Betta breeding!

[Alyxx]

Here's the new boy!

And my second newest.

The lighting and his position really do not do him justice there.

And some of the babies.

 

[bettaowner]

Would it be ok to breed bettas in a tank that is filled up fully? Has anyone ever had bettas jump out of their tank? I'll be using a 10 gallon tank with some caves and sand as substrate. What do most of you use as food for the fry? Sorry for all the questions.

 

[Alyxx]

You need a bare tank for breeding. Just some hiding spots for the female, no sand or gravel as this makes it harder for the male to find the eggs. And half full of water so the male doesn't exhaust himself chasing eggs. And yes, I have had bettas jump. I never keep bettas in a tank without a top unless the water level is at least a couple inches below the top of the glass. I raised this batch in the 10 I bred them in, but it was a very small hatch. I just got a 40 breeder for a future grow out, and I will be setting up an old 20 tall for the same purpose.

I feed microworms for the first couple weeks, then add baby brine shrimp, then powdered pellets. I use floating plants to help the father build the nest, which also provides some infusoria for the fry in the first days.

 

[bettaowner]

Ok I'll be getting a pair soon. Do you think the baby bettas would eat hikari first bites

 

[Alyxx]

Ok I'll be getting a pair soon. Do you think the baby bettas would eat hikari first bites

Nope. They need live food for the first few weeks. Their instincts seem to tell them that only things that move are food. I tried some first bites just to see if they would take them, but they just swam by.

 

[Alyxx]

I think my next pairings will be my doubletail hm male x my blue/black orchid female and my black hmpk male x my white hm female. The black and white is more of an experiment while the other pair will serve to have some fish to cross with the black hmpk and blue ct fry to improve finnage. Hopefully I will have some females from that line to cross back to the black male with.

 

[DeathclawRowe1]

My betta blew a huge nest and I released the female from the glass jar and he tried to kill her like he bit her tail and held her in his mouth like he was eating a ghost shrimp. So I took her out its weird.

 

[Rcguerra]

8 weeks. Aprox. 80 fries.

Here are the 4 biggest ones.

 

[Fishforlife]

The last pic of the female , she look pretty stress cause of the vertical line.

 

[Rcguerra]

Fishforlife,

The vertical line are present on fries that have a high protein diet but do not have all the pigments developed yet. It goes away as they "mature" in color, only showing up again once under stress.

 

[Jev12]

Fishforlife,

The vertical line are present on fries that have a high protein diet but do not have all the pigments developed yet. It goes away as they "mature" in color, only showing up again once under stress.

So you are able to tell which ones are male and which are female???

 

[Rcguerra]

Not at this point. The lines are present on males as well. They only show them as adults under physical trauma, like a ripped fin or severe fight damage.

For sexual dimorphism, it is better to wait for the secondary characteristics to show.

 

[Alyxx]

Guys... Those are horizontal lines, lol. And yes, they are normal for juvenile coloration and only mean the fish is stressed when they are adults. All of my fry have the stripes now too. So at it's their only coloration other than dark fins. I'm happy, because it's looking like they are taking after their solid black father. I can't wait for them to color up more.

The vertical lines only show on females who are ready to breed, btw.

 

[AuroraBettas]

Here's the new boy!

And my second newest.

The lighting and his position really do not do him justice there.

And some of the babies.

I have only 4 babies left! Still small, still discouraging.

 

[Alyxx]

I have only 4 babies left! Still small, still discouraging.

Don't feel bad, I think I have 7 left, out of maybe 16. Although I'm happy the first spawn was a small one - makes the learning curve easier.

 

[AuroraBettas]

Don't feel bad, I think I have 7 left, out of maybe 16. Although I'm happy the first spawn was a small one - makes the learning curve easier.

That does make me feel a little better! And yes I would have to agree with you.

 

[AuroraBettas]

Four VT babies getting transferred to a new tank. 15 weeks tomorrow. So tiny.

 

[Fishforlife]

My betta just did it. And they're still doing it after a hour. So much egg hope they'll survive

 

[Alyxx]

Hopefully I will be spawning mine again sometime this week... females are eggy, so I just need to move the last few fry that are still in the spawning tank, clean it up and take most of the water out, then pick a pair. That will be the hard part as I have some gorgeous males... do I breed the black hmpk, the blue and yellow ct, or the blue and red double tail first? And to which female? Good thing I have a second spawning tank about to go up!

 

[Fishforlife]

Is my female suppose to be eggy still after embrace? Her egg is dropping everywhere and they were done with the embracing earlier. Shes still big with a sack of egg