Question from the new girl

[Lady]

Hello,
New here so please bare with me...I have never done a forum before but always up for new things. My question is concerning breeding bettas...I have had betta fish for as long as I can remember and decided that I wanted to try and breed them...I did LOTS of research but of course am still left with a few questions...So if anyone could help me out that would be great!

My first question is concerning gravel in the fry tank? Can you have it in there? What are the draw backs?

Next would be wondering...I know when the male is ready he starts to build a bubble nest but I am more so concerned with when the female is ready, everywhere I have read says that she gets fat with eggs, but how do I know if shes just not fat from food?! (hehe can you tell its my first time!)

last but not least...when the fish are old enough to jar...what would i be jaring them in? Or should I say what is the best sized container to be putting them in and where would be a good place to look?

Thank you all again

 

[wuvmybetta]

Hiya! Welcome to the board!
I breed bettas myself and it's very fun.

The drawbacks of gravel would be because of how very small the fry are. They spend alot of time on the bottom searching around, their food is so small that it would get lost in the gravel, they're too delicate to dig. A water change would be a chore because it would be next to impossible to see the fry. Plus, it's easier to keep it spotless when it's bare bottomed.

Betta splenden females always have eggs. So as long as she is well fed and cared for prior to spawning you can bet she has eggs. But they do swell a bit right before spawning..it looks just like they do when they get really full so...just assume they're eggs.

As for containers..the bigger the better. I start mine off in 32 ounce containers that come from a food supply (they're for potato salad and such..?) and do water changes daily/every other day, then I try to upgrade them as quickly as possible to a half gallon, or a one gallon.
You could also use beanie boxes, those are quite popular. Or just search around at Dollar stores. You'll soon start to look at everything like "I could put a betta in that!"

 

[Lady]

hi...and thanks for the welcome and the advice! and you are right it is fun...I havent even done much but get the supplies and read some and I am having fun with it all already!

 

[xxSarahxx]

I always find breeding fish is great!! Plus... it's another learning experience and I love that. Every batch of fry is different and the parents react slightly differently every time!
It's great!!
Good luck and let us know how you get on.... Oh....Welcome by the way!!! )

 

[Lady]

hehe thanks! I am very excited and I will definetly be on here every step of the way...I have my spawn tank (10 gal.) up and running I am just trying to get the ph level and temp right....Just started some live food cultures as well which is a tad difficult but i think just because i have no clue what im doing haha

 

[Booboo puppy]

Welcome and good luck! There are several members here who have successfully bred bettas and are willing to share their expertise and wisdom.

 

[platyfreek]

Welcome to the forum and good luck! I have next to no advice as I have never bred bettas.

 

[Lady]

hehe thanks booboo and platy I am looking forward to sharing my new expirences...

 

[Synirr]

I'm using these great little Sterilite brand storage containers made for CDs to jar my fry... I just drill a little hole in the side at the very top to let air in and allow me to feed them without removing the lids. The containers are almost 1 gallon so they're the perfect size, and they're stackable! The best part about them, though, is that they're really cheap at less than $2 each

 

[Lady]

thanks for the advice synirr...ill have to check it out soon...what do you think is a good number to start with? I am getting everything ready so that as soon as my cultures are up and running and my tanks water is finally in order I can start to introduce the pair...hehe im getting excited haha