# attempting to breed bettas



## lohachata

ok...here is the deal...never really studied bettas but i kept them 30 or so years ago....even bred a few...but i am certainly way behind the times....
but i am going to try...i set up the 2 breeding tanks this evening...i will be going to petco for fish either this wednesday or thursday...i will see what they have that appeals to both my wife and i...
as i said in another thread ; my spawning tanks are going to be a couple of vegetable drawers from an old fridge...
i will use this thread as kind of a log to see how well i do....or "don't" do...lol
\here are the tanks just before i put them in place and filled them tonight...


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## Betta man

Lol I hope they're at least 10 gallons because of ALL the trouble you gave me loha! Good luck!


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## Mattoboy

A better idea for tanks is to go to Wal-Mart or something and buy a few 5 gallon buckets. Buckets are way better for breeding in because there plastic, which absorbs heat and keeps the water warmer as opposed to glass, there not see-through so the betta can't get distracted from its partner, and there circular so the fry cannot jam themselves into a corner and seriously hurt themselves or get stuck. What you wanna do, after your fish have bred and 3 days after the fry are free-swimming, you want to put your sponge filter in and fill the bucket with the fry in it 1/8th of a gallon everyday (Or 1 cup of water) this will give the water in the bucket more oxygen and partially clean itself. Do this for 2 weeks, and by the end of the 2 weeks your bucket should be full. *DO NOT DO ANY WATER CHANGES DURING THE 2 WEEKS!*It will also add water to your bucket so your fry, as they progress and get older, have more room to swim. After the 2 weeks, you can do whatever you would like with your fry.


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## lohachata

good lord....that is some of the worst betta breeding advice i have ever gotten....
these 2 tanks do happen to be plastic..and all of the corners are rounded...
oh.....there are 2 cups in 1/8 of a gallon , not 1.....sponge filters are already in the tank..doing this is just for fun...not something i plan on making a career out of.. bettas are more work than they are worth..
betta man..
they are nowhere near 10 gallons...but they fit pretty good in the space that i have for them..


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## Obsidian

Betta Man- you have my permission to rib him about this ceaselessly.

Personally I love the idea of the veggie drawers. I didn't realize that 2 planes meeting at a right angle might get someone stuck. Thank God you thought of that ahead of time Loha. Our square tanks are all a problem now. If I had only known.


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## Betta man

Corners aren't going to kill the fry or injure them. Thanks Obsidian, I think I might!


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## lohachata

ok...everybody throw out their square or rectangular aquariums...teplace them with nice round buckets....and make sure they have round bottoms too.
i am gonna build me a house with all round rooms...must be my problem...i've een stuck in a corner all my life...lol


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## Betta man

lol Welcome to the forum mattoboy.


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## lohachata

oh yeah...mattoboy...just letting you know ahead of time that i am the meanest grumpiest old geezer on the planet....


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## iheartfish:)

Lol, how many members have you scared away now?  haha, I was waiting for this thread!! Stuck in a corner all your life, must explain the grumpiness!  I'm positive u won't forget pics... of the fish


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## ScottMaganay

A better idea for tanks is to go to Wal-Mart or something and buy a few 5 gallon buckets.


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## Chard56

Mean, just plain mean all of you. Filling the bucket a cup or two at a time to gradually fill it over a couple weeks is sound advice, putting Lohatchata in a round room and telling him to micturate in a corner is not! LOL!


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## Betta man

I think the latter is better!  I really think that it would be a lot better to fill it up all the way at once. I'm just wondering, what does filling it slowly really do?


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## Guest

Mattoboy said:


> A better idea for tanks is to go to Wal-Mart or something and buy a few 5 gallon buckets. Buckets are way better for breeding in because there plastic, which absorbs heat and keeps the water warmer as opposed to glass, there not see-through so the betta can't get distracted from its partner, and there circular so the fry cannot jam themselves into a corner and seriously hurt themselves or get stuck. What you wanna do, after your fish have bred and 3 days after the fry are free-swimming, you want to put your sponge filter in and fill the bucket with the fry in it 1/8th of a gallon everyday (Or 1 cup of water) this will give the water in the bucket more oxygen and partially clean itself. Do this for 2 weeks, and by the end of the 2 weeks your bucket should be full. *DO NOT DO ANY WATER CHANGES DURING THE 2 WEEKS!*It will also add water to your bucket so your fry, as they progress and get older, have more room to swim. After the 2 weeks, you can do whatever you would like with your fry.


No book that I have read, or even read online, has suggested doing this. EVER. Mattoboy: Your advice is WRONG! Even I know that it is wrong and I don't breed bettas but I have read up on it and the care of bettas.


Loha: I would listen to Betta man when you have breeding questions. He obviously knows how to breed bettas. I would also read up all that you can about breeding bettas and ask questions.


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## Guest

Loha: I would get a bunch of 1 gallons so that you can separate the fry when they start showing their genders. I am not sure how many fry you will get from adult bettas, though.


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## lohachata

hmmmmm...might be good advice angelclown....after all..he is the betta breeding master...he has a book..


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## Guest

I didn't know that Betta man has a book. That is cool. 

You're welcome


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## WildForFish

Angelclown said:


> Loha: I would listen to Betta man when you have breeding questions. He obviously knows how to breed bettas. I would also read up all that you can about breeding bettas and ask questions.



Not sure on your experience on breeding Bettas, Angelclown.

Have you actually read the questions Betta man had posted in regards to breeding Bettas?

This last post by Betta man, is a perfect example, "I really think that it would be a lot better to fill it up all the way at once. I'm just wondering, what does filling it slowly really do?" 

Keep in mind, He really THINKS, it would really be better........ then poses the question, as he was just wondering, what would filing it slowly really do? 

This is known by experienced Betta breeders, (Hint), it involves the development of the Labyrinth organ of the fry.


To totally disregard Chards agreement is just asinine. IMO

As Chard is a accomplished breeder.......


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## lohachata

by the way angelclown....
so far betta mans success rate is 2 fry out of 13 breeding attempts....oh,,,and in one of them "the male ate the eggs and died.(stupid fish)"...does that mean the eggs killed him ?....something i have never heard of.....

but just so you know......

i said that i have never "studied" bettas....never said that i had not kept nor bred them...actually i have bred and raised thousands of them...it is not like i have never done this before...it's just been awhile...lol


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## Guest

WildForFish said:


> Not sure on your experience on breeding Bettas, Angelclown.
> 
> Have you actually read the questions Betta man had posted in regards to breeding Bettas?
> 
> This last post by Betta man, is a perfect example, "I really think that it would be a lot better to fill it up all the way at once. I'm just wondering, what does filling it slowly really do?"
> 
> Keep in mind, He really THINKS, it would really be better........ then poses the question, as he was just wondering, what would filing it slowly really do?
> 
> This is known by experienced Betta breeders, (Hint), it involves the development of the Labyrinth organ of the fry.
> 
> 
> To totally disregard Chards agreement is just asinine. IMO
> 
> As Chard is a accomplished breeder.......


Your whole post got me thinking. 

I really have no experience breeding bettas, but I do pay attention on who has more experience breeding. I think that Chard and Betta man both have equal experience breeding bettas. They have more experience probably than anyone on this forum. I may be wrong with that though as I don't know anyone personally.


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## Guest

lohachata said:


> by the way angelclown....
> so far betta mans success rate is 2 fry out of 13 breeding attempts....oh,,,and in one of them "the male ate the eggs and died.(stupid fish)"...does that mean the eggs killed him ?....something i have never heard of.....
> 
> but just so you know......
> 
> i said that i have never "studied" bettas....never said that i had not kept nor bred them...actually i have bred and raised thousands of them...it is not like i have never done this before...it's just been awhile...lol


Oh, I am sorry. I have classes and my mind is really clouded at the end of the class that I don't register what each post is really saying. Sorry for upsetting everyone. I will decloud my mind before coming on the forum from now on.


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## WildForFish

Angelclown said:


> I think that Chard and Betta man both have equal experience breeding bettas. They have more experience probably than anyone on this forum. I may be wrong with that though as I don't know anyone personally.


Please state how you come to that conclusion.


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## lohachata

obviously you have not read any of the many previous threads on bettas here...chard is an accomplished breeder of many years...betta man is a kid that has tried a few times with almost no success...
i would not even consider them in the same class..


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## Guest

I have read their posts about bettas. I also own two male bettas and have read books on the care of bettas. I always reread about bettas, just to make sure that I understand their care and stuff.


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## Guest

lohachata said:


> obviously you have not read any of the many previous threads on bettas here...chard is an accomplished breeder of many years...betta man is a kid that has tried a few times with almost no success...
> i would not even consider them in the same class..


Ok. I will be reading a lot of posts about bettas before I make assumptions. I will ask if I cannot find them all, to be sent to me so that I can read up on who is really the king/queen of betta breeding and care.


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## Kimberly

WELL! That whole line of posts was very entertaining to read! Ha.. Before anyone jumps on me (no pun haha) i have NO experience with bettas.. 
BUT loha, please keep us updated on how this goes for you. This is a very interesting topic. And, please, with pictures.. I sure do love pictures


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## lohachata

i do not want to discourage anyone from trying to keep and breed fish of any kind..
always keep an open mind about it..there is no single set way to do something..
i think that chard is one of the more accomplished betta breeders on FF...while i may not agree with everything he says or with all of his methods ; i still respect his experience and knowledge..i am no expert on breeding them ; but i have done it many times...
it is quite interesting and fun..

to betta man.....i don't care if you have failed 1000 times to get a good spawning of viable young fish....keep trying...try different approaches and methods..
i think it is time to put your book aside for a bit and think hard about how you can succeed.just a small breeding tank and a 20 for fry is not enough...i wasn't kidding about that...i may or may not succeed at the betta breeding attempt...but i am not going to stop until i am able to keep and raise entire spawns..


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## Betta man

Loha get your numbers straight. It was 14 attempts not 13. Silly silly silly...  Chard is the man to go to for questions. He has about 2500 bettas (if I remember correctly) and most of them are of high quality from what I've seen. The reason I know a good amount about bettas is because of the forums. I've only got bettas to embrace 3 times and eggs twice and fry once.


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## iheartfish:)

-.- ..... Somehow, I am getting a sense of deja-vu... I really want to jump into this, but for two reasons I hesitate.. One- I fear I am too late and everyone has calmed down a tad  Two- I will not be able to stop lol

I would just like to say that if I had to bet on Chard v. Betta Man all of my money would go to Chard. No offense, betta man. It's just that... Chard OBVIOUSLY has way more experience. I don't know how you can ever confuse that. Reading a bunch of books written by goons in their mothers' basements is much different from being a successful breeder for years. 

I agree with loha and commend betta man on his spirit, determination, and finally giving in and listening to those wiser than him. He is doing a great job of learning from his mistakes and improving himself. This is the essence of the hobby. So again, before this turns into a full-blown fight like last time... Let us embrace each other's positives and negatives, accept good advice, debate on bad advice, poke some good-natured fun at each other and just enjoy our wonderful community 

Final thing: We have all read those books on fish keeping. In fact, anyone who is a beginner and hasn't should go stand in a corner. We have also all given advice that we have found in those books. The thing is... We must accept defeat when experienced breeders and hobbyists give advice that is tried and proven. No one book can be completely correct, but years of experience are at least reliable. That is the magic of forums; it is all written down by goons, but they have experience and other goons to check what they say 

This means that when three experienced members tell you that you are wrong and the only arguments you have are from another inexperienced member, yourself, and a book.... just give in  These arguments get really exhausting. We don't want one


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## WildForFish

I actually found this thread quite relaxed if compared to previous threads.


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## Betta man

You can say that again!!!


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## Guest

Definitely!


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## Cam

Lmao are those fridge drawers in your first picture? 

Good luck loha!


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## lohachata

yep... that's what they are....
i picked up 2 pairs of bettas from pet supplies plus..one male is a crowntail the other is i don't know what but there is a female that sorta matches him..and a half way match on the crowntail....a very poor selection there...i'll try to take pictures later...


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## Betta man

iheartfish:) said:


> -.- ..... Somehow, I am getting a sense of deja-vu... I really want to jump into this, but for two reasons I hesitate.. One- I fear I am too late and everyone has calmed down a tad  Two- I will not be able to stop lol
> 
> I would just like to say that if I had to bet on Chard v. Betta Man all of my money would go to Chard. No offense, betta man. It's just that... Chard OBVIOUSLY has way more experience. I don't know how you can ever confuse that. Reading a bunch of books written by goons in their mothers' basements is much different from being a successful breeder for years.
> 
> I agree with loha and commend betta man on his spirit, determination, and finally giving in and listening to those wiser than him. He is doing a great job of learning from his mistakes and improving himself. This is the essence of the hobby. So again, before this turns into a full-blown fight like last time... Let us embrace each other's positives and negatives, accept good advice, debate on bad advice, poke some good-natured fun at each other and just enjoy our wonderful community
> 
> Final thing: We have all read those books on fish keeping. In fact, anyone who is a beginner and hasn't should go stand in a corner. We have also all given advice that we have found in those books. The thing is... We must accept defeat when experienced breeders and hobbyists give advice that is tried and proven. No one book can be completely correct, but years of experience are at least reliable. That is the magic of forums; it is all written down by goons, but they have experience and other goons to check what they say
> 
> This means that when three experienced members tell you that you are wrong and the only arguments you have are from another inexperienced member, yourself, and a book.... just give in  These arguments get really exhausting. We don't want one


Were you talking about yourself, amelia26, and loha?


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## Amelia26

Lmao!!!!!!!


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## lohachata

well.....i think it may be a bit before these fish are ready to breed...they are still very small....very young fish for sure..


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## Obsidian

Oh man you didn't. Please tell me you did not go and steal babies and are now trying to exploit them sexually. *Covers eyes* I told you I am a mandatory reporter, don't make me have to call IPS.


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## funlad3

Nice! :lol:


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## lohachata

not 100% sure yet ; but i might go looking around for some larger nicer bettas....since these are so small even if they did breed they wouldn't lay that many eggs....if i had only wanted a dozen eggs i would have gone to the grocery store...


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## funlad3

You eat the unborn?


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## emc7

Only something as irrational as a human would even consider not eating the concentration nutrition packed so neatly. Every fish I have ever kept will go eat undefended fish eggs when it gets a chance. Every snake, mammal and bird will go after other bird and reptile eggs.


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## iheartfish:)

Betta man: haha no I am nowhere near an experienced breeder  definitely wasn't talking about myself


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## lohachata

the only unborn that i eat are those of chickens..


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## lohachata

well guys...it looks like the one female is a bit too young to breed...but the mate i picked for the crowntail is already getting fat and should be ready by wednesday or thursday..
i will get the tank ready and we shall see how things go this week...have to remember to put some leaves in the tank...got my styro cup ready..and my glad press n seal ready..
need to go get a 1 litre bottle of soda so i have somewhere to keep the female where the male can see her but can't get to her...
i still haven't gotten pics yet...will try to get that done tomorrow....


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## lohachata

ok...i take it back about the smaller female...she is porking up already..being more active and aggressive...chasing the baby longfin bushynose around...we will see how she looks in a week.....


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## Chard56

I'm sorry I've been so busy with the Motel I just caught up on this awesome thread. Firstly the reason you have the tank water at a low level in the spawning tank is so the male doesn't have that far to go when retreiving the eggs and fry to return them to the nest. 4 inches of water is plenty. Starting with a full tank wears out the father and makes for a long trip for the fry coming off the bottom to get to the top for air. Adding a little water at a time to fill the tank over several weeks acclimates them slower to the new water where adding it all at once or doing a large or complete water change usually makes for a large fry death toll. Although I'm still learning and adjusting my spawning strategies as all of my spawns aren't successfull. Perhaps 1 or 2 out of 10 spawns got eaten or an occassional velvet outbreak kills most of the fry I've still had over 200 successfull spawns in the last 4 plus years. I don't claim to be "thee professional" and what works for me doesn't neccassarily work best for someone else. If I do give some advice you can be assured it's more than likely from my personal experience and not something I read in a book or repeated from a forum thread. When I see an answer that starts with "I read somewhere that...... or I don't know but I think.... That's just someone posting to be posting. Now, Lohatchata you need to get some IAL, oak leaves or Black water extract if you really want them to spawn. Without my oak leaf spawning tea I'd be stuck with Bettaman trying to get them to spawn and get more than a half dozen fry to adulthood. Infusoria cultures, Green water and brine shrimp hatcheries ready to go or you'll never get the fry to live past the first week.


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## lohachata

good to see you chard...kind of interesting thing here..i used to breed bettas about 35 or so years ago...had dome nice spawns and bred some beautiful fish..back then there wasn't any shallow water breeding..nor were there any IAL....(they are already in my tanks).....
i also sell foods specializing in very fine fry foods...as small as 25 or so microns....
i really do not plan on doing a lot of betta breeding..just a few spawns...i am ill prepared as i do not have a couple of hundred containers for the males..but i do have time for that part..right now i have about 65-70 or so tanks set up in my basement with about another 30 or so to go...tanks range from 2 1/2 gallon for my wife's killies to 135 gallon full of angels and plecos..
i am no expert by any means...especially on bettas...i bought 4 fish from pet solutions..of the 4 i can identify 1....a crowntail male..his mate might be a hm or something..the other male is a "i don't know what"..kind of a smokey lookin dude..his tail is kind of rounded but tapers down to a point....the female may well be a sibling as she is the same coloration..really hard to get pics because of cramped quarters...only have about 18 inches of room between the racks..but i will try to get a few to see if you can i.d. them for me..color as well as finnage variation....

also...something i learned way back when....
once the female is removed , seal the tank..keep it sealed for the first 3-4 weeks of the hatching opening only when feeding and doing water changes...
i have so many other breeding projects going on it is going to be hard to keep up with these little rascals..i have pairs of angels coming out of my ears...cories...aspidoras...plecos..killies..barbs...vietnamese white clouds..tanganyikan cichlids...guppies..endlers..and a couple of others...thank god for my wife...she is constantly working to make our fishroom better and better...i just goof around.....lol
thanks for your input chard...i really appreciate it...learned a couple of things tonight...


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