Right, at the moment i have a male betta. 3 females are on their way and i should have them by the end of next week. I have 2 spare bowls that i think they could breed in. One is 5litres and one is 10litres. I want to know how to tell when they are ready to breed, the best way to set the tanks up. Which tank size is best and how many females to put in with the male.
PS both tanks are without heaters or filters. Would adding a swan mussel in there help as i wont use filters?
2007-08-03 02:54:07 · 4 answers · asked by Cambridge Aquatics 4 in Pets ➔ Fish
I'm afraid your idea will not work, you are going to need considerably more tank space than you currently have available as well as sponge filters and heaters for the breeding tanks. I have been breeding bettas for over 20 years and this is how I do it.
Breeding tank: A 10 gallon makes a good breeding tank for bettas. Place in on a dark surface and set it up with no gravel or decorations. Use a small sponge filter and a heater. Maintain the heat at 78-82, the temperature is not really that critical. Using a hood is a good idea to hold in heat and moisture.
Conditioning: Condition the male in the breeding tank. Condition the female in a separate tank and be sure they cannot see each other. Feed well on frozen or live foods alternating with flakes or pellets for at least a week. The female should be plump with eggs and the male should be flaring and showing his best color, maybe even building a bubble nest.
Spawning: Drop the water level in the breeding tank to about 5" deep. Place the female in a bowl or other container next to the breeding tank so that the male can see her. As soon as there is a good bubble nest in the breeding tank add the female. Check for eggs in the bubble nest every few hours. You know they are finished when the female is hiding from the male and he no longer leaves the nest to chase her down. He will also not be trying to attract her to the nest. At this time remove the female from the breeding tank. If they fail to breed within a few hours go back and repeat the conditioning steps for a week.
Eggs and fry: The eggs will hatch in 2 days. At first the male will collect the babies and return them to the bubble nest, this is normal. Once you see that the babes are able to swim in a normal fashion, remove the male. Now is the time to start feeding the babies. Feed them newly hatched brine shrimp, micro worms or vinegar eels. Feed several times a day for the first week to 10 days. At that time you can start adding some powdered flake food to their diet and begin increasing the water level in the tank.
Care: The babies need very clean water. Do a 50% or more water change every day and be sure to remove any uneaten food or dead babies that you see. Keeping the water clean and changed very often is one of the major keys to success. Be sure you cull the brood. Culling is to remove unwanted fish. Remove any deformed fish right away and destroy them.
Rearing and selection: Eventually you will need to split the batch as they will over crowd the 10 gallon. Removing the females to another tank is the best way. The males can stay together without a problem. Continue to feed quality foods of increasing size working your way up to frozen or adult brine shrimp and continue to do large daily water changes. Once they begin to develop color, you should cull based on color. Keep the color you like and remove the rest. Even if you started with two reds you will get a few that are not red or are not evenly colored. If they are near adult size a shop should buy them from you or at least give you some store credit. Be ruthless, keep only the very best to breed with next time around.
The males can stay together basically for their entire lives as long as you never separate them. Once separated even for a day they will begin to fight so keep that in mind.
Best of luck and stick with it, you'll have baby betta before you know it!
MM
2007-08-03 03:19:50 · answer #1 · answered by magicman116 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
you cant breed in a bowl. if your a beginner...
i have bred bettas in under 1 gallon, but that is because i am an expert at this for 13 years.
you will need to get a 10 gallon tank. it should be bare, have a sponge filter, and a small heater.
You will need to do ALOT moreresearch. because breeding bettas arent as easy asadd a male and a female and they will breed.
You will also need to condition them, for 2 weeks on live and high in fat foods.
Again you can just add two bettas and hope it works.
You can not just add 3 females with a male, you need to breed only one female with one male at a time.
Again from the sound of it, it sounds like you dont know very much and just want to breed them.
You will need to do ALOT of research... try looking at my betta site http://www.bcaquatics.com for betta beeding also plenty of other betta sites.
Remember my favorite saying "just because you can get a male and a female betta, doesnt mean that you can/should breed them. Breeding bettas isnt a right it is a previgel that i and other breeders have had the luck and grace to have"
2007-08-03 11:03:14 · answer #2 · answered by Coral Reef Forum 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Sorry, breeding can only take place in a tank of 10 gallons or more. 5 litres is only 1.3 gallons.
2007-08-03 13:34:59 · answer #3 · answered by ninjaaa! 5 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Please help with breeding bettas please?
2007-08-03 10:01:15 · answer #4 · answered by MCisEVIL 3 · 0⤊ 2⤋