My First Spawn :)

[Jade107]

I've never bred bettas before, so this will be my first time. I've done a ton of research and found many diferent methods of spawning them. I think I'm going to try using a chimney. I also read somewhere on this forum that red is a dominant gene and it will take over the other colors? Is this true? Because if so I might get a different female. Here is my pair, both crowntails. I just adore crowntails


Male:

By the way, the dates were all screwed up on my camera, so thats why it says december 2007. But I fixed it now

Female:

She was so fast I could only get it with the flash on.

So here is what I have for my bettas. I'm currently bidding on a 5 gallon hex for my female on ebay (who is currently living in a 17 gallon with 3 cories, 3 guppies, and 5 endler fry), I have a 1 gallon mini tank from I don't know how many years ago, but it works. And I have the 6 gallon the male is housed in now. Outside I have a 200-300 gallon pond where I'll be housing the young fry. There they can feed off of the Infusoria. When they grow bigger, a lucky male will be housed in the one gallon, and I'll split the 6 gallon. I'll cut off a few gallons in the pond for some males, separated by rocks, and The endlers and guppiues in the 17 gallon will go into the main part of the pond. Now we can house some females in the 17 gallon. 8 or 9 maybe? The rest of the males will be in jars and females in the pond. Sound good? This is my first time, so I don't know if Ill even get survivors, but these are just preparations So what do you guys think?

 

[Mauricia]

If you divide some sections in the pond I would be careful to make it so the bettas can't jump the dividers. I wonder if there would be some way to make 1/2-1 gallon boxes for the males out of the craft mesh that people use for dividers, it seems like it would be more secure than rock dividers, although maybe you are quite handy and could do well with rock dividers.
And I'm assuming that your pond water is at tropical temps? I'm not a breeding expert but I think you'll want to feed the fry more than just insuforia, did you start bbs growing? Other than that your plan seems ok. Although where are you putting the male if you're planning to put fry in the 6 gallon? Just with the others?

 

[Jade107]

If you divide some sections in the pond I would be careful to make it so the bettas can't jump the dividers. I wonder if there would be some way to make 1/2-1 gallon boxes for the males out of the craft mesh that people use for dividers, it seems like it would be more secure than rock dividers, although maybe you are quite handy and could do well with rock dividers.
And I'm assuming that your pond water is at tropical temps? I'm not a breeding expert but I think you'll want to feed the fry more than just insuforia, did you start bbs growing? Other than that your plan seems ok. Although where are you putting the male if you're planning to put fry in the 6 gallon? Just with the others?

He's staying in the 6 gallon. I'm dividing the 6 gallon so there is 3 gallons on each side, a male on the right side, and the father on the eleft

 

[aly_starh]

Nice couple!

200-300Gallons is way too big btw! Something like 65-100L is what you need for a fry grow-out tank.

Also, the fry will need to be fed more than just infusoria. Like a worm culture of some sort, or Baby Brine Shrimp.

 

[Jade107]

Nice couple!

200-300Gallons is way too big btw! Something like 65-100L is what you need for a fry grow-out tank.

Also, the fry will need to be fed more than just infusoria. Like a worm culture of some sort, or Baby Brine Shrimp.

Heh yeah I know, Its just the pond that was built out there. I was going to cut off a piece of it with rocks and put some silicone in the cracks so they can't escape. I have brine shrimp, by the way I've never used worms before, and they don't stock them at my LFS so are they okay on powdered fry food, infusoria and BBS?

 

[aly_starh]

hiya.

I can garuntee you the pond idea will not work, they will escape through the dividers, big or small. Bettas are good at escaping.

No, worm cultures are more commonly ordered off the internet. Places like Ebay, You are looking for Microworms. They are really cheap aswell. Other worms you could try are Walter and banana. The Brineshrimp, has to be the freshly hatched version. The one you make your own hatchery with. Betta fry wont be able to eat adult BS.

They will be ok on Infusoria for the first 3-4 days. Then you would use a worm culture along with Baby brine shrimp. Then at 4 weeks, you could try grated Bloodworm. At 4-6 weeks you would start them on dry food, eg pellets or flakes, so wean them off the BBS and worm cultures. You could try feeding them adult BS at this age along with Daphnia.

powdered fry food, infusoria and BBS;- I doubt they will eat the powdered fry food. Bettas prefer food that moves, so they can 'hunt'. I know someone who uses dry foods only, but thats another story...lol. I think its easier feeding them all live food tbh.

Hope that helps.
Any more questions, feel free to ask.

 

[Jade107]

hiya.

I can garuntee you the pond idea will not work, they will escape through the dividers, big or small. Bettas are good at escaping.

No, worm cultures are more commonly ordered off the internet. Places like Ebay, You are looking for Microworms. They are really cheap aswell. Other worms you could try are Walter and banana. The Brineshrimp, has to be the freshly hatched version. The one you make your own hatchery with. Betta fry wont be able to eat adult BS.

They will be ok on Infusoria for the first 3-4 days. Then you would use a worm culture along with Baby brine shrimp. Then at 4 weeks, you could try grated Bloodworm. At 4-6 weeks you would start them on dry food, eg pellets or flakes, so wean them off the BBS and worm cultures. You could try feeding them adult BS at this age along with Daphnia.

powdered fry food, infusoria and BBS;- I doubt they will eat the powdered fry food. Bettas prefer food that moves, so they can 'hunt'. I know someone who uses dry foods only, but thats another story...lol. I think its easier feeding them all live food tbh.

Hope that helps.
Any more questions, feel free to ask.

Thanks so much! that really helped. Without this forum I think I would have killed all my fish lol. I think I've seen the little hatchery things at petco before so I'll look today. Also, when are you able to tell if they are male or female? I know the females fins are usually short but what is the males' haven't grown in enough? How do I separate them? My friend's betta that I gave her died yesterday so now shes giving back the tank I gave her for her birthday soo there's a 2 gallon tank for one of the babies...lol

 

[aly_starh]

Thanks so much! that really helped. Without this forum I think I would have killed all my fish lol. I think I've seen the little hatchery things at petco before so I'll look today. Also, when are you able to tell if they are male or female? I know the females fins are usually short but what is the males' haven't grown in enough? How do I separate them? My friend's betta that I gave her died yesterday so now shes giving back the tank I gave her for her birthday soo there's a 2 gallon tank for one of the babies...lol

Hiya
We all learn from our mistakes. Although it really hurts when you lose fry etc. lol

Yes, the hatchery things you saw at Petsmart are most likely it. When it comes to sexing the betta fry, in about 3 months you should be able to see whats what. Apart from the normal fin differences, the males will start building nests and flare. (females flare too, but males have an extra 'beard' when flaring)

As soon as you see aggression start separating them. This can be from 2 months onwards. By 3.5 months all the males should be in there own containers.


Containers can be 2L pop bottles cut in half, so i 1L container basically. This space is adequate for tubbing fry. Some people also use old jam jars, i persnally think thats too small. You will need to make sure you do daily water changes, as ammonia will build up really fast, especially with a high protien diet that betta fry need. All the containers need to be kept warm, this can be done by either a heat-mat or by placing them in a warm room. They will need to be kept at atleast 26C to keep there health in good condition.

 

[Jade107]

Thank you! I want to make sure I have alll the information before I breed them. But I'm confused on when you remove the male. When they are free swimming?

 

[Jonty]

Thank you! I want to make sure I have alll the information before I breed them. But I'm confused on when you remove the male. When they are free swimming?

Yep, when they are free-swimming (a few days) remove the male, as he'll be very hungry