Breeding Betta's

[purplemuffin]

To get a good bunch of babies that people will actually buy(Why would people buy yours when they can get the same quality at the petstore for cheaper?) you really need to do a HECK of a lot of work!

Bettas are already one of the most abused animals on the face of the planet. They don't 'like' being in small places any more than a dog 'likes' living it's whole life in a crate! I'm very much against the small containers for bettas unless you are willing to do daily water changes. Ammonia is very nasty and really makes the poor things miserable. Yeah they might live for 5 years, but we've all seen abused animals live out their whole lifespan..Just not THRIVING! They need heat like reptiles..Hard to heat a tiny thing. I suggest at least 2 gallons for a healthy fish..You'd be surprised..Bettas actually do SWIM! Sorry, sort of upsets me. Bettas and Hermit crabs.. I don't like how they are considered "throw away" animals!


You will want a 10 gallon tank at least for them to breed in! That way when the babies are born they will have enough water that it will not need to be changed for quite some time(keeping you from accidentally sucking up the little babies) The male and female both need to be conditioned with live food/very good quality pellets because you want both to be on the top of their game! Both the male or the female could kill the other. They WERE bred to fight after all! You will want to introduce the female to the male using a clear cup or other breeder trap. They will flirt hopefully..Wait til the female shows breeding (vertical) bars and swims in a downwards position..She may even fill up with eggs which is cool to watch! The male will flare and if he is not aggressive he will swim in an 'S' pattern..if you get both those signs and they seem used to each other, release them. Make sure the male has a place for a good bubblenest(A leaf, a cup, bubble wrap, anything that floats)

You will also want the tank to be heavily planted with live plants! This not only gives the girl a place to hide when she lays her eggs and the male becomes aggressive but it also provides food for when the babies are first born. Also, no gravel for breeding! The eggs get stuck between the gravel and the male can't get to them. You will lose a lot of babies this way.

After the female lays all her eggs and the male chases her off, take her out! Otherwise she WILL eat the eggs or the male WILL kill her. That is almost a guarentee. Some people get lucky. But some people also keep iguanas with bearded dragons and 'have no problems'. So just don't risk it! In a heated aquarium(about 80 F) the eggs should hatch in about 24 hours..You will see little wiggling tails hanging from the bubbles.. You want to leave the male in there(be sure to keep him well fed. He will munch on some of the babies he feels are not going to make it. A bad father will eat all the babies sometimes! So keep an eye out!) After a few more days the babies will be free swimming(vertical swimming).. You will want to take the dad out now. He will mistake them for food at this point and will eat them!

Once he is back in his own tank he will become very depressed, often lose color and even begin tail biting. Some people think the male assumes all his young were killed. Keep his health up, change the water any time ammonia is able to be read(if you can read ammonia on a tester..there is too much ammonia!) which in a cycled 5 gallon tank should be once a week 20% changes.

The babies will grow and eventually need to eat microworms, baby brine shrimp, or vinegar eels. Whichever you choose that works best you can use. As soon as the fry are big enough( I think somewhere at about 2 weeks) you want to do DAILY massive water changes to promote the most growth and the best fins. You'll notice some fry grow faster than others. Betta fish have a hormone that stunts the growth of other bettas. This is why you must do so many water changes or it will take you months to get any that are full size, and the ones most affected by the hormone will be eaten by their siblings!

You might want to eventually have two separate grow-out tanks so you can keep fry of different sizes separate, so you don't have any cannibalism, and the water stays at a nicer quality. At around 2 months or so(sometimes sooner, sometimes later) you will notice the males (and sometimes females!) becoming more aggressive! This is when you will need to jar them. 1 gallon jars work best for this, still do daily changes because when fish get this size they will make the water pretty gross. Plus you want them big, healthy, and with the most beautiful fins. You'll want to start finding permanent homes for them, either in their own heated tanks or sold to someone else. Females can be put together in a 'sorority' tank.. Suggested no less than a 20 gallon with no less than 5 females! Any less and the fighting will be too severe and they'll all just kill each other. Any more and you'll have to do a lot more water changes.

Also: MOST bettas sold at stores are WAY beyond healthy breeding age. Some girls are young enough but often times you'll end up with a 3 year old male who will just not be able to fertilize the eggs properly. This will cause lots of stress on his part and stress is a betta fish killer! Suggested breeding age is 3months to a year. Some will breed into their second or third year...SOME!

Breeding will take you at least 3 months of a LOT of hard work. You will have to have the male and female, make sure they are healthy, breed them, raise the babies, and all that time keeping up with your water changes.

I suggest getting Prime water conditioner. It's about 2-3 drops per gallon, and will save you money in the long run when it comes to changing water!!!

These are the best betta breeding sites you will find:
www.bettafish.com is a forum with some of the most accurate and well explained caresheets on bettas on the web. I trust these guys more than anyone else when it comes to betta fish, as many active breeders give advice here(The caresheet is not the 'ebook' at the top but you will find it in the topics.
www.bettysplendens.com has the BEST information on the genetics of bettas, how to go about breeding them, and what to look for in healthy fry. If you want to know anything about breeding, this is the place to go!


Also:
Fin types. It is best not to mix them unless you know what you are doing. The best babies are bred by similar looking parents. That means be careful with your females..They all look similar. Make sure you know what tail type your girl is(easiest with crowntail girls)

Veiltails are the hardiest but the most common. Unless you get some BEAUTIFUL fish.. You'll have a hard time getting rid of them. They are the 'mutts' of bettas.
Crowntails have a lot of trouble staying beautiful. Their rays will 'melt' in dirty water and in water where the water is too hard. Unless you keep your water pristine your fish will most likely look very sick to the untrained eye!
Halfmoons are the #1 most popular betta right now.. They are so impressive people pay hundreds for show quality fish! They are prone to tail biting if their tail is too long and it is hard for them to swim.
Plakats are awesome, people love how they zip around! I suggest giving plakats more space than a half moon would need. They can never have enough room..They swim as fast as a neon tetra same with girls..however much space you give them, they will use it to it's full extent!
Halfmoon plakats are even more awesome and rare. People love finding them. If you breed these, people will buy!

Get ready to learn the names of the color combos


This is my male betta fish(this was him at 2 months..tiiiny!!). He is a halfmoon plakat as you can see, and his color combo is called a "Salamander Butterfly"..Butterfly referring to the secondary color on his fins--the white ring!

He currently resides in a heated 5 gallon tank...Heated to 82 degrees, heavily planted, and with two great hides for him! He is SO territorial of his tank, I just love it. He will attack anything foreign to come into his residence!


One more thing about filters! Bettas don't like currents.. You will want to baffle your filter so it doesn't hurt them if it is too powerful! Sponge filters are great for raising fry though, but they don't do too much filtration so don't expect to not have to clean it as much!


The best test kit you can get is the API freshwater master test kit. It is 30 dollars but worth every penny. You can test for ammonia, ph, high ph, nitrites, and nitrates. This will help you cycle your tanks and keep your fish very healthy!



Why do so much work for bettas?? They are our pets! Why not make them happy. If you keep them happy and active they will live longer, show better colors, have better fins, and show their full funky personalities which are some of the most crazy of all the fish! They are surprisingly intelligent animals that can actually get to recognize their owners..When I wear my hair different, my male will flare at me until he recognizes me..Sort of awesome!

Just like you wouldn't use a heat rock and calcium sand for your reptiles..don't use betta coffins for bettas!