Breeding Questions

[Kame-San]

Amazingly, last night my mom came to me, asking how to breed bettas. I told her what I knew, and the answer I wasn't expecting was "I want to breed bettas." I've looked around and can't find some things I need to know, so, I have a few questions so we can prepare.

At what age do the males need to be housed separately? And do the females also need to be kept apart, or can they be kept together until homes are found?

We plan on using a 10G grow out tank. Will this be big enough?

One more question I've read that for the first week betta fry are too small for even BBS. So, what do they eat their first few days?

Thanks

 

[catxx]

check out http/www.bettatalk.com

 

[Kame-San]

Thank You

 

[Synirr]

You separate the males when they start becoming aggressive, which for me as been at about 2 months, but it can be earlier or later depending on the individual spawn. Females can be housed together.
10 gallons is only enough if you have a small spawn or if you are willing to cull to acheive a small spawn. Usually a 20-30 gallon will be large enough for a larger spawn as long as you keep up with your waterchanges, or you can use multiple 10 gallons. A great money-saving option is to use a big plastic tub instead of a glass tank for your growout
Fry can eat BBS during the first week, in my experience. I haven't used anything smaller than BBS with my current spawn and they are doing just fine. If you want, though, you can get a microworm or vinegar eel culture, these are smaller than BBS, or feed egg yolk. Personally, I prefer live foods over egg yolk, but a lot of people do use it and say it works great.

 

[Kame-San]

Thanks Again I'll try to get a 20g grow out tank, then. If I can't do that, I'll get two 10's. I'm sure my mom won't mind having a "baby fish tank" in her room