Should I try betta breeding?

[Fullmoonnight]

I've done my research on it and have the necessary equipment but all the sites say not breed Veil tails. Personally, to me, veil tails come only second to Rose tails. At the current moment, I have a lovely yellow-blue mustard gas Veil tail male (which I should name ) and a pretty little royal blue female. I've had them for about a month now and they seem very healthy the male is blowing bubble nests in his tank...haha there is no female anywhere in sight for him haha . As this is my first time breeding (any thing at all) I don't want to dish out $80+ shipping to find a Rose tail and I'm not really looking to make much out of this other than a cool experience. Maybe, if I enjoyed it I might consider something more high quality for sale but for a beginner I think my pair are perfect. I'm a university student so my schedule is a little up and down but I can always spare an hour or two a day for pet care. So my question is do you think I should try it? Would it shorten the life span of my gorgeous fish? It's not a big deal if I don't breed them. I just wanted to try it, so your input and experiences are greatly appreciated

 

[biss444]

betta are not hard to breed but raising the fry can be a battle , as the fry are very small and need infersaria to be able to survive, and an air tight top, as the bettas need to be able to develop there air breathing capabilities.

 

[Fullmoonnight]

betta are not hard to breed but raising the fry can be a battle , as the fry are very small and need infersaria to be able to survive, and an air tight top, as the bettas need to be able to develop there air breathing capabilities.

From what I've read, Baby brine shrimp are okay too. For the cool air entering the tank I also read that you can cover then top in cling wrap? My concern right now is something closer to how do you clean the tank with TINY little fry swimming around in it? and if Breeding is detrimental to the fish's health

 

[biss444]

these babies are very small, brine shrimp are to large for their very first food, i had to culture infersaria, if you wanted to do small water changes you would have to set up some kind of siphon tube in tank and another to put water back before you seal the top of the tank, these babies are like half the size of any other fish i bred,

 

[Andy Sager]

From what I've read, Baby brine shrimp are okay too. For the cool air entering the tank I also read that you can cover then top in cling wrap? My concern right now is something closer to how do you clean the tank with TINY little fry swimming around in it? and if Breeding is detrimental to the fish's health

I am still entertained, all these years later, with the " Best first food for Bettas" discussion. The correct answer, based on my own experience, is that BOTH are correct. There is a caviat to this however. Since Betta fry are very small and not all are going to be the same size, you do run the risk of losing your smallest fry when only feeding Live baby brine as a first food should they not be big enough to eat it. This is why some breeders, myself included, do use some infusoria prior to using live brine.
As for cleaning the tank, I use a piece of airline tubing with a piece of rigid tubing at the end to guide the hose when cleaning to try to avoid sucking up fry. It does not always work out so you want to siphon into a container where you can fetch the little buggers and put them back into their tank.

As for health issues, I do not know of any health issues directly relating to breeding HOWEVER, Betta breeding can be a rough sport and the females more often then not take a beating. They are designed to handle it but sometimes an over aggressive male will kill the female. PLUS, the male can have his fins ripped to shreds during the process and they don;t always grow back or grow back in the same shape and condition prior to being shredded. If you want your fish, after the spawn, to look just like they did before the spawn, DON'T BREED THEM.

As for your limited time, Betta fry do not require a lot of time ( at first) but they do require a lot of space. Yes they can be bred in anything from a shoebox to a large tank but the fry need to be spread out as much as possible to have the best chance of growing quickly and not being dominated by the superior siblings. If you don't have the space, you might just be "spinning your wheels."

Lastly, of all the tail forms, Veiltails are the least expensive so they don't fetch a high price when you try to sell them. You do sell more veils than the other varieties but you don't have to sell as many of the "fancy" types to make the same amount of money. Then again, if you don't have a large enough clientel for your fancy types, you will have to hold your fish longer which eats up profits with food, cleaning, meds, etc.

I hope some of this helps. Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions

 

[Fullmoonnight]

I am still entertained, all these years later, with the " Best first food for Bettas" discussion. The correct answer, based on my own experience, is that BOTH are correct. There is a caviat to this however. Since Betta fry are very small and not all are going to be the same size, you do run the risk of losing your smallest fry when only feeding Live baby brine as a first food should they not be big enough to eat it. This is why some breeders, myself included, do use some infusoria prior to using live brine.
As for cleaning the tank, I use a piece of airline tubing with a piece of rigid tubing at the end to guide the hose when cleaning to try to avoid sucking up fry. It does not always work out so you want to siphon into a container where you can fetch the little buggers and put them back into their tank.

As for health issues, I do not know of any health issues directly relating to breeding HOWEVER, Betta breeding can be a rough sport and the females more often then not take a beating. They are designed to handle it but sometimes an over aggressive male will kill the female. PLUS, the male can have his fins ripped to shreds during the process and they don;t always grow back or grow back in the same shape and condition prior to being shredded. If you want your fish, after the spawn, to look just like they did before the spawn, DON'T BREED THEM.

As for your limited time, Betta fry do not require a lot of time ( at first) but they do require a lot of space. Yes they can be bred in anything from a shoebox to a large tank but the fry need to be spread out as much as possible to have the best chance of growing quickly and not being dominated by the superior siblings. If you don't have the space, you might just be "spinning your wheels."

Lastly, of all the tail forms, Veiltails are the least expensive so they don't fetch a high price when you try to sell them. You do sell more veils than the other varieties but you don't have to sell as many of the "fancy" types to make the same amount of money. Then again, if you don't have a large enough clientel for your fancy types, you will have to hold your fish longer which eats up profits with food, cleaning, meds, etc.

I hope some of this helps. Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions

Thank you for your very informative reply! Infusoria seem even easier to make than BBS! How long do they last? Should I start it now or wait till the eggs are almost laid?

Airline tubing...like the one that you put on airpumps?!

I think I'm the most worried about that. Those beautiful fins....What are the chances that his offspring would have a colour combination like him? I was thinking that I might let them (hopefully they will) court on a weekend so I can be home all day and monitor them to make sure that no one gets killed. When I was younger I had put a female with a male because she was prego. She tore off a chunk of his tail and ate it . Safe to say, that pair never saw each other again.

Space on a large scale ( like 50g+ ) is impossible for me. 40 and under I can do. It's good to know they don't take too much time.

That's good then! I'm not looking to make a ton of money. Maybe enough to buy a 20g heater would be nice.

 

[biss444]

good luck.keep us posted

 

[Andy Sager]

Thank you for your very informative reply! Infusoria seem even easier to make than BBS! How long do they last? Should I start it now or wait till the eggs are almost laid?

Airline tubing...like the one that you put on airpumps?!

I think I'm the most worried about that. Those beautiful fins....What are the chances that his offspring would have a colour combination like him? I was thinking that I might let them (hopefully they will) court on a weekend so I can be home all day and monitor them to make sure that no one gets killed. When I was younger I had put a female with a male because she was prego. She tore off a chunk of his tail and ate it . Safe to say, that pair never saw each other again.

Space on a large scale ( like 50g+ ) is impossible for me. 40 and under I can do. It's good to know they don't take too much time.

That's good then! I'm not looking to make a ton of money. Maybe enough to buy a 20g heater would be nice.

Infusoria are only good for feeding the fry for about a week then they need need something more substantial as a diet (BBS) Learn how to do both. You can start infusoria cultures at any time and keep them going by inoculating new jars with some of the green water.

Yes, That airline tubing.

The big thing is that you have to expect your breeders to get really torn up. If it doesn't happen, great! but that's not the norm You may want to decide to use other fish for the breeders as you are more interested in the tail shape first then the color (and their will be a multitude of colors from your fish. ) Just a suggestion. Breeding Bettas is a rough business. Not only for the fish but for the fish breeder too. Loses do occur.

 

[Fullmoonnight]

Infusoria are only good for feeding the fry for about a week then they need need something more substantial as a diet (BBS) Learn how to do both. You can start infusoria cultures at any time and keep them going by inoculating new jars with some of the green water.

Yes, That airline tubing.

The big thing is that you have to expect your breeders to get really torn up. If it doesn't happen, great! but that's not the norm You may want to decide to use other fish for the breeders as you are more interested in the tail shape first then the color (and their will be a multitude of colors from your fish. ) Just a suggestion. Breeding Bettas is a rough business. Not only for the fish but for the fish breeder too. Loses do occur.

Ah that's good I don't wanna be growing smelly water forever. I tried it with an algae plate a few days ago but I don't think it's working..... It stopped smelling bad and it's kinda yellow,almost gooey and cloudy but I don't see the like "Dust like particles" which would be the infursoria? XD BBS seems faster lol XD

Oh my...that would take awhile to clean...

Thanks. I'll see what I can do when I actually get started.... XD I'm so interested to see how many different colours would come from him....hopefully he'll have a similar son? (Although that won't replace him.) If the female is too aggressive with him i'll remove them and borrow another male betta from some one else to at least get the eggs out of the female.

 

[Fullmoonnight]

Update: I've been feeding them Bloodworms for the last 2 and a half weeks or so and have placed them on the same table. At first my male didn't notice my female but when he did, he was love struck. I've never seen him flare up before and I guess it's because he didn't so he had a little problem getting some fins out ( the ones around his neck) One was kinda stuck and so he was swimming around with one side out and one side in. Eventually he unstuck it and could flare everything properly. Their tanks are on a dresser at the end of my bed and at night I get to lie back and watch their behaviour. Beats watching T.V. I guess. XD He's building a nice bubble nest already but my female is building and even better nest. Hahaha, my male needs to up his game.

 

[Andy Sager]

Update: I've been feeding them Bloodworms for the last 2 and a half weeks or so and have placed them on the same table. At first my male didn't notice my female but when he did, he was love struck. I've never seen him flare up before and I guess it's because he didn't so he had a little problem getting some fins out ( the ones around his neck) One was kinda stuck and so he was swimming around with one side out and one side in. Eventually he unstuck it and could flare everything properly. Their tanks are on a dresser at the end of my bed and at night I get to lie back and watch their behaviour. Beats watching T.V. I guess. XD He's building a nice bubble nest already but my female is building and even better nest. Hahaha, my male needs to up his game.

It all sounded good until you said the female was building a better nest than the male. Make sure you have a female (the first egg shoud be showing in her vent) and not a short finned male. Females don't usually make the nest on their own. Since it does happen sometimes, you just need to make sure you see the egg too. Spawning should be right around the corner

 

[brennae]

If you can post pics of your fish that would be great! I'm curious about Betta breeding too!

 

[CinnamonPearl]

Females don't usually build bubble nests. I think you have a male plakat betta. You may have to go out and get a female.

 

[Fullmoonnight]

Yep, she has the little white dot on her belly. How long should it take before she shows vertical lines?

Sometimes females will build nests too it's a bit abnormal but it happens from time to time.

I'll get pictures eventually My male lives in a cylinder tank so it's VERY had to take pictures.

I'm having a little problem now. I just changed my males tank and I took him out so that the temperatures could settle before putting him back in. When I was putting him back in he fell into a cylinder acrylic tube ( It's a little bubble shoot thing that connects to the under gravel filter) I'm not sure if his tail was okay before that and he ripped it in the fall or if he's going through an infection of some sort. Either way, my priority is now on treating him. He should be all better by spawning time.

 

[CinnamonPearl]

He most likely ripped it in the fall. Bettas have very delicate fins.

 

[Raleighfishnerd]

Prob just tore it in the fall should be fine. I just bred one of my pairs yesterday and two days earlier the female had gotten stuck under the divider for I don't know how long. She was kinda scratched on one side and her head and tore her fins a bit. I put an extra dose of stress coat and she was fine they bred last night with no problems

 

[Andy Sager]

Yep, she has the little white dot on her belly. How long should it take before she shows vertical lines?

Sometimes females will build nests too it's a bit abnormal but it happens from time to time.

I'll get pictures eventually My male lives in a cylinder tank so it's VERY had to take pictures.

I'm having a little problem now. I just changed my males tank and I took him out so that the temperatures could settle before putting him back in. When I was putting him back in he fell into a cylinder acrylic tube ( It's a little bubble shoot thing that connects to the under gravel filter) I'm not sure if his tail was okay before that and he ripped it in the fall or if he's going through an infection of some sort. Either way, my priority is now on treating him. He should be all better by spawning time.

One thing you need to know is that female Bettas that are of the Cambodian strains don't usually show breeding stripes. (What color is your female? ) IF you have one of these, you will be able to tell that she is ready to breed by her actions towards the male (while she's still in her protective container in the spawning tank) and by the position she takes when he comes near. Head down and motionless is a breeding position.

The fin on your male should heal quickly but I suggest you not try to breed him until he is 100% healthy. When rushed to breed, bad things tend to happen.

Keep us posted

 

[Fullmoonnight]

Bad news. His fin was healing extremely well but he suddenly died after a water change. It makes no sense to blame it on the water change because all my other tanks are okay....what do I do....my female looks like she is ready to burst...

 

[Andy Sager]

Bad news. His fin was healing extremely well but he suddenly died after a water change. It makes no sense to blame it on the water change because all my other tanks are okay....what do I do....my female looks like she is ready to burst...

Well that's a sad turn of events YOU may not want to blame the water change but I think it had SOMETHING to do with the death. But without autopsy, it's a moot point so we will not belabor the point.
Females can go their entire lives without spawning so don't thing she is going to get sick or die from not breeding. If your intention is to breed, you need to get a replacement male and condition him plain and simple .
This time, try to keep him from falling
Good luck and keep us posted

 

[Fullmoonnight]

Well that's a sad turn of events YOU may not want to blame the water change but I think it had SOMETHING to do with the death. But without autopsy, it's a moot point so we will not belabor the point.
Females can go their entire lives without spawning so don't thing she is going to get sick or die from not breeding. If your intention is to breed, you need to get a replacement male and condition him plain and simple .
This time, try to keep him from falling
Good luck and keep us posted

It may but It's certainly strange...maybe too strange for me to wrap my head around. Autopsy on a betta fish? I hadn't heard about that before.
I think I'll keep an eye out and see if there are any bettas I like if not then oh well. I'll keep you posted.