Finally Got My Spawning Tank Ready

[Netty]

Thanks Mel

Taylor......you just keep on going with those ideas

 

[DreyOfAud]

Great pictures! you really know how to breed Bettas! May I ask you a few questions?

When you said on the first page of this thread to make a chimney out of a 2L coke bottle with the ends cut off and the top sticking a few inches above the surface.. What keeps the female from swimming out the bottom? Is there some kind of netting blocking it? Could you post a picture of how to make one?

Also, how do you know how much food to put into the tank? (I'm sure it depends on how many fry you have.. but how do you know how much is enough?) Do you have to worry about over-feeding?

And do you have any tips on how to properly sex the fry? How long does it take before you can tell?

How hot should a breeding tank be kept? What is the best way to keep it humid for them?

Thanks!



Oh, I just thought of another one- can you perform water changes? Do you have to worry about any nitrate buildup from those little guys?

And when should you start to separate them?

 

[Netty]

Thanks Drey

Here's a pic of one of our girls in the chimney. You can see that it rests on the bottom of the tank and as long as you cut the bottom off nice and straight then there shouldn't be any gaps that she can squeeze through.

We feed them 3 times a day and once they all have fat bellys we stop. You do have to be careful not to overfeed because it can cause problems and also any uneaten food will polute the water, so very important to remove any food quickly if it's being left.

Sexing them can be a nightmare sometimes. With the long finned ones it's pretty straight forward as you can visibly see the difference in tail length. With the shorter finned PKs the males generally have long ventrils but also you can see by their temperament and body shape. We had one that took 7 months before we knew what sex it was....we thought female but then it suddenly had a very late growing spurt and turned out to be male (who we've now spawned).

We keep our spawning tanks at 30c. If you don't have a lid then you can use cling film or condensation trays to help keep the humidity in the tank.

We completely leave the tank alone for the first week of the fry hatching. Then we do small water changes every day and use an airline tube to syphon any debris from the bottom of the tank. If you tie it to something rigid then it makes it alot easier to move around and hopefully avoid sucking up any babies. We usually put some white polystyrene under the tank so it's easier to spot the babies on the bottom. As they fry grow we increase the amount of water that gets changed. At three weeks the fry will start going up to take air from surface of the water and at this stage we start to increase the level of the water.

Generally the fry are ready to separate from 8 weeks old depending on how aggressive they are being. We've found that larger groups seem to get on better for longer, so we leave them and pull out any particularly aggressive ones when we see them. By this time they will have been moved to a much larger growout.....usually around 30gals.

Hope this has helped abit

 

[emeleeliggett]

Pretty picture, Netty, as usual!

I was curious, I tried using the plastic coke bottle cut up but every time I try to remove it the water shakes so much it destroys the bubblenest. What's the best way to remove it without ruining everything?

 

[Netty]

You could try placing it a little further away from the nest. We just lift it straight up gently when we release the female. Don't worry too much if it disturbs the nest a little.....the male should go back to it and fix it up again. Plus once they've finished spawning the male will sometimes keep adding bubbles around the eggs.

The hardest bit I find is catching the female to take her out. Some come out easier than others lol but some like to make you work harder!!!

 

[DreyOfAud]

Thanks Netty! You've been most helpful!

 

[Netty]

No probs Drey

 

[Netty]

Just got this pic of one of our baby boys. He's one of the most coloured up so far and is just yummy......got a lovely sheen to his body

 

[emeleeliggett]

Oooh! Just the fish I've been looking for! Now to convince you to send him overseas to me!

 

[Netty]

Awww what a shame. I thought you did live in the UK So where are you? lol

 

[emeleeliggett]

I live smack dab in the middle of the USA. If I lived in the UK I probably would have purchased one of your beautiful fish by now!! Hubby keeps saying he wants some gold dragons and I couldn't agree more!! Too bad you two don't ship to the USA.

 

[Netty]

You'll just have to move to here then I'm fairly hopeful we'll have a couple of gold ones in this spawn.

 

[karigupi]

he is stunning! Wow those colours, gorgeous

 

[emeleeliggett]

You'll just have to move to here then I'm fairly hopeful we'll have a couple of gold ones in this spawn.

All right, I'll start packing today! Can't wait to see all the lovely colors those babies have!

 

[Netty]

Thanks Karigupi

Emelee.......It looks like there are going to be quite a few different ones. One of them is even looking marble at the moment, some platinum, black & yellow. This is the best bit now seeing them mature.

You've got all this to look forward to with yours.