one to make sure I have absolutely everything covered.

Martinismommy

OK, that's a great start....Next you may want to think about culturing live microworms and hatching baby brine shrimp......This is also time consuming and sometimes smelly lol A spawn can produce up to 500 fry.....My spawns usually end up with at least 100 that live....Depending on how many males there are you may need 100 jars.....Don't forget the jars have to have water changes at least 3 times a week because they have no filter.....Also consider the temp in the room....Bettas need to be kept at a steady 78 degrees....They don't doo well in the cold....

Sound like fun yet?

Diggly

I have already considered all of this and I have been sourcing places for live microworms and brine shrimp, but really that was my next step in finding out which people preferred to feed.

I would do water changes daily per jar if it was needed, I had a litter of rats which unfortunately lost their mother and I managed to keep 6 out of the twelve alive by doing feedings every hour on the hour (I had my alarm set during nights) using a syringe without a needle and high protein kitten milk.

when it comes to animals I do not mess around and I know it is a life and is not dispensible. I also have a diploma in animal care which I gained a distinction but unfortunately it did not cover much on fish.

I am 24 years old I am not a child and I have not taken this decision lightly.

what sort of size jars would you recommend?

Martinismommy

I use 1/2 gallon containers...I don't think it takes a degree to breed bettas I just know it takes time and commitment...

Can you post photo's of the pair you are thinking about spawning?

Diggly

no I know it doesnt take a degree, I was just trying to show that I am serious about animals and their welfare. I know alot of people dive in and regret it after.

I will try and get a picture of the pair now and post it .

Martinismommy

Here is a look inside my fishroom..There are different phases Bettas go through so you will see many different size jars Etc..

When you 1st remove the males they go into a smaller container..These get water change DAILY......

Diggly

Honestly I was expecting daily water changes on all the size jars. Pics to come in the next thread hopefully but they arent very good as it was a camera phone.

I cant see your fish room .

One more questions about the jars, I know to do water changes with a turkey baster and I will be getting a couple, I was thinking of making up a colour coding sticker system or something to keep track of jars, also the jars stay bare bottomed right? and I am guessing that the daily water changes account for the tank not being cycled. I will order in some prime to help detoxify any ammonia produced is there anything else I should put on my check list?

Martinismommy

I do 100% water changes....I'll try and get a video of my proceedure up for you to view......

My PC crashed...I'll try again to post pics of the fishroom.....

Martinismommy

Diggly

right pics here:

this is Randy he is the male I am considering breeding, not just for coloring but his temperament (He eats out of my fingers) and he seems very interested by blowing the bubble nests but I could of course be wrong .

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Diggly

This is Leela, I think she is too young yet so I have time to prepare and decide if I am 100% going to do it.

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Martinismommy

Different stages of development call for different things....Here's a closer look.....

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Diggly

finally we have Fry (yes I have a futurama thing going on with the 2 new ones!!)

Honestly he seems a bit ragged but I feel in love with him in the pet shop and he has really perked up since then.

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Martinismommy

I'm going to be very blunt here.....That is NOT a a pair I'd breed.....He is a CT and she looks like a VT.....The outcome will not be desireable.....

Diggly

I had a feeling she might be a different type which is another reason I wanted to ask!

I am still going to consider sourcing a good crowntail female and if she does turn out to be a vt then a vt male for a different tank of course!

Martinismommy

I hate being so harsh about this but I'm a very serious breeder of Bettas...I will help you in any way I can....Fell free to ask any questions you may have....One thing I can suggest is don't breed veailtails..There are far too many being bred and they can't find good homes...The crowntails would be where I would focus if I were you...

Diggly

I would rather you were harsh I hate people who step around the truth!! and I really do appreciate it .

I have always loved bettas but seeing yours has really inspired me, its just a shame I cant find any as beautiful as yours in the uk.

I will try and source a CT female over here and then wait until I have enough jars and containers (I doubt 100 will survive first go but I would rather get 100 and not need them) then give it a proper go.

My bf has won a few contracts business wise and if it kicks off I can leave my job and be home based working with him which also means I can give this my full dedication.

Martinismommy

Good luck...PM me if you have any further questions.......When it is all said and done hopefully you will have produced a beautiful betta...

Red1313

MM: Glad to get a tour of your shoe
Diggly: I know you've already changed your mind but I thought I'd show you what a VTxCT looks like.



I love him for his colors but he looks like he's always suffering from fin rot.
Best of luck in your future breeding endeavors

fishtroy

Hi! The thing I would consider when attempting breeding is what happens when things go wrong. I have heard tales of death resulting from breeding attempts.
I myself have made several attempts at breeding. I have not had any fatalities but only two couples out of about 10 tried ever resulted in any eggs. Of these two one couple Patroclus & Penelope managed to rather quickly hit it off and get eggs but within seconds things turned ugly. Penelope the girl surprisingly turned into a meanie and attacked Patroclus. He fought her off but his once long beautiful fins got very badly shredded and his ego was never quite the same. Of the other pair Aeolus & Iphigenia, they had great success and got to one day old hatchlings. But he got sick of caring for them and just gave up, I think he grew too tired. That is my breeding attempt stories. Give it a go if you wish, but please watch them carefully, things can quickly get ugly and I know you do not wish your darling fishies to get harmed.

Diggly

I know things can get ugly that is why I was hoping to breed the ct and the girl, which I wont be doing now as they arent both cts. the reason I considered those 2 was they show no aggression towards each other through the divider and the male has started building bubble nests.

I would keep the breeder tank bare bottom but I have read having soft fake plants in there can provide shelter for them after rest to prevent attacks.

I really am considering every angle possible to try and make it as stress free as possible for both me and the fish the first time around.

I wont be attempting it for at least 2 more months while I do further research and make sure everything is covered and if the worst does happen I will be there to step in straight away and have vitachem etc to hand just in case.

fishtroy

I'm glad they seem to get along, I had two like that once but I never got to breed them. Osiris & Rhea would spend all day staring at each other. I thought for a while I should have called them Pirimus & Thisbe if you know the story.