True Or False About Betta Conditioning?

[Neal]

When I got my first betta from Barrats garden centre, it came in an about .5 litre cube and it also came with a sheet of information, that I am wondering if it is true or not, so I am going to type up the information and get your points of views on it, too see if the shop is actually being cruel on the fish or not.
Here it goes:
NOTE: Sorry, at the minute I cannot find the information sheet, but off the top of my head I can basically say what they said.
Bettas are supposed to live in swamps and muddy ditches, they have been bred over hundreds of years to be show fish, and the .5 litre cube is a perfect environment for them as they feel safe and can show off their fins.

It's something along the lines of that, but when I find the letter I shall edit my post and show you what they said, I kept my betta in the cube for about 2 weeks and then I went back to barrats to buy a bigger tank (about 2G). It now looks alot happier in that tank, but it isn't very active, I think it's because the temperature might be too low, but it's a 50W heater in a 2G tank, so it shouldn't be too low at all, and I also do not know how to alter the heater or test my water temperature (I do not have a thermometer). I bought some silk plants today, but i'm going to totally refresh my tanks tommorow and change around the ornaments, so my big tank can have a big ornament, and my little tank can have the little ornament, i'm also chucking an ornament away as it is rubbish quality and it's very old, I have a plastic flower/plant thing, two natural (ferns I think they are called, I always forget the name, they are common tree/bush like plants that are only small), three silk plants, wich are 1X ECHINODORUS - "RED RUBIN" (10CM)
1X NUPHAR JAPONICA (10CM)
1X LOBELIA CARDINALIS (20CM).

 

[Wisperian]

dont pay attention to that information thing =/ for heavens sake i wouldnt be surprised if it told you that bettas could survive off bits of mcdonalds hamburgers. i recommend at least a 1g tank but you have a 2g one which is really good =)

 

[SPLiSH]

.5 litre! The 'information' is not true. Bettas live in rice paddies:

For a few weeks a year, these paddies lose water and little puddles are made but the bettas are only in these for a little while.

Your setup sounds great now, the fish is probably just settling in. Keep us updated!

 

[SkydiveSonic]

How can they show off their fins if they hardly have enough water to cover them, never mind MOVE? The only thing that should go into a .5 litre container is a drink ....

 

[SPLiSH]

How can they show off their fins if they hardly have enough water to cover them, never mind MOVE? The only thing that should go into a .5 litre container is a drink ....

Well said!

It's like making a dog live in your living room forever.. it might survive but it'd be better off dead.

 

[Neal]

You asked to be updated, so i'm going to tell you my future plans and I would like you to tell me if they are reasonable and if they will work.
I am getting rid of my two black goldfish in my 3G tank as I have been told they will grow big, so i'm giving them to someone who has a pond, i'm going to buy another 2G tank and a nice female. The 3G tank has an undergravel filter (i'm not going to use it when spawning, just when cleaning the tank out), with an air stone. I am going to put the following in my 3 Gallon,
50W heater.
Silk plants (probably all three, what do you recommend?)
Biggish cave ornament (for the female to hide)
I have been told not to use any gravel either.

For the males tank i'm going to put in,
All-In-One Filter (Mechanical,Chemical and Biological).
Plastic flower/plant.
Bridge ornament (the crappy one i wanted to chuck away).
Normal Gravel with big stones in.

The females tank will be,
Two Natural 'ferns'
Blue + green mixed gravel.
Small castle ornament.

A few questions I would like answered please!
1) Do you think I should be putting the filter in with the female rather than the male or not?
2) I have a light built into my cabinet wich I put on for a few hours during the day, should I put the male under this or the female?
3) When I have the male and female in my spawning tank, am I suppose to turn off the under gravel filter?
4) I would like to know if you agree with these setups, please tell me if you do, and if you don't please tell me why not.
5) Do you have any other suggestions that could save me money? ie. Putting a divider on my 2G tank?
6) What are the best conditions for them to be in the spawning tank? (Filter on/off? Heater 70-80*C? No Gravel?

 

[happyannie]

Neal, honestly I think you should wait and get to know Bettas real well to the point where you're more sure of what you're doing before you start breeding. I get anxious to take steps too so you're not alone in that feeling. I think you should just take it step by step so you know what they need and want as a breed before you go that far. When you are more sure, you'll have better instincts and can cope easier if something goes wrong and will have more creativity too. When you've got alot more experience then I think it would be a natural for you to spawn them. I know I think about doing this but just don't have enough experience yet and just don't want to take any little betta lives as a result of my ineptitude. Then you won't have to post asking frantic questions hoping that someone will get right back to you ASAP and all that sense of urgency stuff with those little betta lives hanging in the balance...not just one but maybe 100. All things come to us in good time if we persist with them so hang in there and keep your focus going. Might not be that long of a time anyways....that's my advice to you.
Also the 50 watt heater is a pretty powerful one for a small tank. I have a 25w Stealth in a 10 gallon and that's about right for that.

 

[Neal]

Thanks for that, but I was just trying to find out alot of breeding information and I don't plan to get a female just yet (I only have a male) but I was just like trying to show my future plans if you know what I mean, I can see where your coming from and I was trying to rush into things, but still I don't plan to get a female for about a month anyway, I want to learn about all the equiptment first ect... I have a few problems anyway, I still have three goldfish to re-home, it shouldn't be that hard but... I also think my male needs to recover as when I very first got my bigger tank and my female (about 2 month ago) i put him in hot water and nearly burnt him alive, luckily my brother was there and realised they were panicking and we revived them in cold water, my brother took the female to his tank as my male kept attacking her, sadly my female died and my male pulled through, his colour is just starting to show alot more now, and he looks very pretty! Also, I think my filter's current is too powerful for my betta, and I don't want to get rid of it as 1) It does a good job keeping the tank clean, and 2) It did cost me money, the only thing I can do is turn it to its lowest setting but I am still unsure if it's too powerful or not for him.

 

[severina]

I would just like to add that if you're breeding bettas, you should find a really nice pair and not just breed the fish you have now because its there/you're attached to it so you want to see it have babies. Like Annie said, you could have 100 little babies that you'd have to find homes for, and its much easier to get rid of 100 nicely bred crowntails or delta/halfmoons than veiltail multi colored mutts. I have nothing against multis or veiltails, mind you, I've got 2 of them. But the fact remains that you would have alot, so you want something that will sell.

I've never seen a veiltail, no matter how pretty the coloring, sell on Aquabid or anywhere else besides a pet store, and pet stores already have breeders that they get them from.

 

[Wisperian]

I would just like to add that if you're breeding bettas, you should find a really nice pair and not just breed the fish you have now because its there/you're attached to it so you want to see it have babies. Like Annie said, you could have 100 little babies that you'd have to find homes for, and its much easier to get rid of 100 nicely bred crowntails or delta/halfmoons than veiltail multi colored mutts. I have nothing against multis or veiltails, mind you, I've got 2 of them. But the fact remains that you would have alot, so you want something that will sell.

I've never seen a veiltail, no matter how pretty the coloring, sell on Aquabid or anywhere else besides a pet store, and pet stores already have breeders that they get them from.

amen

 

[Neal]

I'd love to have a nice pair of CT's, but where am I going to put my VT? I can't buy any new tanks as I simply do not have the space or the money, the only thing I can put him in is my cruel 0.5litre cube...

 

[severina]

Go to the dollar store and buy a big vase, bowl, whatever. Or look out for garage sales and second hand stores. I got my 25 gallon at a second hand store for $10. Bettas do not have to have a filter, so don't worry about that. If you have trouble finding space for one more fish, how are you going to handle the 100+ babies? Also think about the ones you won't beable to get rid of. Especially if they are vieltails you'll probably end up with pretty much the entire hatch. I'm not lecturing, just something to think about.

 

[happyannie]

I have a neighbor who keeps her little female in a glass coffee pot. Shes been lucky about not having the fish jump out though so if she had a cover it would be complete. That's another reason I can't breed them at this point too. No room! You'd have the bowls for the male and female to keep them seperated--then the grow out tank for the fry--then little individual bowls of some kind to keep the babies seperated as they will begin fighting with each other as soon as they are old enough. This all takes alot of time, money and room. It's quite a commitment too. If some of them are at the point where they need to be seperated--well, just count on spending the day taking 50 fry out of the tank and putting them in small bowls....which involves conditioning the water first etc. If you have to be at a certain activity or want to go someplace, tough luck. Let's say you managed to have 100 live and had to seperate all of them.....