Petstore Bettas

[_sharkman_]

I heard that females from the store will not breed why not? what if its a CT, i heard its not good to breed VTs but never heard anything about CTs?

 

[HODDY]

you can breed pet store bettas but they are mutts basicaly.You never know what you will get.If you breed high quality bettas from a breeder you will more likely know what you will get out of it.But you can still have a mixture but still of high quality.

 

[K.J.]

Basically they may have been raised incorrerectly or are too old or stunted or have not been properly conditioned or have not been around males for a long time. I've tried to breed a pet store betta, the male was perfect and bubblenested but the female flared and attacked like CRAZY. Honestly IMO if you are prepared to breed then you might as well go all the way out and spend the money on a good pair, and if you aren't willing to work up money for a good pair you aren't willing to spawn them.

 

[HODDY]

i personaly would not breed vt's but i may breed ct's,pks etc from a shop i think it would be cool to see hat you'd get out of it all.

 

[_sharkman_]

ok i becuz i already have two CTs male and female but havent tried to breed them yet still doing lots of research and i also have one female VT but its kinda old so idk about that one, but i would just try to breed the CTs when im ready

 

[Bert]

Both of my CT boys are from teh pet shop and I plan to find girls for them to breed. Both make nice big bubble nests and are very pretty. Can't wait to get some girls for them

 

[K.J.]

Both of my CT boys are from teh pet shop and I plan to find girls for them to breed. Both make nice big bubble nests and are very pretty. Can't wait to get some girls for them

I really wouldn't suggest that, but in the end it's all up to you.

Also, CTs are fine to breed but you might be a little shortended up finding places for them to be sold to.

 

[Amunet]

Both of my CT boys are from teh pet shop and I plan to find girls for them to breed. Both make nice big bubble nests and are very pretty. Can't wait to get some girls for them

I really wouldn't suggest that, but in the end it's all up to you.

Also, CTs are fine to breed but you might be a little shortended up finding places for them to be sold to.

*points*
What KJ said.
I would not suggest breeding unless you know you will be able to find homes for the potential high amount of fry they can have. Even trying to rehouse 10-20 bettas is going to be difficult.
Breeding b/c you think it's "cool" just isn't a good reason to do it IMO.
But in the end it's up to the person, just hope if whoever decides to do it, they research EVERYTHING as much as possible and make sure whatever fry they do get will have homes to go to when the time comes.

 

[jollysue]

Breeders with experience will get Bettas, regardless of fin type, with a "pedigree". The pedigee tells the new owner the ancestry of the animal. With a pedigree the breeder can calculate with reasonable accuracy what the offspring will be. What colors the spawn will throw and what percentage of which. The science is genetics and can be used to predict the results of the spawn. The better the pedigree, the more expensive the fish.

Since it is labor intensive and costly to spawn Betta, most will want fry they can sell. And who want to be stuck with a hundred fry to house and raise or to cull? (Cull=kill)

K.J. is correct about some of the reasons Betta don't breed, whether from LPS or a breeder.

 

[mommyof2bettas]

Here's a quote from bettatalk.com...

Avoid pet store bettas like the plague. I have covered the topic in length in my very first Bettatalk Radio show, so here is a little synopsis for those of you who missed it: Pet store bettas are not suitable breeders for many reasons, but here are just a few:

they are too old. Old bettas have no sex drive (not unlike old people LOL) and since they have not yet come up with a Viagra for bettas, you will be S.O.O.L. Most bettas live only 2 years, most of them stop spawning when they are about 14 months and most pet store bettas are already 1 year old or older (because ignorant people want the BIG bettas with BIG fins, not understanding that those bettas lives are already pretty much behind them)
they are often unhealthy. Kept in poor conditions at the pet store and shipped from the far East in even poorer conditions, most of them carry diseases and are either already sick or are contaminated and soon will become sick. You take them home and they die on you. Only bettas in tip top condition make suitable breeders so that means the pet store bettas in most cases are out.
they have the wrong tail type. 99% of pet store bettas are veil tails and veils tails are a thing of the past. Meaning that no reputable breeder breeds veil tails and that the current betta finnage standards have long bypassed the veil tail mutation. We are on to bigger and better things, such as halfmoon tails, delta tails , Double Tails and crowntails. A veil tail is not even allowed to show on the circuit and has no retail value. It will be hard to sell the fry.
last but not least they have no set genes. Meaning they are "mutts", a blend of tons of different genes, the result of none selective breeding, meaning were breed at random without any breeding goal (other than producing tones of cheap bettas to make quick money). You will never be able to accurately predict the outcome of any spawns from pet store bettas. Further more they all carry major faults which would take years and years of hard work to rectify, such as red washes on blue bettas, or blue iridescence on red bettas, bad DT splits and other hidden flaws and deformities.

So do yourself and the betta hobby a BIG favor and don't propagate bad pet store betta genes.

I think that is a very good explanation... Bert, Id on't think you should breed your bettas just because they make big bubblenests, breeding bettas takes a lot of time and dedication, and as said above, avoid pet store bettas.

 

[Bert]

I have been rethinking it after doing a bit more study. I don't plan on breeding anytime soon as I don't have the money or space atm I was just think ahead a few months.

 

[jollysue]

I hear a lot that pet store Bettas are old, but honestly, the VTs I get from the pet store are young and slim. Often their tails are still developing and they certainly have not reached full growth.

On the other hand, their genetics are in question, they have been sold in mass because they are not selected for breeding or showing, and all the rest that has been said.

I do get pet store Bettas, but only as pets and not for breeding. Some have been very healthy and made nice pets. Others died the first water change. I can only assume from shock. So now I am more careful at water changes to re-acclimate and take care that they don't get tossed around.

But for all of the reasons given, pet store Bettas and Bettas whose Breeders do not know the lineage, are not good for breeding.