Betta Tank

[powellmacaque]

I've had a cool looking pet store bought White/Maroon pastel colored Betta for a few weeks in a little one gallon bowl, and decided that I should venture into the world of breeding. I went to the pet store, bought a 5½ gallon reptile tank without a canopy, some natural brown colored gravel, two female bettas (one is an orangish color and one is purple). I also purchased an amazon sword plant for decoration. I have the females in a breeder's net and the male roaming free in the 5 gallon. What should I do now? I am not breeding for show fish or anything like that, and I am going to stop breeding after one successful spawn. Can somebody explain to me in idiot's terms what to do next? I have set a non-toxic bush leaf afloat on top of the tank for a bubble nest (which has already started after only about two hours of being in the tank). I also have a little bubbler, but no filter. I will post pictures of my male later, as I am very proud of this guy, whether a show judge likes him or not.

 

[powellmacaque]

Theres a picture of my betta. Could somebody tell me what kind of betta that is (coloration and tail type). Also keep in mind the previous questions.

 

[naturestee]

He's a veil tail, I'm not really up on my colors. Looks like a variation of Cambodian to me.

You might be able to find it by flipping through stock photos on http://www.bettatalk.com/ I used to visit it a lot but the site owner has become more chatty than informational lately. Lots of good pics, though.

 

[Emg]

First thing I would do if I were you...is do some heavy online research into what to expect when breeding betta. I did one betta spawn...that was enough for me at least until I can get a decent barracks system..(which won't be anytime soon).

Breeding bettas is alot of work and takes a long time to get them up to sellable/giveaway size. I netted over 200 betta fry in one spawn...and almost ALL of them survived...most were females. It wasn't too bad until I had to start seperating them at about 3-4 months and put them all in thier own little cup....than I had to clean all those little cups every day...not to mention the brine shrimp production...this went on for about ...oh...6-7 months.

I was glad when they were gone, though I did keep 2 females and 2 males...still have em.

I would love to do more breeding of these fish...I Love the variety in color and finnage and it would be fun to work towards a favored color in selective breeding..but, not really practicle unless you are properly setup for it.

I'd say, go for it if you want to...just do LOTS of research. There is plenty of info at the many betta sites online. That's where I went for my info before I dove in...lol...

Have fun Powell.... :dive:

OH ! You need to start with at least a 10 gallon tank...and use a sponge filter....let it run in a tank that is already established if you have one...so there will be a nice healthy bio crop in it for the fry tank.

 

[powellmacaque]

I was actually considering keeping a bulk of the females in a 20-40gal and seeing houw that goes. That might be a bad idea, I don't know I've never had much luck with females at all, they are no where near as hardy as their mail counter parts.

 

[Emg]

lol Powell....I've had just the opposite experience. All the females I've had have been alot hardier than the males....especially concerning thier fins. I've had a few females with dropsy and one with a tumour but generally they fare much better and I have almost no worries where they are concerned.

Some of my males are always having fin issues, even though I keep thier water very clean with regular water changes. Lately I havn't been having much trouble with anyone....started a regular regime with my change water so that it sits for a good 4 days or so before I use it..along with added conditioner/stresscoat. But every once in awhile I'll get one who's fins start to get irritated and shredd a bit...which will usually happen right after a water change. I do have a rather high PH...reads about 7.8-8.0..I'm thinking that may have something to do with it....but who knows. I still love em !

 

[powellmacaque]

Yes, and I don't know if you've noticed, but bettas have quite cool little personalities, mine know who feeds them and who change their water, and they rush to the top of the tank and hang out when I come close.

Also, during the mating "ritual" that happens between bettas, I know it can get a little rough, and the male's fins get tattered. Do the fins (with proper water and feedings) get better with time?

 

[Betta-Gurl]

Yes, and I don't know if you've noticed, but bettas have quite cool little personalities

Yes i have noticed definitly... My bettas have all been trained to actually be hand fed pellets.. i wet my finger put about 2-3 pellets on it then hold my finger just above the surface and they jump at my finger to eat... they are my babys literally!!!

 

[powellmacaque]

Well I went to sleep last night with a very small bubble nest, and the male not even noticing the female, just exchanging looks every now and then. I woke up this morning and there is a HUGE bubblenest that almost extends to the width of the tank, and now the male is flaring up at the femal and defending the nest. Did they spawn already? I am noticing some bubble colored bubbles, and then some whitish colored bubbles, could these be eggs? How do I go about taking the female out without harming the nest? She doesn't seem to be attacking the nest, and the male isnt biting her when she comes close, just flaring up and swimming towards her.

 

[batray girl]

so she was freeswimming out of the breeding net? if you're local, and you have sucess with your spawn, i'd love to swap pictures and maybe even trade some fish to keeps the lines nice and healthy.