ok i have done alot of research on the subject, and the methods differ greatly from breeder to breeder, so i thought i would ask all of you your methods and what is right and wrong........ warning, this is quite long so just answer what you feel like, (yeeves you dont have to if your hands still hurt :) ) ok, heres the first one. (there are 30 questions :D ;) )
1. at what time should i set up the breeding tank? (during conditioning?)
2. should there be cycled tank water in the aquarium? (or tap?)
3. is salt necessary/good in the breeding aquarium and healing tank? ( 2 tsp per gallon?)
4. 5 inches of water in a 10 gallon tank?
5. when should the sponge filter be on/off? (during spawning/ fry hatch?)
6. is a gang valve necessary for the filter?
7. another site says that once you add the first inches of water, dont add anymore for 3 wks. is this true?
8. it says aged water is best, how do you age water, i have other aquariums, i can take it from them? (is that aged)
9. when should i add the almond leaves to the aquarium, and can i also add the spawn aid with the leaves?
10. are air bubbles necessary in the breeding tank? if so when should i have them on?
11. when should the light be on? (during breeding?)
12. some site said that they add more than one female per spawn. is this okay?
13. another site told me i should put saran wrap on top of the tank and then put on the lid??
14. one site said that i should condition them so they can see each other, and the other said they should see no other fish during conditioning. which is correct?
15. another method is realeasing the male for an hour/minute/whole day! into the breeding tank alone, which do you recommend?
16. is inbreeding brothers and sisters okay? someine said it was BAD.
17. when i put the female in the chimney, how long should i wait to realease her, some say just put her in the chimney and leave for a whole day. what do you do?
18. another thing, should i only realease the female after a bubble nest is built? and if he doest make one when she is in the glass, how long should i wait before i realease her anyway?
19. after i realease the female someone says that if they dont spawn within 48 hrs, take her out and stop the spawning?
20. do any of you watch the whole time? 12 hours straight?
21. after they spawn, how long should yo wait to start conditioning again, someone said 2 wks.
22. what if there is some premature eggrelease, should i quit the spawn?
23. what if the male refuses to put the eggs in the nest/eats them? this site said to lower the water to 2 inches and take out the male and female.
24. they say the lowest temp for fry is 70 degrees>?
25. are live brine shrimp absolutely necessary, is so where to buy them?
26. is day two after hatch, is that the frst meal time?
27. is it safe to feed them chicken livers,(i know it will foul water) they say it greatly intensifies coloring.
28. after two wks is the first tank cleaning? (baster)
29. they say it is safe to transport the fry to a larger tank after 6 weeks. is that correct?
30. ahh last one!! (my hands hurt now too) how did your first attempt at breeding bettas go? was it a success?
i know this is a real lot of questions, but if i am to breed bettas, i will need to know these. (also you said i could ask them lol lol :LOL:: ::bettas!!!:: :D )
thank you very much in advance!
Wow, that is a lot of questions... But that's a good thing, you're doing your research...
Here goes....
1. at what time should i set up the breeding tank? (during conditioning?)
Personally I would set up the breeding tank around the second week of conditioning.
2. should there be cycled tank water in the aquarium? (or tap?)
I think cycled water would be better, but if it would already be sitting for a week during the last week of conditioning it wouldn't matter as much IMO.
3. is salt necessary/good in the breeding aquarium and healing tank? ( 2 tsp per gallon?)
I almost always use salt in all of my tanks. Around 1-2tsp per gallon sounds pretty good to me.
4. 5 inches of water in a 10 gallon tank?
I usually put in 4-5" of water.
5. when should the sponge filter be on/off? (during spawning/ fry hatch?)
I would say turn it on after the tank is set up, then turn it off during spawning and until the fry are around 2 weeks old, then turn it off and leave it for however long.
6. is a gang valve necessary for the filter?
I would say it depends on the filter.
7. another site says that once you add the first inches of water, dont add anymore for 3 wks. is this true?
Hard to say.. I don't think it would matter that much. Just as long as you add water in slowly I don't think it matters much.
8. it says aged water is best, how do you age water, i have other aquariums, i can take it from them? (is that aged)
I think that would be fine. But by aging a lot of people mean letting the water sit in jugs or buckets for a while.
9. when should i add the almond leaves to the aquarium, and can i also add the spawn aid with the leaves?
I would put the almond leaves in when you first set up the tank. I don't think it would be a problem adding a spawn aid in there too.
10. are air bubbles necessary in the breeding tank? if so when should i have them on?
I don't think they are necessary.
11. when should the light be on? (during breeding?)
Personally, I know a lot of people leave the light on during breeding, I don't leave the lights on. I mean in the wild they don't get the sun to stay up just so they can spawn and take care of the fry. But that's just my opinion.
12. some site said that they add more than one female per spawn. is this okay?
I've never tried that before. I could see a couple problems with that though. First off the females might decide to fight with each other, second if you didn't see which female the male spawned with then you have no clue who's fry they are. And one or both females might eat the eggs while they are spawning.
13. another site told me i should put saran wrap on top of the tank and then put on the lid??
If you have saran wrap on top of the tank you wouldn't NEED a lid on the tank unless you wanted to put a light on the tank. Which I'm sure a lot of people do. I don't. I just use a lamp if I want light for the tank.
14. one site said that i should condition them so they can see each other, and the other said they should see no other fish during conditioning. which is correct?
I'd just say go with which you think would be best. I'd say there really is no correct way.
15. another method is realeasing the male for an hour/minute/whole day! into the breeding tank alone, which do you recommend?
Again I think it's personal preference. For me sometimes it varies depending on the male.
16. is inbreeding brothers and sisters okay? someine said it was BAD.
It's alright up to a point. I personally don't take my lines further than F4. Mainly because I don't want the fry to end up with problems from the line being inbred a whole lot.
17. when i put the female in the chimney, how long should i wait to realease her, some say just put her in the chimney and leave for a whole day. what do you do?
I usually wait at least 12 hours, some times a whole day. It depends on the female.
18. another thing, should i only realease the female after a bubble nest is built? and if he doest make one when she is in the glass, how long should i wait before i realease her anyway?
It doesn't matter nearly as much as some people may make it seem. Some males won't make a bubble nest until the pair is spawning and some won't make a nest until a day or so after spawning and some never make a nest at all...
19. after i realease the female someone says that if they dont spawn within 48 hrs, take her out and stop the spawning?
I would only do that if the male is really hurting the female. I would leave them together for a max of 5 days.
20. do any of you watch the whole time? 12 hours straight?
Are you meaning watch the pair spawn? Some times yes, but I have yet to have a pair spawn for more than 4 hours.
21. after they spawn, how long should yo wait to start conditioning again, someone said 2 wks.
I personally think it depends on how much damage the female got during spawning. Usually 2 weeks is a safe call.
22. what if there is some premature eggrelease, should i quit the spawn?
Release the female..... If she's that ready to spawn, why terminate the spawn?
23. what if the male refuses to put the eggs in the nest/eats them? this site said to lower the water to 2 inches and take out the male and female.
You can do that, but some times the female will help put the eggs into the nest, so you could possibly leave her in. Or if worse comes to worse you could become an egg snatcher, then after the pair is through spawning and you've removed the pair, bring the water level down and put the eggs back in the spawning tank.
24. they say the lowest temp for fry is 70 degrees>?
I thought it was 80... I'd keep the water around 80-82 degrees.
25. are live brine shrimp absolutely necessary, is so where to buy them?
Live baby brine shrimp are IMO necessary, but some people use microworms and vinegar eels. You can buy the eggs on AB or someplace else online, I think there is a place called brineshrimpdirect.com, but I'm not 100% sure.
26. is day two after hatch, is that the frst meal time?
Usually the second day after they hatch is when I give my fry their first meal, or depending on the size of the fry, day three.
27. is it safe to feed them chicken livers,(i know it will foul water) they say it greatly intensifies coloring.
I've never tried that before. I'm not sure that would be safe to feed them, but I don't really know.
28. after two wks is the first tank cleaning? (baster)
That sounds about right, but depending on how fast or slow your fry are growing I think you could start cleaning the tank sooner, or in some cases even later.
29. they say it is safe to transport the fry to a larger tank after 6 weeks. is that correct?
I think they are safe to move after they've developed their labyrinth organs (approx. 4wks).
30. ahh last one!! (my hands hurt now too) how did your first attempt at breeding bettas go? was it a success?
Actually, amazingly enough my first attempt at breeding bettas went well. At least for the spawning part. I didn't know much about what I was doing, but I had been reading a little bit and everything went well until the pair was finished spawning. I believe the either the male started eating the eggs or he had gotten torn up a bit during spawning so he was removed early and the eggs never hatched, and I didn't have anything that would have aided in their hatching.
1. at what time should i set up the breeding tank? (during conditioning?)
In my fishroom, as soon as a tank is emptied, I set it up for the next pair.
2. should there be cycled tank water in the aquarium? (or tap?)
If you cycle, yes, but aged water is fine
3. is salt necessary/good in the breeding aquarium and healing tank? ( 2 tsp per gallon?)
No. My salt consentration works out to a tablespoon per 10 gallons. At the convention it was pointed out that the addition of salt is for osmotic regulation, and as a paracitic control, that ultimately isn't necessary, and that soft acidic waters have low salt consentrations in it.
In other words, it is a personal preferance.
4. 5 inches of water in a 10 gallon tank?
Long finned males, 2-4 inches, short finned males up tp 5 inches.
5. when should the sponge filter be on/off? (during spawning/ fry hatch?)
6. is a gang valve necessary for the filter?
I do not use filters. Ever. Maybe this will change, but so far, I have not had the need.
7. another site says that once you add the first inches of water, dont add anymore for 3 wks. is this true?
No. First if you do not add water, the water that is in there will evaporate, consentrating organic wastes as well as ammonia, nitrates, etc.
Not adding water is a good way to get a dead spawn.
The best way is to add about a half gallon of water a day starting the second week, and the third week remove 1/2 gallon of water, and add a gallon of water.
8. it says aged water is best, how do you age water, i have other aquariums, i can take it from them? (is that aged)
Let the water sit for a period of time. At least a day is considered aged.
9. when should i add the almond leaves to the aquarium, and can i also add the spawn aid with the leaves?
If you are adding something to the water, add it when you first set the tank up. If you are using Atisons spa, because this is the product I use, I would add it the night before you add the fish, and the leaf right before you add the fish.
10. are air bubbles necessary in the breeding tank? if so when should i have them on?
No.
11. when should the light be on? (during breeding?)
I leave the light on the whole time. Even if it is just ambient light, but then my fish are all in my living room.
12. some site said that they add more than one female per spawn. is this okay?
There is only one time that it is OK to add a female, and that is if the female you are trying to breed is being reluctant.
The adding of a rival, and the sparring for alpha position can help to induce that female to breed once her rival is removed, IF the rival didn't beat her up, which is why you must carefully monitor the situation if you decide to use this trick to induce breeding.
But most males will not spawn with two females at the same time. In fact, the male and his female could gang up on the lone female and kill her.
MAYBE the wilds like malachai, imbellis, or smargdina will breed two females at once, but not splendens.
13. another site told me i should put saran wrap on top of the tank and then put on the lid??
You can do both, but neither is necessary. Saran wrap is good for holding in the humidity.
14. one site said that i should condition them so they can see each other, and the other said they should see no other fish during conditioning. which is correct?
Neither and both, it is a personal preferance.
I get the same results if I contition them so they can only see each other, and so they see no one. I don't think it really matters.
15. another method is realeasing the male for an hour/minute/whole day! into the breeding tank alone, which do you recommend?
My males usually have the spawning tank for a day or two before they get their girl.
Remember, these are territorial fish. You just took the male out of his territory, and into another. Sometimes the male needs a day or two to get comfortable in his new territory. His instincts are going to make him want to patrol, and make sure that this new territory is a unclaimed, and a safe place to raise his babies.
16. is inbreeding brothers and sisters okay? someine said it was BAD.
It is not. Yes, when breeding such closely related fish, the chance of deadly recessives popping up is greater, but because bettas have so many babies at one time, the breeder can take the risk of inbreeding, because though there are going to be a percentage that have genetic issues due to the inbreeding, there are going to be those who are perfectaly normal... Or what passes for normal in bettas, lol.
Those who got the short end of the gentic stick will either die, get eaten or killed by spawn mates, or be culled by the breeder, eliminating them from the gene pool.
Also, I want to point out that F1, does NOT mean first generation of brother and sister being bred together, like some may think.
F1 stands for Filial 1, the first filial generation seeds/plants or animal offspring resulting from a cross mating of distinctly different parental types. If you breed an F1 fish to one of it's parents, the results are F2.. It has nothign todo with brother sister inbreeding, but with generations of fixing a certain trait into the line.
I thought I should point that out.
This is why you can have people with F28 fish, and no, that was not a typo.
They maintain several closely related lines, and interbreed them for the selected traitm making them filial bred.
17. when i put the female in the chimney, how long should i wait to realease her, some say just put her in the chimney and leave for a whole day. what do you do?
It depends on the female. I usually plop the female in the tank, and let what happens happens.
If it is a shy female, I might put her in the tank for a day or two first, then put her in a betta condo whose top is even with the water level , and add the male.
I sometimes do this anyway.
And when the female is ready, she will jump out, unless she is stupid, in which case I let her out.
This is not something that can be measured in time. It is about aditude and behavior.
You have to learn to read your females body languages, and she will tell you when she is ready for release.
Shadowing the male as he flares at her is a good sign, flaring back, a head down, tail up postition, the protruding of the ovipositor, all of these show that the female is ready for release, and is a better indicator than any time spawn would be.
18. another thing, should i only realease the female after a bubble nest is built? and if he doest make one when she is in the glass, how long should i wait before i realease her anyway?
Some males don't make bubblenests until they are spawning. I give the male a square of bubblewrap, about 4x4 inches, and let them have at it. Ie female is showing she is ready, let her loose.
These are some males that will smack her around, and send her off in a corner to wait until he is ready, but that is normal. As for the last, read the above.
19. after i realease the female someone says that if they dont spawn within 48 hrs, take her out and stop the spawning?
Not I. I have been known to leave the together for a month or more, though to be honest, the longer I leave a pair, the less likely they will spawn. I don't care though, as long as they aren't killing each other.
20. do any of you watch the whole time? 12 hours straight?
The longest spawn I have ever had was 8 hours, Most are about 4 hours. I doubt 12 hours is the norm..
My tanks are in my living room, so I can pull the female as soon as they are finished.
21. after they spawn, how long should yo wait to start conditioning again, someone said 2 wks.
For the female, it depends on how much damage she took. For the male, the same, though I leave my males with the fry, so they stay in condition, and I have pulled a male from one spawn only to have him spawn again 3 days later.
22. what if there is some premature eggrelease, should i quit the spawn?
No, but you'd best release the female because obviously she is ready.
Remember, a female can drop more than 100 eggs in a spawn
23. what if the male refuses to put the eggs in the nest/eats them? this site said to lower the water to 2 inches and take out the male and female.
Some males are messy breeders. They will not put the eggs into the lest until after they finish spawning. IF after you remove the female, a hour later, the eggs are still on the bottom, I would remove the male.
I have never had this happen though.
With munching males, I drop the water to 1/4th an inch, and put an under tank heater for reptiles under the tank. Also, I double dose with Maroxy. I have foubd that the regular dose doesn't prevent fungus.
24. they say the lowest temp for fry is 70 degrees>?
The lowest I would feel safe with hatching is 78. 80-82 is the optimal hatching range, from lowest to highest. Some hatch at 83 degrees.
Cooler than that, you have fry that use up all their egg yolk growing, then hatch out, and die of starvation, before they even get a chance to eat.
Too hot, the same thing happens, they use up their yolk with the exccelerated growth, and end up dying.When hatching at a cooler temp, be sure to have food ready for them to eat as soon as they are free swimming. I usually add vinegar eels right before they are ready to free swim.
25. are live brine shrimp absolutely necessary, is so where to buy them?
No, they are not absolutely neccesary.. I mean, think about it.. They are SALT WATER. Bettas are fresh water.
But it is going to be nearly impossible to feed your babies without them. We do not have the capacity, in most cases, to grow fairy shrimp, scuds, mosquitoes, daphnia, bloodworms, etc that would make up their natural diet in enough numbers to keep them fed.
Because if that, is is better to hatch out brine shrimp napulli to feed your babies. BBS cysts are usually readily available at many pet stores, I know PetSmart carries them
However they do not have a high quality product, and it is better to get your eggs from a source such as brineshrimp direct.
26. is day two after hatch, is that the frst meal time?
The time to feed them is when they are free swimming.
I usually add some food about 36 hours after hatching.
Please remember, the fry were not all laid at the same time, they are not all going to hatch at the same time.
Free swimming age often depends partially on tank temps.
The warmer the tank, the faster they will free swim. but too warm, and they will develop too fast, and will die.
27. is it safe to feed them chicken livers,(i know it will foul water) they say it greatly intensifies coloring.
I have not ard of this, and I would not do this.
There are plently of foods that are foumulated for fish, prepared, live, frozen and freeze dried.
Besides, when was last time you saw a bettas hunting chicken?
28. after two wks is the first tank cleaning? (baster)
I clean the tank when the tank has been mostly filled.. see above.
29. they say it is safe to transport the fry to a larger tank after 6 weeks. is that correct?
I transport them at any and all ages, and have not had a problem, but this is ME. The earliest I recommend moving fry is less age, and more size.
3/16th to 1/4 inch.
30. ahh last one!! (my hands hurt now too) how did your first attempt at breeding bettas go? was it a success?
Two VTs, over a year old, never bred, not conditioned, 150 plus fry.
I would say that was a success...
Oh, and this was in a full bin, not a tank.