Puriti said:
Don't have a 10 gal tank. All my other fish are in that tank right now and they're all fry eaters..
Maybe you can buy a rubbermaid (off brand one of course
) and set it up instead? You'll really need something with the footprint of a 10 gallon (bigger is better, but 10 gallon min) for a grow out tank. You'll understand when you see the fry. Very tiny and lots of them.
Puriti said:
I don't have any plain acrylic either, in fact my 20 gal (I know, I did it backwards >__< but it was easier to make the current barely at all because that filter can tilt to the side) was used to breed them and I'm afraid to touch the plants because they're directly under the bubble nest under the styrofoam bowl and I have a small patch of rocks under where he decided to plant them...
The male needs a smooth surface to easily find and grab the fry when they wiggle out of the nest. Until they are about 7 days old, they'll die out of the bubbles, as they are born with an undeveloped swim bladder and can't get to the surface to breathe. Once they are free swimming it's not as important, but still handy to have a bare bottom for cleaning purposes and so they fry don't get stuck between pieces of substrate.
Puriti said:
I don't think I'll have issues with culling the baby bettas, I do it with my mollies a lot. ......what the heck are microworms? x.x ...
Good. Bettas are most often line bred and require heavy culling to keep the population strong. Heavy hands here are best for the entire hobby.
Microworms are very tiny worms that live off grains. They are about the only live food small enough for betta fry to eat. Even baby brine shrimp are too big. Aquabid is a good place to find started microworm cultures. Don't worry, it's super easy to raise them.
Puriti said:
I've read up a bit on betta breeding but I don't know ALL that much, I learned how but not how to raise lol. Could I just scoop the rocks outof the bottom and then just move the other fish and put a veil thing over the whisper filter I have? We do that at school for guppies and whatever.
Yes, you could do that. You'll also have to remove poppa betta once the fry are free swimming. Slow down the filter as much as possible and place a sponge over the intake. Realize though, you'll have to keep the other fish somewhere for at least 6 weeks while the fry are developing
Puriti said:
...is the egg yolks food?
Yes. The hard boiled egg yolk will dissolve in the tank and the fry will eat it. It's important to supplement this with live food as well for faster growth.
Puriti said:
I'm assuming the male will eventually start picking at them once they hatch...The tank's at 82F I think because I read that's what temp they needed to breed at 80-82
There's a chance the poppa will eat them as soon as they hatch. Some betta males are also egg eaters. You won't know about these problems until it's too late though. Most of the time male bettas are excellent daddys. When the fry are free swimming, the poppa will eat them, so he has to leave the tank too.
82F is just fine. When you see the eggs have hatched, cover the top of the tank with saran wrap for the first week so the air above the tank stays warm as well. This is so the babies don't get "betta pneumonia" from breathing air much colder than the water they are in. The fry will hatch faster and grow faster in water that warm, so it's a good trade off. Next time, set the temp to 78F and you won't have to cover the tank top for the first week.
I know it all sounds like a lot of work, and it is. There are 2 payoff though -
1. You've successfully bred a fish that everyone thinks is beautiful, and very few people can/will breed. Sort of like bragging rights.
2. A 3 month old standard veiltail betta is worth about a buck wholesale, easy to move, and you can get about 200 saleable fry from a spawn. Your costs for housing them, heating them, and feeding them are covered. Can't say that about very many freshwater fish!