Betta breeding setup. Help/advice

[bm5424]

I want to breed bettas. I've tried twice and have succeeded yet. I've gotten eggs once they never hatch though due to a fungus attack and then I had 2 unsuccessful pair. I'm planning on getting 2 males and 2 females to raise the odds off getting a pair. Or should I get 5 females and home them all in my 20 and choose the best put off the group after conditioning together. I just need some help ob my setup. I've got 4 tanks, a 5,10,20 and 55 gal. Plus small tanks and jars for males. Which tank should be used for which.

 

[Andy Sager]

I want to breed bettas. I've tried twice and have succeeded yet. I've gotten eggs once they never hatch though due to a fungus attack and then I had 2 unsuccessful pair. I'm planning on getting 2 males and 2 females to raise the odds off getting a pair. Or should I get 5 females and home them all in my 20 and choose the best put off the group after conditioning together. I just need some help ob my setup. I've got 4 tanks, a 5,10,20 and 55 gal. Plus small tanks and jars for males. Which tank should be used for which.

Below is how I breed Bettas commercially. As far as how many to have, in reality, not all females will breed with all males so the more choices you have the better. That's not to say that your first male and female won't breed so it's really your choice on how many you want to take care of . If you are going to house the females together, make sure you use a larger tank with lots of hiding places because females WILL FIGHT with each other when they are not raised together.
For me, I would save the 20 and 55 for the young fish to be put in so that they grow faster. When to move them is determined by what size you breed in. I know many breeders that take the entire nest before the eggs hatch and place multiple nests in bigger tanks or vats so that they don't have to clean so many tanks. I'm a 1 tank per spawn kind of guy
I breed Bettas this way:
Condition the potential pair by adding higher protein foods like Bloodworms or Black Worms to their normal diet for approx. 1 week. Female should be nice and round with the first egg showing at her ovipositor.

Tank with new water and no filter-Covered to keep humidity in, water 80-82 degrees, Water height- no more than 6 inches. (I use anything from clear shoe box trays to bowls to glass tanks for spawning tanks. The water height is what's more important.) Some tubes such as PVC fittings or piping or other hiding places for the female along the bottom. I usually have 3 to 4 of these in the tank.

Male loose in tank- Female in glass jar, I use a piece of Romain lettuce leaf roughly 2" square for the male to build his nest. ( As the lettuce starts to deteriorate, infusoria cultures begin to happen.) You can substitute live floating plants for the lettuce.
Assuming your fish have been conditioned, Males build nest within 24-36 hours, Females show breeding colors almost immediately, If female does not "challenge" the male when he flairs at her, she is most likely not ready for breeding. (My females flair their gill plates right back at the males.)
If all signs point to a compatible pair, I release the female in the morning.
I've had spawns happen as quickly as 45 minutes after introduction to 7 days later. (Note that if the male is highly aggressive, I will put the female back in the jar at night for their protection.) Once spawning is completed, the female is removed. Male cares for the eggs and fry. The male comes out the day before the fry are free swimming.

Rearing fry:
I don't usually start my fry with infusoria other than what was in the tank from the lettuce. I start hatching setup for live brine shrimp the day the fry start free swimming so that they are newly hatched by day 2. (PM me for more instructions on hatching out brine if you need it.)
At about 7-10 days old, I start a sponge filter with very little air (Fry are very sensitive to water movement.) I seed the sponge prior to using it to have a "cycled" filter instantly.

From this point on, it's feeding and careful water changes to get them to grow.

Feel free to PM me if you need more help with these fish

Hope this helps...

 

[Harry Vysekal]

Awesome mate thnx for your big help I'll let u know how it is coming on withe them cos I brought 3 new males and 3 females ending up with 4 pairs in 100l tank separated into 4 slots using black dividers and mu super red male had been building quit a big nest already