Too Many Betta Fry

[JohnnyReb]

I for the life of me cannot understand how when you look at a bubble nest you think there are maybe 100 eggs or less and when they hatch there are 300 plus fry. I would have sworn that I might get 100 fry from my second breeding and there are at least 300 plus. My last three spawn have more than 500 fry, more than I wanted to deal with. I was just going to raise a few as that was on my bucket list. Now, I have to figure out what to do with that many?

 

[MaloK]

Lookout for mason jars sales. They might even lower the price if you take 500 and more.

 

[fishorama]

Even 100 is a lot to deal with, just try for as many as you can maintain. With very small fry you can keep them together for a while. Feeding can be a PITA; tiny fish, tiny foods but big pollution. As they grow you will need think about mason jars, etc, & how many you can realistically deal with. You can't possibly raise them all!

 

[TNG]

I for the life of me cannot understand how when you look at a bubble nest you think there are maybe 100 eggs or less and when they hatch there are 300 plus fry. I would have sworn that I might get 100 fry from my second breeding and there are at least 300 plus. My last three spawn have more than 500 fry, more than I wanted to deal with. I was just going to raise a few as that was on my bucket list. Now, I have to figure out what to do with that many?

How many fry did you get to juvenile stage in your previous spawn, and how did you manage them?
I only bred bettas as a kid along with my cousin who was more successful. From memory, only around 50 or so reached juvenile stage which was quite manageable for him.

 

[JohnnyReb]

Lookout for mason jars sales. They might even lower the price if you take 500 and more.

Bought 100... 32 Ultra Clear food containers and lids, had 24 mason jars but to costly for 80 more?

 

[JohnnyReb]

How many fry did you get to juvenile stage in your previous spawn, and how did you manage them?
I only bred bettas as a kid along with my cousin who was more successful. From memory, only around 50 or so reached juvenile stage which was quite manageable for him.

I have had two failures and 3 successful ones. 150 plus in the ones that are 4months old, 250 plus that are a month old and 50 plus a week old. In the 150 spawn they are all still together, no fighting. I use bubblers from the start and turn on a HOB when they get a week old. Microworms the first 2 days the BBS and microworms and at 10 days BBS only till 2 weeks then flakes and BBS. All in a 5 gallon tank till they seem too close then to two 5's then to a 20 gallon breeder tank.

 

[GaryE]

My bubblenesting Microctenopoma recently produced an enormous number of fry - a cloud. They reminded me of when I spawned Betta splendens just to see how they worked. I never really got into Bettas and never bred long fins, but I did breed plakat and wild caughts.

I did the same thing with all - let them grow together. They reduced their numbers to 20 or 30, and I could spread them out in other tanks til I found club members who wanted some. I'll try the same with my 20 surviving African labyrinth fish here, as curious local hobbyists seem interested in them.

If you're breeding longfins and jarring them, I hope you have tons of time and indoor space. You'll be water changing every day in jars. And unless you're breeding spectacular expensive ones, markets aren't easy. I've unpacked southeast Asian shipments where they used beautiful Bettas in bags as bubble wrap to keep the money fish bags from moving around. One shipment gave us over 100 Bettas to give away to stores on the way home. They are dirt cheap fish, if they are "common Bettas". One of the nicest Cambodian colour forms I've ever seen arrived as bubble wrap. He was one of the last fancy Bettas I ever kept. And he was discarded by the farm.

 

[JohnnyReb]

I selected my Giant Bettas (8cm in length or 3/4" in depth and 1/2" in width) from the longest and biggest Bettas available and I am breeding for size as well as color. I don't think a Betta of that size is that common in the U.S. so far. Many say they have Giants and it is a con. Sales was never my main objective. I too will have trouble with too many.