FishProfiles.com Message Forums

I have attempted breeding bettas about 3 or 4 times now-- ya, i got them to breed and had the eggs hatch and had cute little betta fry but then they always seem 2 die and i just dont know why!!!!!!! i think i am gonna attempt it again. I have a male and a female, both have a green color. I am really hoping that i will be able 2 keep the little fry a live this time. i have baby brine shrimp eggs-- but i was thinking about doing something a little bit different this time. i was going to get a live plant (can someone please tell me the best kind to get) so that can be their first food (the live bugs or whatever from the plant). the last times i just started feeding them bbs right away.
i will be using a 5.5 gallon tank. i have all the equipment needed to breed them. watching bettas breed is the most fascinating thing i have ever seen any kind of fish do. i am excited about seeing it once again. i have seen all of my bettas breed each time i bred them and hopefully i will see this one too. these 2 bettas are very special to me, i have had my male for a while now, and i never had a name for him- then i knew the perfect name, gary, in memory of gary who passed away.
so- is there anything else i need to know?? thank you all so much!!
--kristin

~!!I lOve LiFe!!~

sounds good. here try my post where i go through the steps, i hope it helps.http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/forums/Advanced%20Betta%20Care/56836.html?08695484

also, yes with the plants. that will very good with your breeding plans. try anarchis,or any kind of leafy plants. jave moss is always good. if u are going to a lfs to get the plants ask them if they can give you some of the water from the tank where the plant came from, b/c that water is filled with all kinds of stuff that the young fry will eat. bbs are too large for most fry when they are free swimming. you can try feeding them that(some breeders will do that and it may work) but the bbs should be feed to them when they are a week old.

ok!! thank you very much and i read your post on breeding bettas and it was really good. So- for the first week, can they feed off the food from the plants? I was also going to try an make some infurisa(sp??) where u take a lettuce leaf and put it in old water and sit it in the sun for awhile. is that what the plant will make?? i have the tank sit up right now. im just conditioning them for a few days-- the female is acutally already really fat w/ eggs- so i dont think i will condition them for long, maybe another day or so. i will keep you updated!!!!!!! !!!
--kristin

~!!I lOve LiFe!!~

Bettachris's article is good. So is this one posted in the breeding forum.


There are also very good betta sites on the internet with articles on breeding bettas. Good luck.

[link=http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/forums/Breeding%20Advice/23573.html?200502171302]http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/forums/Breeding%20Advice/23573.html?200502171302" style="COLOR: #009999[/link]

First foods

Until they are horizontal, don't feed them much at all, maybe just a bit of green water (try sticking a bucket in the backyard in the sun for a week, it should go green. I've found it works better than a jar)

2nd food should be something smaller than BBS, maybe vinegar eels? see if you can find a culture. If you have trouble, let me know where you are, and i'll find your ocal IBC club, they should be able to help you.

After about 5 days of free-swimming, you can move to BBS





For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

Update: Early this morning i added the male into the breeding tank so he could get use to his new surroundings for awhile. A few hours later i went 2 walmart to get a hurricane lamp thing (to put the female in) and to get a live plant. and the kind of plant i got is called: Narrow Leaf Chain Sword. Never heard of it, but its a leafy plant and its pretty small. So, after i got home- i added the plant into the tank w/ my male. after that i put the hurricane in there and added the female. Now he is really showing off to her, flaring- showing his beautiful colors . In my past attempts to breed, i left the female in the cup for a day then released, this time i will do the same most likely, depends on how everything goes. when should i start my bbs culture?? they only take a day or 2 to hatch i know. not sure if i have rock salt, but i will get some if i dont. so-- the plant will feed the fry for the first 5 days, then i will move on to bbs. everything is going well so far, and i am hoping everything goes according to the plan
-kristin

~!!I lOve LiFe!!~

That plant probably won't cut it.
It might sustain some, but you will lose a lot, and it won't give them enough to grow so they will get big enough to eat the BBS.

Try to get Microworms or Vinegar eels. They are REALLY simple to feed, and will get you over that 5 day hurdle (and help you if your BBS fail for some reason at some stage (like you forget to put the eggs in one day)



Last edited by Callatya at 25-Mar-2005 10:34

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

ok-- i will try to get my hands on some microworms. the thing is, i have never seen any at the pet store but i will call them 2day. how long do they take to hatch? thanks
-kristin

~!!I lOve LiFe!!~

I just tried calling all of the pet stores and none of them carry microworm eggs!!! im freakin out now!! . I dunno what to do.... everyone says to do totally different things AAHH!! :#(
-kristin

~!!I lOve LiFe!!~

You have to get a Microworm culture & they are not eggs.

You can get a bit of the culture & mix it the culture that you make (bran & porrige).
Microworms are the best fry food for the first 2 weeks.


http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/s8xi5heh/my_photos
http://www.deathbydyeing.org/



http://www.flickr.com/photos/corydoras/
Member of the Malta Aquarist Society - 1970.
http://www.maltaaquarist.com

is it a good sign if she flares back at hime?? just wondering...
-kristin

~!!I lOve LiFe!!~

i sem to be having the same problem that u had with ur first spawn all of my fry are getting clamped fins and kickin the bucket:#(

Well the unthinkable happened.... my female died!! :#(:#(:#(:#(:#(!!! No- he didnt kill her. Ok, this is what happened- this morning i woke up and he had a pretty good sized nest- so i released her. They started fighting really bad, like she tore up his fins really bad. One time she grabed his fins and didnt let go for awhile. Then they locked mouths and just wouldnt let each other go... it mad me sad . By that time, he has lots of fins missing and she did too- and they were just fighting non stop. so, i decided i should seperate them, so i filled up her bowl, put the stuff i usually do to take out the chlorine and went back upstairs w/ the net to take her out. So, i netted her and put her in the bowl. I put some medicine in there also. And she was like swimming upside down, and going to the top belly up, it was horrible. so, when i came back she was laying on the top, not breathing!! i just dont know what happened!!! Gary is just fine!!! i just thought she was in shock or something, but shes gone .. and to think if i didnt try to breed them she would still be here with me.... it just makes me sad.... :#(

~!!I lOve LiFe!!~

oh thats so sad u should have seperated them emediatly after u saw them fighting, r u sure that ur female wasnt a short tail male? im sorry for ur loss if i release the female and the male starts being aggressive i remove the female and wait a few days, i am going to switch out my female for a male, i have had the great () crowntail male (from walmart) and im breeding him with my steel blue crown female, i have had him only a few days, and when i floated him in one of my other male's tank he built a huge thik nest in like an hour but im sorry forur loss and i hope ur not discouraged by this set back

thanks and I am pretty sure it was a female- it was sold to me as a female and looked like one. There is just something about the females (in the face) that makes them look different than the male.. not sure what it is though. im just real sad about it.... but i must move on

~!!I lOve LiFe!!~