Help! Betta Breeding Trouble

[Feather_Sword]

Okay, I have had the 5 gallon tank set up for 1 week with a running sponge filter, and this Monday I started introducing my Bettas which were conditioned on brine shrimp for about a month, into the tank. After the acclimation, Hector had the run of the whole tank while the female was in a breeders net. Well this morning I woke up and checked on them and I found Hector lying on the bottom of the tank, with the part of the gills that are used for flaring, out all the way like he's breathing heavily. I do not see any worms, or infections on him. I just see him breathe heavily and I'm worried I will lose him. What did I do wrong, what is wrong with him, and what can I do to make him better?

 

[Jenste]

you say you have had the tank set up for one week? did you seed the filter? if not, then the tank is not cycled and he is probably suffering from ammonia poisoning. start off with massive, frequent water changes with dechlorinated water

also, the female should have a whole separate tank - - you cannot expect her to live forever in a breeding box.


have you done a massive amount of research on betta keeping? it is not as simple as just putting them together - -

get these two fish happy, healthy, and living for a long time with out any issues - - breeding bettas is very very difficult - - requires a great deal of money, time, knowledge, experience, space and stress.


have you research genetics? contacted fish stores in the area to have them take the fry off your hands? contacted your local fish club?

 

[Feather_Sword]

What is seeding? I have never heard of that term before, at least not in the aquarium hobby.


I am putting him back into his 2.5 gallon tank which is home, and I will change his water frequently. Should I change it every other day, or every two days?

I have done research lots of research on keeping and breeding Bettas, I guess I should have let the 5 gallon cycle longer before attempting to breed them. However, the female is just fine. I'm putting her back into the 16 gallon where she lived in before.

I am planning to give the fry to this local live fish store which I volunteer at sometimes. The owner has over 30 years experience of fish keeping and pond keeping and I talked to his son a while back about giving them the fry and he said they'd take the fry.

 

[Jenste]

seeding is when you take filter media from a thriving, very mature tank, and put it into your filter....using the mature media as "seed" to form your own bacteria colony. and if he is suffering from an uncycled tank - when i said massive, frequent water changes, i meant multiple DAILY....

do you have a water test kit? what are the water stats for all of your tanks?


to be honest, if you aren't fully aware about cycled/cycling tanks...you are definitely not ready to breed bettas - - you will need, quite literally, HUNDREDS of tanks for ONE BATCH of betta fry - - males need to be house individually in tanks, and you need to know about cycling and water stats.

there are some great info links in the beginners section about cycling tanks.

you cannot just plop a filter into a tank and think this will make an immediate, suitable, stable environment. read up on the ammonia -> nitrite -> nitrate cycle and how each one affects the fish.


breeding is a very rewarding experience....when you are ready for it. for now...focus on learning about cycling and keeping bettas happy and healthy...they should live yearS if properly kept...not just a few months to a year - - this is a very short life for a betta with a premature death usually brought on by being poorly kept.


Research Research Research and your experience will be F-U-N and Rewarding . . . Rush and you will be stressed, your fish will be stressed...and may very likely die

 

[Feather_Sword]

Update: I just changed his 2.5 gallon and he seems to be swimming more normally now, and his breathing seems to have eased up a bit too.

I've heard and known about taking mature media and putting into another tank to start the bacteria colony, only thing is I didn't know it was called that and I don't have any spare mature media to use.- Actually I just read that I can hook up the sponge filter to my 16 gallon and let the established tank bacteria form in there.

I don't have any water test kits because, I just have not bought one yet.

I'll leave the 5 gallon running though with another piece of tubing to keep the water circulating, and wont try this again until 2 months from now most likely, when the filter should be fully ready and even before I breed, I'll buy some small fish to try in there then move them to my big tank where they will have a lot more room. Then I will try breeding.