Breeding Bettas

[BrookeLea]

Hey guys,

I'm going to make my first attempt at spawning in a couple of months. I'm well prepared and I have been doing my research and such since May. The only thing that I'm having problems with so far is deciding which of my bettas to spawn, and knowing what the outcome might be. So...here's where I'm asking for your help. I'm going to list the bettas that I have for breeding. Can anyone please make suggestions as to which pairs I should attempt to spawn, and what the outcome of the spawn might be (i.e. tail type and color.) I really appreciate the help. Thanks in advance!

EDIT: Uhhh....I forgot to list them. haha

MALES FOR BREEDING

Crowns:
red
red/blue
red/blue/purple

HM Plakats:
mustard
blue mustard

HM:
teal
white with purple splotches (i'm not sure of the technical name for the color, but it's not an opaque)

FEMALES FOR BREEDING
black copper crowntail
cambodian double ray crowntail with DT gene
green crowntail
mustard blue (not sure of the tail type, but she was sold to me to be bred with the blue mustard hm plakat)

So...NOW that I've listed them...any suggestions?

 

[Andie]

You'll probably hear this more than once, but which pair you decide to breed depends on what you want to get out of a spawn. Is there a tail type you prefer? A colour you want to enhance? With your blue mustards, if they were sold to you specifically with the intent to be bred together, you'll probably stand the greatest chance of getting a uniform colour and structure in fry (especially if they're spawn siblings).

You mentioned your blue mustard male is HM pk; the HM gene is something nice to pass on, and you should have almost no problem finding homes for the fry who carry that gene (something important to consider too is the likely desirablitity of your spawn- the more desirable the finnage/colour/genotype, the easier it will be to find new homes for your babies). What's more, owners of PK bettas have remarked on a higher absence of fin rot in these fish, which could potentially make your spawn's odds of not contracting it that much higher.

Of course, if your female doesn't come from PK lines she'll pass on at least a 50 percent chance of longer-finned males; was she a spawn sibling to your male, and, if not, did her breeder have her parents as well? The farther back you can go in the gene pool, the more positive you can be about what your fry will look like.

So I unofficially cast my vote for the blue mustards, but whatever you decide to breed I hope that it turns out well

 

[BrookeLea]

Thanks for the reply, Andie.

I prefer crowntails and HM plakats, but I'm not necessarily looking to spawn those. I just want to spawn the pair that would have the most successful outcome (success being based on healthy, desirable fry).

When I purchased the blue mustards, I asked the breeder for a female that, when bred with the hm plakat male, would produce more HM plakats. I don't believe that the female is a sibling sister, because the breeder said that she would get her from a friend to avoid imbreeding.

I've had the blue mustards with the intention of spawning them since the beginning, I was just wondering if another pair might be better to spawn. I'll probably end up spawning the blue mustards.

 

[OohFeeshy]

Maybe find a few combos you like and keep them next to each other for a while to gauge their reactions, its no use trying if the pair kill each other

 

[red99cat]

The general rule is to stay away from spawning any betta with red, unless you want reds. Red is dominant and hard to get out. I would suggest either: (1) the blue mustards, or (2) the teal HM X green CT. If the mustard female is not a veiltail, you should be able to get HMs is subsequent generations. The HM X CT will probably give you combtails.

 

[BrookeLea]

Thanks guys! What would happen if I spawned the red male CT with the female red cambodian CT? Would I get any cambodians?