Questions About Betta Breeding

[Neal]

I am getting rid of my two black goldfish in my 3G tank as I have been told they will grow big, so i'm giving them to someone who has a pond, i'm going to buy another 2G tank and a nice female. The 3G tank has an undergravel filter (i'm not going to use it when spawning, just when cleaning the tank out), with an air stone.
These are going to be my tank setups:
3 Gallon Spawning Tank
50W heater.
Silk plants (probably all three, what do you recommend?)
Biggish cave ornament (for the female to hide)
I have been told not to use any gravel either.

2G Male Betta VT Tank
All-In-One Filter (Mechanical,Chemical and Biological).
Plastic flower/plant.
Bridge ornament (the crappy one i wanted to chuck away).
Normal Gravel with big stones in.

2G Female Betta VT Tank
The females tank will be,
Two Natural 'ferns'
Blue + green mixed gravel.
Small castle ornament.

A few questions I would like answered please!
1) Do you think I should be putting the filter in with the female rather than the male or not?
2) I have a light built into my cabinet wich I put on for a few hours during the day, should I put the male under this or the female?
3) When I have the male and female in my spawning tank, am I suppose to turn off the under gravel filter?
4) I would like to know if you agree with these setups, please tell me if you do, and if you don't please tell me why not.
5) Do you have any other suggestions that could save me money? ie. Putting a divider on my 2G tank, instead of splashing out £11 buying another one.
6) What are the best conditions for them to be in the spawning tank? (Filter on/off? Heater 70-80*C? No Gravel?

 

[Wisperian]

please. this post is pointless as you have already posted it in your other thread.

 

[Neal]

Yes, but they both have different titles, therefore people might look in here to answer my questions, and some people may not look in my other topic if they see the title, sorry for posting it again, I would just like these questions answered!

 

[Wisperian]

0____o you should seriously stop thinking about spawning your bettas. what are you gonna do when they're older? put them in plastic sandwich bags because they wont fit in the 3g mini tank? do you know how to sex your fry? do you have any fry foood? keep your bettas longer before you even start thinking about breeding.

 

[lisie]

You're going to need a big grow-out tank and tons of ~1 gallon jars as well...

Also, what kind of goldfish do you have? If they're fancy, they shouldn't go in a pond...

 

[Neal]

I'm going to put them in jars, and if I need fry food couldn't I just go to my LFS and get some? I'm not thinking about spawning my bettas, i'm leaving that for a couple of months, i'm just trying to find out as much information I can and try to plan ahead, with the tank setups and what I plan to do with the fry ect... I'm not flaming at you i'm just saying I don't actually plan to spawn them for another two months+, although it seems like I want to spawn them tommorow...I'm not going too.

 

[severina]

You guys, I think he's just planning ahead which is very smart. Neil, there are pinned topics up at the top where you can read about breeding. There's some good info there. But I agree that you should wait a while and just get the hang of keeping them first. You are going to need a big grow out tank, mine is 25 gallons and I'm still collecting the containers for the males. It takes alot of time, money, and research to really be prepared for a hatch.

PS: Read what I wrote in your other post.

 

[Synirr]

Since you are a beginner, you will need a 10 gallon as the spawning tank, minimum.... some who have had experience can manage to spawn in a 5 gallon, but 10 is better IMO. You will need many, many a jar for the juvies, and will have to change the water in each and every one of those jars daily. You will need at least a 20 gallon growout tank, which will need water changes at least thrice weekly, but more is better. Young fry don't really eat anything that isn't moving, so really, you're going to have to culture live food for them if you want healthy fish. This means obtaining a microworm culture and learning how to hatch brine shrimp. You need to feed them at least three times a day for the first couple of months.

1) Do you think I should be putting the filter in with the female rather than the male or not?
What difference does it make? You don't really need a filter in either of those tanks, they're small enough for 100% water changes.

2) I have a light built into my cabinet wich I put on for a few hours during the day, should I put the male under this or the female?
Again, what difference does it make? The fish don't care.

3) When I have the male and female in my spawning tank, am I suppose to turn off the under gravel filter?
You shouldn't have an undergravel filter in the spawning tank... or gravel. Bare-bottom with a sponge filter at the most.

4) I would like to know if you agree with these setups, please tell me if you do, and if you don't please tell me why not.
No. You have months of research ahead of you if you're serious about this. Google is your friend.

5) Do you have any other suggestions that could save me money? ie. Putting a divider on my 2G tank, instead of splashing out £11 buying another one.
Don't breed bettas!
By the time you're through buying your original startup supplies, chances are it will end up literally costing you hundreds of dollars. I know I spent well over $100 on my setup.

6) What are the best conditions for them to be in the spawning tank? (Filter on/off? Heater 70-80*C? No Gravel?
Bare-bottom, heater on, filter set very very low.

 

[Neal]

Also, what kind of goldfish do you have? If they're fancy, they shouldn't go in a pond...

I have black moors, I have been told they will soon out-grow my tank and therefore I should get rid of them before they out-grow it rather than when they do...

Bare-bottom, heater on, filter set very very low.

Am I able to use my all-in-one filter that hangs on the side of the tank, or would this suck up the fry and filter them?

Thanks for all your support and sorry for being a newbie, it looks like i'm going to have alot more to learn than I thought before I breed bettas...

 

[severina]

You don't have to use a filter...if it is not cycled it makes no difference. If fry can fit in the intake...they will end up in there...and up they will go through the filter system where they will get smashed up. its best not to use a filter because it disturbs the water's surface where the bubble nest is...and daddy doesn't like that.

 

[lisie]

I have black moors, I have been told they will soon out-grow my tank and therefore I should get rid of them before they out-grow it rather than when they do...

Even one baby goldfish shouldn't be in a 3 gallon. I advise you to take them back to where you got them, or get a bigger tank. Black moors will die in a pond. Two of them need a ~30 gallon tank.

 

[severina]

He already stated that he's trying to find a home for them. But why shouldn't they be in a pond? I've never heard that before, would love a reply or pm.

 

[Neal]

I've had my black moors for over a year and they are still quite small, one of them is about 1 and a half times the size of a betta, and another is the same size. I'm not sure if they are going to grow bigger or not, but do you think they will grow after i've had them a year in the same tank and they dont appear to have grown...Also, if you look in the coldwater and pond forum, people talk about blackmoors but i've never come accross anyone say you can't put them in ponds, but why not?

 

[lisie]

I know he said that he's not keeping them, but I was just saying that this should be done as soon as possible, because unless the water's being changed close to daily, they will probably either die soon or be otherwise unhealthy. He said that he was giving them to someone who has a pond. Moors are more sensitive to water temperature than, say, commons and comets. The water shouldn't get to be below 50 degrees F. If the pond is heated, though, that's another story.

 

[happyannie]

Looks like google has alot of info on Black Moor Goldfish. The person with the pond will still have to bring them in the winter. A friend of mine put her beloved goldfish into her pond and a raccoon ate them up one night. She was so heartbroken about it as she thought she was giving them more freedom. Anytime you expose any animal, fish, mammel or whatever, you're taking a major risk of them getting eaten, in a fight, or catching an incurable disease. My cat escaped, was gone all night and came back all bitten up in her backside and it cost me $250 for her surgery plus WORRY! Just to give you a picture of life in the wild. Also would the person with the pond be able to love and care for them as much as you do? These are hard questions we must ask ourselves when we contemplate sending our pets elsewhere and worth thinking about very long and hard before we take such actions.