My Betta Spawning Journal!

1.) After the male built the bubblenest:



2.) HI'm showing off under the bubble nest:



3.) HI'm showing off to Kenda:



4.) A little bit of chasing:



5.) Beggining of the embrace:



6.) Next:



7.) Further (sorry for bad quality):



8.) And a little bit more :roll: :



9.) After the embrace, Kenda is stunned:



10.) Both of them searching for dropped eggs after Kenda has recovered:



The fry hatched yesterday morning, too small to take pics of though (I will add some to the fry gallery too) Any hints or suggestions appreciated, this is my first breeding attempt.

(Oh and if this should be somewhere else, please move it)

Jacko ;D

 

Wow...


Nice pictures... truely nice pictures.

 

congrats on the spawning!

do you have your mason jars or beanie baby boxes setup for all the males? and a 55 gallon for them to grow out in until you separate the males (and females if they get old enough)? how are you going to be selling them?

 

Wow, cool pics!

 

Congrats.
Tom

 

congrats on the spawning!

do you have your mason jars or beanie baby boxes setup for all the males? and a 55 gallon for them to grow out in until you separate the males (and females if they get old enough)? how are you going to be selling them?

I plan on keeping them in some of those desposible glad tuppaware containers. I have a 29, 10 and 20 free for them to grow up in, I will separate any bettas accordingly like that. As for selling, Most will go to anyone that lives close enough will be able to get one and the rest will go to my favorite LFS that sill keep them well.

Thanks everyone! They are freeswimming, about 40-50 of them , trying to get some pics.

Thanks
Jacko

 

O0 cool. they are such fun to watch growing.

 

Your so lucky.
Tom

 

HEre are some pics of my fry, just a few of them though.

 

GAH! I want your camera.

 

GAH! I want your camera.

It is an olympus 4 (or something like that), it was my dads but he ggave it to me for my tank picture purposes (he is a professional photographer)

 

It is an olympus 4 (or something like that), it was my dads but he ggave it to me for my tank picture purposes (he is a professional photographer)

Could you get him to send one to me? lol
Tom

 

betta fry

;D cute little betta fry! what are you feeding them?

 

I feed them infusoria, I have 3 cultures going and as soon they get a little bigger they will get microworms, then planeria and BBS.

 

sounds good! ;D

 

New pic!!! Here is one of the fry at 2 or 3 weeks old:

 

wow...looking good...where do you live?

...nvm, just saw it under your avatar...little too far for me to buy one from you

 

looks like they're coming along nicely. ;D

 

They have finally become bolderand are willing to venture out of the brush. More pics soon, I think there are about 5 of em, maybe more I don't know yet.

 

cool!

They have finally become bolderand are willing to venture out of the brush. More pics soon, I think there are about 5 of em, maybe more I don't know yet.

 

They are growing fast! Though there is one that exceeds all others.

 

;D coming along good, looks like all the fins are forming now.

They are growing fast! Though there is one that exceeds all others.

 

too cute...are they veiltails?

 

Yep, hopefully cellos too.
There is one that I can actually get a clear pic of. I have to upload it today/soon.

 

I probably won't make it to that point, but if I did, I have a couple of questions:

1. The female must show her "I'm ready bars" before anything, or something like that. Is the male always prepared to spawn, or is he in need of conditioning as well?

2. The father must build a bubble nest prior to anything. Dusty began making his, but is not even a quarter of an inch wide, long, or anything. It seems as if he's given up. Is there any way to re-stimulate reproductional instincts through foods and stuff?

3. As fry, will males be quarrelsome? Somewhere I read if males are form the same spawn, they will not attack each other because they've grown up together. True?

 

are you planning to bread bettas? I hope not...
if you aren't then please excuse me and disregard the below comment:

to bread bettas you need thousands of dollars in equipment, and hours of daily work to do it successfully. Not mentioning the space and effort included, as well as the danger that the girl and boy will end up killing each other.

bettasneed to have have an incredible amount of conditioning... and have TONS of offspring that end up needing each their own container, daily water changes, special food and heating. Also a huge tank for the boy and the girl with a special conditioning routine that will not always be successful... and yes, they WILL attack each other.

take a look at this:

 

Breeding Betta isn't NOT for the average fish keeper. Personally I wouldn't recommend it.
No the fry will have to be separated as soon as they start showing their sexes. You can have to 10-500 babies depending on how successful a spawning is. Betta fry can be very fussy eaters and cost a lot in live food.
Sometimes females raised together can work out in a 30 gallon +. Lots of frozen blood worm gets any fish ready to spawn.

 

Just as a sidenote: We have a friend in the Atlanta Area Aquarium Association that breeds them in a 10 gallon tank with very little financially invest, and has been quite successful. I do, however, agree that it is not for someone who isn't willing to put lots of work into conditioning the adults and caring for the fry if they are successful. If you are serious enough about it that you go through with it I would hope that, success or failure let us know how it turned out for you and what steps you took.


EDIT: I should have said very little invested financially in the adults to do the breeding, but you still have to house the fry until they are sexable then separate and sell off potentially hundreds of fish. Also, if you have a common color variety what sets your fry off from the bettas they sell for $2 at the local pet store, to most people? (Quality is the answer to that rhetorical question, but the problem with the common color strains is having to undersell the other guy/gal selling common color variety #1.) If it were me, I would invest in a very uncommon color strain of very high quality after you learn to breed them, of course. But again, all of this is assuming you take the time-consuming road to breeding bettas.

 

Just as a sidenote: We have a friend in the Atlanta Area Aquarium Association that breeds them in a 10 gallon tank with very little financially invest, and has been quite successful. I do, however, agree that it is not for someone who isn't willing to put lots of work into conditioning the adults and caring for the fry if they are successful. If you are serious enough about it that you go through with it I would hope that, success or failure let us know how it turned out for you and what steps you took.


EDIT: I should have said very little invested financially in the adults to do the breeding, but you still have to house the fry until they are sexable then separate and sell off potentially hundreds of fish. Also, if you have a common color variety what sets your fry off from the bettas they sell for $2 at the local pet store, to most people? (Quality is the answer to that rhetorical question, but the problem with the common color strains is having to undersell the other guy/gal selling common color variety #1.) If it were me, I would invest in a very uncommon color strain of very high quality after you learn to breed them, of course. But again, all of this is assuming you take the time-consuming road to breeding bettas.

Ones without any red coloring in them at all seem to be a breeders goal these days. Coopers, gold and platinum are the colors talked about. Dragons without red in them at all is a big goal right now. Dragons are the most popular right now. Halfmoon, Delta/Super delta, and HM Plakats are big sellers on Aquabid.

 

are you planning to bread bettas? I hope not...

Why not? If a person can get everything they need together, why should a person not try to breed bettas? TFA said "I probably won't get to that point," which suggests to me that the knowledge of the difficulty is there.

I think that, regarding betta breeding, we've become far too quick to make assumptions. I have seen a few instances of people asking a simple question about breeding bettas and being deluged with "you don't have the equipment/time/etc..." instead of "do you have the equipment/time/etc?"

 

I've pondered the thought through my head many times....I'm in a position that allows me all the time needed to care for the fry...I would love to hear some success stories regarding Betta breeding....I think it would be so rewarding to be able to raise fry and produce some beautiful specimines....

 

Why not? If a person can get everything they need together, why should a person not try to breed bettas? TFA said "I probably won't get to that point," which suggests to me that the knowledge of the difficulty is there.

I think that, regarding betta breeding, we've become far too quick to make assumptions. I have seen a few instances of people asking a simple question about breeding bettas and being deluged with "you don't have the equipment/time/etc..." instead of "do you have the equipment/time/etc?"

since i've been here, seems like the people asking about breeding are the ones who are just learning about getting their first bettas. I think that's why they get the immediate negative comments. I think the fish newbies think, ah a male....a female...babies!!! and have no idea what's involved.

I think if an experienced betta keeper like Karen or someone asked, then maybe the experts would be much more open to guiding her.

I in no way percieve myself an expert, i'm still very much a beginner and learning every day. we try to learn and make sure we don't put our fish in danger along the way.

 

I agree with Sirdarksol, and my reasons are as follows...

1) This is one of the few hobbies that your status in life doesn't really matter. A billionaire has to learn the same information and keeps fish the same basic ways (perhaps a little more fancy but ultimately the same) as any of the rest of us.
2) We have no idea the life situation of even the up and comers in the hobby. I know that the majority are young adults or children that don't have access to the things/money/time to properly do many of the more intense fishkeeping tasks, but there are still other types that get into the hobby.

For reason 1 we can't just assume that people do not have access to the equipment. For reason 2 we can not assume that they do not have the time or ability to learn quickly enough to do whatever it is that they are wanting to do.

Mixing the two reasons is why I agree with Sirdarksol that we should probably ask "Do you have X/X1/X2/etc" rather than "You don't and it is a bad idea."

I am not pointing my statement at anyone in particular, because looking back I've realized that I've often started more skeptical than I should've when answering a "how do I breed Betta Splendins" thread. We are a community that grows together, so we can work together on this.

 

I've been breeding bettas for almost 5 years now. It definitely CAN be done, and done well even on a university student's time and financial budget. However, it is a lot of work, and I've devoted a lot of both time and money I could have spent doing other things on my fish. It's a learning experience and you really have to have a passion for the fish for it to be worth the time and effort, and to know your limits in terms of how many fry you can raise at once, etc. I know I've made mistakes and lost some fish along the way as will anyone starting out, but I've learned a lot and have some beautiful fish to show for it.
It's definitely not for just anyone, and not something to be attempted without preparation and research, but every breeder has to start somewhere. Professional breeders and top IBC breeders at one point had their very first betta and very first spawn.

 

since i've been here, seems like the people asking about breeding are the ones who are just learning about getting their first bettas. I think that's why they get the immediate negative comments. I think the fish newbies think, ah a male....a female...babies!!! and have no idea what's involved.

I think if an experienced betta keeper like Karen or someone asked, then maybe the experts would be much more open to guiding her.

I agree with you...
but...

We aren't here to parent, we're here to guide and to learn.
That's why it would be better, in my opinion, to just politely let people know what they need.
If we just say "you shouldn't do that because you don't have the knowledge/equipment," there are people whose response would be "Well I'll show them that I can do it." These same people are more likely to look at a politely stated list of equipment, skills, and time, and say "Holy cow! There's no way I can do this!" I know this because I'm one of those people.

 

well, I don't think I'll be breeding bettas for a long time

 

I've been breeding bettas for almost 5 years now. It definitely CAN be done, and done well even on a university student's time and financial budget. However, it is a lot of work, and I've devoted a lot of both time and money I could have spent doing other things on my fish. It's a learning experience and you really have to have a passion for the fish for it to be worth the time and effort, and to know your limits in terms of how many fry you can raise at once, etc. I know I've made mistakes and lost some fish along the way as will anyone starting out, but I've learned a lot and have some beautiful fish to show for it.
It's definitely not for just anyone, and not something to be attempted without preparation and research, but every breeder has to start somewhere. Professional breeders and top IBC breeders at one point had their very first betta and very first spawn.

Pandora, would you be willing to converse with me about breeding betta splendens in greater depth whether that be on a public thread or by private e-mail? I am interested in getting the higher quality, less common colors that Dino and I have invested in going, and so far have chickened out when the aggressive behavior started. It is nice to have a well established breeder on the site.

 

Yes, I'd be quite happy to help you out and answer any questions you might have. I know how scary it can be until you sort of get used to it! My first time I moved the poor girl in and out and in and out so many times both of them must've been incredibly confused... until she decided enough was enough and hopped the divider!
It really is incredible to watch them grow from little specks to finned beauties, kind of addictive really, especially if you have a bit of an interest in genetics.

 

I'd be appreciative if such a discussion occurred in the public forum, as I do have an interest in genetics, but I cannot afford to breed bettas right now, so I've got to live vicariously through the rest of you. ;D

 

I'd be appreciative if such a discussion occurred in the public forum, as I do have an interest in genetics, but I cannot afford to breed bettas right now, so I've got to live vicariously through the rest of you. ;D

Me too;D
CwC when you get ready to do this you could do a progressive article in the fishhouse blog step by step and with pics of course.
Carol