How To Breed?

[DavidPenniall]

Please, would love to have my own fish to look after from the start not at some random after buying out of the shop?

 

[Platygirl11]

1) How much money are you willing to spend on these fish?
Bettas will need at least a filtered and heated 10 gal to spawn in, and at least a 20 gal growout tank for the babies, possibly over 100 babies. Each male baby will need it's own heated and filtered container or tank, including the father unless you plan on doing 50+ large water changes every day, which brings me to:
2) How much time are you willing to spend on the fish?
There's no shame in saying that you want a low matinence breed, but bettas require a lot of care while breeding, from the conditioning of the male and female to the baby brine shrimp hatchery for the fry, all the while knowing that the breed might not be at all successful.
3) Could you find homes for 100+ babies?
Bettas have a lot of babies, and if they do well you could be stuck with hundreds of babies who need homes. Make sure you know responsible people to undertake the care of these babies.

Answer all these honestly. If you are new to fish keeping I would advise against attempting to breed bettas. A pet store betta is a nice addition to a room in a decorated, heated, and filtered 5 gallon on its own, and around 6 female bettas can be kept together in a 10 gallon with many hiding places. You do not need to breed bettas to enjoy their stunning colors and interesting individual personalities.

 

[DavidPenniall]

1) How much money are you willing to spend on these fish?
Bettas will need at least a filtered and heated 10 gal to spawn in, and at least a 20 gal growout tank for the babies, possibly over 100 babies. Each male baby will need it's own heated and filtered container or tank, including the father unless you plan on doing 50+ large water changes every day, which brings me to:
2) How much time are you willing to spend on the fish?
There's no shame in saying that you want a low matinence breed, but bettas require a lot of care while breeding, from the conditioning of the male and female to the baby brine shrimp hatchery for the fry, all the while knowing that the breed might not be at all successful.
3) Could you find homes for 100+ babies?
Bettas have a lot of babies, and if they do well you could be stuck with hundreds of babies who need homes. Make sure you know responsible people to undertake the care of these babies.

Answer all these honestly. If you are new to fish keeping I would advise against attempting to breed bettas. A pet store betta is a nice addition to a room in a decorated, heated, and filtered 5 gallon on its own, and around 6 female bettas can be kept together in a 10 gallon with many hiding places. You do not need to breed bettas to enjoy their stunning colors and interesting individual personalities.

Ok there goes that plan

Whats the best fish to breed then?

 

[tibby25731]

You want easy? Try livebearers Or try kribensis, they are fascinating to watch as they bring up their young.
For livebearers, just have about 3 girls to each boy, and leave them to it. In a community tank, most will get eaten. if you have a spare small tank, you can always move the pregnant girls to it when they are ready to give birth - their bellies are very large and have a 'squared-off' appearance when they are ready. Then when the babies are big enough not to be eaten, move them to your main tank
For kribensis, you need a pair, and some coconut caves for them to spawn in. You can do this in a community, but any small fish like tetras might get killed as the kribs defend their eggs/young. And if you have any fish likely to steal eggs, you might have a few fights on your hands! A separate tank is the safest thing for them, I bred mine in a 60litre tank which was fine - then when the babies started to grow, moved them into my 4ft community. Be aware though, there could be around 100 babies each time, so it is best for most babies to be eaten in a community unless you know of an LFS who will take all babies!
If you want a real good betta, buy one off one of the breeders on here - that way you know the age and history of the fish. Where are you based?

 

[Platygirl11]

Livebearer babies are also easier to take care of, if you decide to. Any crushed dried foods will work. I'm not too experienced with egg layers.

 

[tibby25731]

Ah, kribs are easy too - liquifry 1 for egg layers, then liquifry 2... then crushed dried foods I use liquifry for livebearers for my baby endlers I love watching baby fish grow!