How Do I Breed My Bettas?

[Mr.September15]

Hello everybody...I just got a betta female & male yesterday from the pet store and was wondering on the requirements or tips to help them spawn...Do I buy a new tank? Do I need any extra supplies? etc. well I hope you guys can help ...I have a 3 gallon tank at the moment for them by themselves is that big enough?

 

[red-devil0602]

what sort of bettas are they?

 

[OohFeeshy]

I´d definately say you are not ready for breeding them yet, otherwise you´d have done research before you asked here. Research lots, lots and more lots. Breeding petshop bettas is generally regarded as a cardinal sin of betta breeding, you´ll find out why if you take a rip back to the shop and see just how many VT mutts are left in shops. Don´t add to it. 3g is too small for breeding too.

 

[red-devil0602]

sorry to side track the topic but in your sig it says you have a betta AND a adf in 1/2 gallon tank is that true?

VT mutts

hey OFishy go wash your mouth out

 

[Tangerinefizz]

Yes, sorry not to come off harsh or anything ) , but if you have to ask the question, then you really shouldn't be attempting it. Are you doing this for the betterment of the species? Do you know where mom and dad come from? (aside from the lfs?) I don't normally post alot, but you will find I have strong views on breeding anything just for the fun of it.

Leave it to the professionals who know what they are doing, and why they are doing it.

 

[RandomWiktor]

I'm going to have to second what everyone said. Betta breeding is a serious commitment. It is time, money, and labor intensive. It should only be done by the professionals, for the sake of bettering the species. Buying two pet store bettas with no knowledge of geneology and health and breeding them is a big no-no; not only will you not find homes, but you'll be contributing to weak stock.

By the looks of your tanks, I'd say you need to do a little more research just to own bettas A 1/2 gallon tank is utterly unacceptable for a betta long term - one gallon is the BARE minimum, and if you have a poor ADF crammed in there too, you are going to have very bad water quality quickly. I would suggest either separating the two if you get a 1 gallon, or getting a decent sized (5 gal or something of the like) tank for the both of them.

I know we are coming off harsh, but we have both the fish and your best interest at heart. It sounds like you just don't know much about bettas yet, and I'm sure you'd be devastated if your male or female killed one another in mating, or if all of your fry died. How about you work on mastering betta care first, and once you have that down, consider buying proper stock, getting IBC registered, and breeding to benefit the species.

 

[Betta*b*Happy!]

Oh and just to add.

If you have a male and a female in a tank together, please take them out. They are more likely to kill each other than breed.

 

[bettaBetta]

I agree with everyone else, if you try breeding now you'll just end up with a bunch of dead fish.

 

[splashluff]

Read the sticky thread and search the boards, for the love of GOD! heh, seriously, this question has been asked innumerable times and there is tons of great info all OVER the internet about spawning Bettas. Check out the search option on these boards, AND read all of the breeding pages at Bettatalk.com!

I just spawned my Bettas, and so far I've spent $300+. Not including the $100 I spent on my very nice quality breeding pair! I have a 10 gallon for the spawning (cost $50+ including all of the filtering/lighting/heating supplies), two 20 gallons for grow-outs (cost over $100 for everything), plus all of the siphoning supplies, specially-ordered fry food cultures (they CANNOT eat betta pellets when they're newborn, they NEED microworms), and 100+ jars for when the males become aggressive at 2 months old (all together, these necessary supplies cost well over $100)! Sooo, you're looking at a HECK of a lot of extra supplies. I have 350 babies at the moment, so that equates to loads more money once they need to be jarred. I won't even bother trying to add up the countless hours spent cleaning, feeding, and tending to the fry tanks (I spend an average of 3 hours a day). Also, if you're spawning Veil tails, good luck finding homes for your 300 fry!!! Have you not noticed the 500 VT's sitting in dirty, tiny cups at Petsmart waiting for homes? Trust me, with the investment a breeder makes on all of the spawning supplies and all of the time required, you NEED to research this and you NEED to get a quality pair, unless your goal is to kill a bunch of fish and lose lots and lots of money!

 

[Styx]

Not to mention, with how much money you put into the fry you’ll maybe be able to sell them for 50 cents a piece depending on where you like. And that’s males.

 

[sarah bella]

You guys are spending far too much money. i understand the desire for a good quality breeding pair. i dont know if i personally would spend that amount on fish but to each his own..

You can easily find excellent deals on aquatic supplies thru your local aquarium society, freecycle forums and classified section of your local newspaper, even thrift shops. 10g is all you need for a breeding tank. i picked up a whole new 10g setup with everything from walmart for $60, i just saw a whole 10g setup in the paper for $30. Fish keeping doesn't have to cost a small fortune, you just have to be smart about it and look for deals...

And bettas dont NEED microworms at all. With an established mid to heavily planted tank you are mimicing the bettas natural habitat and really don't need to supply the fry with food at all since there should be an ample supply of living organisms in the tank feeding off the plant matter and snail droppings... I grow out my fry from day one on naturally occuring infusoria and supplemented with cultured infusoria, hikari first bites and a sponge filter with great success. at 4-6 weeks i remove a lot of the plants and start feeding powdered dried bloodworms along with the first bites...

 

[Bre_B]

You guys are spending far too much money. i understand the desire for a good quality breeding pair. i dont know if i personally would spend that amount on fish but to each his own..

You can easily find excellent deals on aquatic supplies thru your local aquarium society, freecycle forums and classified section of your local newspaper, even thrift shops. 10g is all you need for a breeding tank. i picked up a whole new 10g setup with everything from walmart for $60, i just saw a whole 10g setup in the paper for $30. Fish keeping doesn't have to cost a small fortune, you just have to be smart about it and look for deals...

And bettas dont NEED microworms at all. With an established mid to heavily planted tank you are mimicing the bettas natural habitat and really don't need to supply the fry with food at all since there should be an ample supply of living organisms in the tank feeding off the plant matter and snail droppings... I grow out my fry from day one on naturally occuring infusoria and supplemented with cultured infusoria, hikari first bites and a sponge filter with great success. at 4-6 weeks i remove a lot of the plants and start feeding powdered dried bloodworms along with the first bites...

That doesnt change the fact that it will cost a good amount of money. Even with getting a 55 gallon starter kit (so it came with its filter, lighting, heater, etc) costing 40 dollars (score! ) it still is very expensive when the low prices add up, because you still need another few tanks, food, live plants (not required, but definately preferable, as you stated as well for feeding fry.. i do that too, btw, nice to find someone else ) and water treatment/testing supplies, whether its top quality or from a yardsale! it adds up.


the rest.... other people will get to/have gotten to, im sure.

 

[Mr.September15]

Thanks you guys for your help...

 

[sarah bella]

Hello everybody...I just got a betta female & male yesterday from the pet store and was wondering on the requirements or tips to help them spawn...Do I buy a new tank? Do I need any extra supplies? etc. well I hope you guys can help ...I have a 3 gallon tank at the moment for them by themselves is that big enough?

Hey Arrowhead. If you wanna try your hand at breeding you really SHOULD get a bigger tank. I like a 10gallon tank for breeding.

Heres a list of what you will need:

10 gallon tank with a heater, lid and light canopy for spawning and growing out.

plants like duckweed for the fry and something dense for the female to hide in during mating. this will cut down on the fin nipping. this will also provide a good base for the bubblenest and provide fry with food.

a filter with sponge attachment.

a package of hikari first bites.

you can use your 3 gallon for the male once hes done with his fry. You'll need something for the female as well after spawning.

 

[Bre_B]

youll also need a tank large enough to be a fry grow out tank. It has to be able to accomodate for the amount of fry you will have, which generally is alot. I have a group of 35 right now, which means i'd need a pretty big tank going by the 1inch per gallon, since theyll be in there till theyre about 1 inch long. at least a 35. and im sure many have even more, some people having spawns that have 50 fry! that means youd need 50 gallons, assuming they'd be 1 inch long.