Betta's in a pond

[ral]

I have a unused pond in the backyard. It is about 10-12 feet long and 5 feet wide. It can gold up to about 12-16 inches of water.

I have started cleaning it up and placed plants in it. I was wondering if I could create a small mixed Betta community in it. There are insects that skim the surface and larvea in the pond.

There will be no aeration or filtration, but I figured maybe 4-6 betta's might be okay for that size a pond with a few partial water changes.

What do you guys think?

 

[coconutman39]

use it as a growout!

 

[KageBunshin]

why dont you just get Koi, or fancy goldfish in it? They look better in the pond than betta do. Also if you go with goldfish about 1 goldfish per 1 square feet of surface area... you dont have to have a filter or aeration, specially if your planting plants. the outdoors may have too much temprature fluctuations for betta anyways.

 

[Sandusky]

Kage is right with the temps, unless you can keep it stable i wouldn't suggest bettas. Then on the other hand, it would be a neat project to mimic wild bettas, but then, you would have to go with wild bettas.

 

[ral]

Am from South East Asia so the weather her is actually a bit warmer than their natural habitat (Thailand/Indonesia/Vietnam/Cambodia).

Want to test it first before using it for growout since it is exposed to the elements. My main worry is contaminated rain water. But yes, that did cross my mind.

Was looking at pics of Attisons breeding farm and it looks like they use large outdoor tanks for growout.

Planning to go all Crown/Comb since they are plenty available her now cheap. Thinking 2 males and 2-4 females.

I guess I might as well admit it. I am thinking of breeding betta's, and the 4-6 fish will be test fish.

The reality is that I can buy 150 low grade Crowns for the cost of a Ammonia/Nitrate test kit.

Feel a bit heartless about thinking/doing this. If it works out, they get an environment that few Betta's will ever get the chance to enjoy. If it fails, well they will probably die. Selecting this fish since they are the discards of a good spawn so they probably have decent genes.

 

[KageBunshin]

Oops I didn't realize that you were from the phillipines. You speak english so well!!
anywho, the pond sounds like a good idea then. What sucks is that betta are hard to monitor from the top. I hope things work good for you.

 

[SRC]

How are you gonna monitor whether or not they've been fighting or if they are sick?

How would you protect the offspring that would mostly likely result from their parents eating them, or the other fish?

How are you gonna make sure nothing that could pollute the water can get in while you are not watching?

How will you keep other critters from getting in and eating/tormenting/injuring your betta's?

If these were up off the ground and covered, it could work in 1 respect...but then you still have to wonder about them fighting and/or sickness. If it were me I wouldn't do it, I'd just get some pretty Koi and leave the betta's indoors, or atleast if not indoors..seperated.

 

[mandi]

There will be no aeration or filtration, but I figured maybe 4-6 betta's might be okay for that size a pond with a few partial water changes.

Will there be any small fountains or anything?

From my (limited) experience with garden ponds (we have a couple in our back yard) you have to at least have a small fountain or waterfall in them to keep the water moving, or the water will become stagnant (most large scale ponds are spring-fed for this reason) and possibly bring in disease and parasites.

Also, are there any birds or cats that might grab them up? (Just another concern.)

I was looking at the pictures on atisonbeta.com (I *think* this was the one you're talking about??) And it appears to me like those tubs are inside a greenhouse or something (you can see brown posts around the room)? But they don't seem to have any air or filters. I assume they use them for grow-outs? They seem much to deep to use for spawning.

 

[Bettaman]

you would be better off breeding in tanks inside then putting them in the pond when they are two weeks old and use it as a grow out with all the natural food they would grow fast and then take out the biggest into jars back inside thats all they do in thai......and you haven't got to worry about temperature you could be raising 200-300 Betta in there at a time

 

[ral]

Yes, the water would be stagnant. That is actually what worried me most. It is too far from the nearest soruce of electricity. I really don't know whether Betta's would or would not trive there.

The question is, is it worth a few betta's to try it out. The main problems I see are that the water will be stagnant and rainwater might be contaminated with chemicals.

If I will ever use this as a growout, I really need some way to determine if a Betta can live there. I guess this is where the moral question comes in of are these pets or simply stock. I have to learn how to treat them as stock, especially come culling time.

Rigth now though, any breeding and growing it will be done in plastic basins and tanks.

 

[Gill]

Bettas Do Fine in a Pond.

I tried it this year with a Young Cellophane Veiltale and I am In the UK.

No Problems Whatsoever.

Filtration was @ normal strength and the Fish was Fine.
It was just Him and a Fancy Fantail Goldfish.

I bought him inside in October and He was fine, had some Lovely Markings.

Only Fed them 1 a Week as there was Enough Live Food in the Pond to sustain 2 Fish.

The Pond is a Water Butt Cut in to 1/3 the Depth and Above Ground.

The Goldfish is still in there and I will Resume feeding in a few Weeks.

Gonna Try it this Year with Imbellis and Let them Breed, as You can Keep Multiple Imbellis together.


This is the Pond I Used for the VeilTail, Tis is an Old Pic, it Is very Overgrown and Needs Trimming now.

And this is the Rubbermaid Pond in the Front Garden that is Gonna Hold a Few Minnows.

 

[ral]

Okay, three fish went in yesterday, gradually over a period of 8 hours. When the first one started terrorizing the insects in the pond, I added a second. A few hours later a third. Went to see them this morning and did not see them. Checked two more times today and still no sign of the Betta's. It now past 4pm and 24 hours since I last saw any of the Betta's so we started dredging the pond with a net.

No sign of the Betta's and no dead bodies either. What could have happened to them?

 

[Gill]

You are not gonna see them very often.

I got worried a few times as i did not see mine for days @ a time.

they are probably in there goregded on insects.

but 1 thing what wildlife do you have and do you get magpies or other crow liek birds.

they are very tempted by fish and the more colorful the more they attract.

 

[Ben]

if you're really worried why dont you get a pond net?my friend has one that covers the whole pond so birds cant reach the fish

HTH

DD

 

[ral]

Unfortunately, industrialization has basically killed of any natural life in the area. Occassionally a few birds pass by. They call them Maya's over here, not sure what their sicentific name is.

When I was a kid, there were butterfly, grasshoppers, salamders, frogs, bats and all kinds of life in the backyard. At night you would heart the crickets and occassional see fireflies. Only thing we still have these days are rats, flies, mosquitos', ants and occassionaly termintes

Could get a net, but I doubt its the birds. They Goldfish in that pond did fine when I was a kid and their were plenty of birds in the area.