Thinking on breeding betta...

Since getting back into betta and been studying their behavior. My bf and I are considering breeding Holly with the new guy when he is ready. I have the time and the money to at least try once to see if we can breed quality betta for the future. I know Holly is close to a year but she is always full of eggs. Wouldn't Holly feel relieved to not be full of eggs?
The new guy isn't quite 3 mos old yet. I may get some more females to try with him just as a back up. A Platinum white DDR CT male has lots of potential, any mix would be awesome with him. There is so much in breeding betta compared to cichlids.

My issues with getting into breeding betta are:
1. putting the betta thru the breeding thing...do I want to risk losing one? Or ruin their fins? My bf doesn't get attached to fish. I do.

2. Culling? Can I do it?

3. 4 Cats and lots of betta little tanks. They could easily upset a betta set up here. Jumping etc...

4. Can we sell the fry/babies or will we end up with all kinds of betta tanks? If our fish store was anywhere near close to opening, I'd have no problems at all.
5. Understanding genetics?
I really want some more experience breeding fish since this is what we are planning to do once my boyfriend finished business management next year. We've got to get some more experience. Maybe I should get some more females with breeding in mind not more pets.
There is just some much to think about. I would like anyone's in put especially if you've bred betta yourself.
I may sound like I am babbling a bit but I really am thinking on this. BUT not rushing until I feel 100% confident we can handle the task.

 

HI Allie,
IMO you have a lot going on right now with all your cichlid fry and taking care of all those tanks. Should you really start into this venture? I'm just thinking about all the upkeep and care that goes into breeding Bettas. You make some good arguments against the idea, such as how would you feel if your bettas fins get ripped or they get hurt?
Would you really be able to cull any out?
The thing about Bettas as you know.. is that these are not fry that can go into one large tank and be happy, such as when your other fry get big and they can live together in a tank. So what do you do with all those betta fry? If you cannot find homes for them, you will be the one that has to make a tough decision and I don't think that you want to cull any out.. :-\
Do you want to keep juvI bettas in little cups either? I know that you wouldnt want to do that either, so there goes a whole lot more tanks that you would have to find room for.
I'm just playing devils advocate here so that you have some other ideas to think about.
I understand the idea of breeding some white CTs have got you thinking... I just think that once you have your fish store you will be in a better position to handle the idea of trying your hand at breeding bettas.
But this is just my opinion.. and you certainly know what you and your BF can handle taking on... ;D

 

Does Holly always look like she has eggs? If she 'poops' them out or absorbs them, she should go down at times.

1) If you have everything read, a carefully done breeding can go well and have little to minimal injuries. Their personalities would also factor into this.

2) Culling would be tough for us to do. We'd probably try to sell the culls that were healthy to a LFS.

3) I think with cats around, you'd have to have a room set aside for this, with the door always closed and keep them from darting in when going inside. Especially with the 100,200, maybe more jars with swimming snacks in them.

4) Uncertain. Given Holly's coloring and unknown bloodlines, the breeding could throw about anything so it's hard to say how many, if any, could be sold on aquabid, etc. leaving the rest needing to be sold to local stores.

5) An experienced Splendens breeder could be more specific. I think you posted about breeding Holly due to her fin type but as far as Bettas go, she's a "mutt", most pet store bettas are - hence the unpredictability of what they'd throw.

Honestly, I wouldn't breed her with that male. All the setup costs.. tanks, jars, bs hatcheries, meds, vitamins, conditioner, filters, a room heater, shelving, etc, etc.. could easily go 1000, 2000 dollars or more.. so the best chance of recovering the setup costs is to throw Bettas that can be sold for good money. You might want to find a white translucent or opaque female.. high odds there of throwing some top dollar young.

 

Thanks guys. Yeah I was wondering about the pet store female with a properly bred one. The male won't be ready to breed for a few more months anyway. I have been reading up more on it and it's not happening anytime soon. BUT I am attempting it when we are closer to opening the store.
Every thing you both have said, I've said myself. To feed the little buggers could get really expensive.They are fussy babies, so you should have every types of worm, brine shrimp all live for them. You have to wait until they are 3-4 months old to even sell them.
It is quite the ordeal. Which obviously if I am questioning it...I am not ready.

Holly is always fat...sometimes smaller but she is a chubby girl. She poops and I don't feed her a lot.
More input is still welcomed. It'll make for an interesting betta discussion.

 

She's similiar in lines to our Kairi. I think some females just have lines like that, especially as they get into the middle years for bettas.

 

I just read this guys betta spawning site. He spend $2003 on breeding his betta, with more failures than success. 11 times he tried to breed different pairs. LFS betta too.

 

Wow..

 

Wow..

Well, maybe some day for Allie, too! A labor of love and usually not a money-making proposition. But we all love our bettas so much that it's easy to be lulled into the dream of becoming responsible breeders. I don't think I'll ever get there, but Dave & Stacy, and independently Allie just might!

 

LOL.. thanks.. and you're right.. it is a labor of love. The main goal would be to find them all homes, but it would be great to breed a beautiful Betta like Allie's new Betta boy.. especially if they could be sold on aquabid, etc.. I couldn't cull them lethally, so we'd have a LOT of Bettas if we couldn't sell them.

 

Hi!

Maybe, once this batch of cichlid fry is done - you could try breeding gouramis? Just as a bit of a taster, not nearly as hard as Betta but rearing the fry must be pretty similar. (Except - you don't have to separate the fry!) You might feel a bit more confident if you'd bred another Bubble nester.

 

Hi!

Maybe, once this batch of cichlid fry is done - you could try breeding gouramis? Just as a bit of a taster, not nearly as hard as Betta but rearing the fry must be pretty similar. (Except - you don't have to separate the fry!) You might feel a bit more confident if you'd bred another Bubble nester.

Not a fan of gouramis. And we have 4 more batches of african fry on the way. African cichlids constantly breed, so there really won't be any room for other fry, not for a long time. We're doing the african breeding thing first but eventually will try betta. Now that I have a connection in the betta breeders world & can come across well bred betta. I have access to pairs for the future. I am reading up on it as much as possible. But if it really cost $1000s I don't know if this will happen until we get the store going.

 

Not a fan of gouramis. And we have 4 more batches of african fry on the way. African cichlids constantly breed, so there really won't be any room for other fry, not for a long time. We're doing the african breeding thing first but eventually will try betta. Now that I have a connection in the betta breeders world & can come across well bred betta. I have access to pairs for the future. I am reading up on it as much as possible. But if it really cost $1000s I don't know if this will happen until we get the store going.

Hi!

I wish I could try Africans... You are opening a store?! Cool! I'm not a huge Gourami guy either after watching my Dwarfs (Who died... No idea why - everything was perfect?) sit around and do nothing.

 

The operative words are "Except you don't have to separate the fry" That is one huge and absolute difference. That is one of the main differences that make it so hard to breed bettas. That is a long time committment to keep all those containers clean.


I think it would be nice to do if you feel you can handle it. It is a big job and huge committment to take on but since you have bred fish before the chances are that you have dealt with big committments before and can make a good go of it.

The little CT male would be a lovely fish to have offspring from. I do not know if I would breed him but with the very finest female you can find to do it with. Your chances of finding homes for the fry will be greater when it is time to do it. Although I do love Holly and think she is gorgeous.

Rose

 

The operative words are "Except you don't have to separate the fry" That is one huge and absolute difference. That is one of the main differences that make it so hard to breed bettas. That is a long time committment to keep all those containers clean.


I think it would be nice to do if you feel you can handle it. It is a big job and huge committment to take on but since you have bred fish before the chances are that you have dealt with big committments before and can make a good go of it.

The little CT male would be a lovely fish to have offspring from. I do not know if I would breed him but with the very finest female you can find to do it with. Your chances of finding homes for the fry will be greater when it is time to do it. Although I do love Holly and think she is gorgeous.

Rose

I was told he won't be ready for breeding for awhile...he is tiny. Tee hee.
I think trying him with Holly would there probably would be lots of issues with the babies. She isn't the uptown girl needed for my new guy. Now if I can find him some well bred females in a few months. Who knows? All I know is commitment is the key word here.

 

Hi!

I wish I could try Africans... You are opening a store?! Cool! I'm not a huge Gourami guy either after watching my Dwarfs (Who died... No idea why - everything was perfect?) sit around and do nothing.

Eventually yes my bf and I are opening a fish store, but not like all the rest either. Breeding our own fish or getting fish from people who breed locally. It's not happing for a long time tho. The bf is taking business management and isn't finished that for a awhile.

 

I wish it was easier getting fish across the border. We'd love to turn the place into a breeding paradise and be one of your suppliers.

 

I wish it was easier getting fish across the border. We'd love to turn the place into a breeding paradise and be one of your suppliers.

I know, stupid border laws.

 

Eventually yes my bf and I are opening a fish store, but not like all the rest either. Breeding our own fish or getting fish from people who breed locally. It's not happing for a long time tho. The bf is taking business management and isn't finished that for a awhile.

Hi!

If it was easier to get critters accross the pond I'd give you a lifetime supply of RCS and Bumblebee shrimp!

 

Hi!

If it was easier to get critters accross the pond I'd give you a lifetime supply of RCS and Bumblebee shrimp!