What do I need to have to breed my betta?

[lisaa]

Heyy
I'm thinking about breeding my betta, but im not sure on a few things...

1. How big does the breeding tank need to be at the minimum?
(I head that someone did it in a 2.5 gallon tank, is that alright?)

2. What items do I need to breed them?

3. If they do breed do I need to put in a sponge filter after the fry have hatched?

4. What do I feed the fry? (live foods right? I read somewhere to get a hatchery? what is a hatchery??)

5. How long until I take out the male betta?

Thank-you

(I have reasearched lots but I want to know about these things for sure)
also, If you have breed them can you remember how much it cost?

[BettaLu&Meg]

well i'm a breeder on this forum, on the bottom of my signature there is a link for basics in breeding basics, but thats not all there is to it. i have the experience and been breeding for a lil bit now check out my video of my betta collection and my crosbred fry! [Registered users only can see links. ]
iN breeding you will learn that spawning can lead to 50-150 eggs so a 10gallon tank is perfect for that. i breed so i will give you my tips and experiance. No bigger no smaller. you will hear that smaller is better, but not for over 50 fry, and bigger is better, not if you wanna see and know what your fry are doing!
You need a stryofoam cup, a spong filter, a water heater set at a stable 80degreesF. no more no less! [Registered users only can see links. ]
yes you want a spong filter, this is because after the fry are free swimming they can get sucked up and killed by other filters sponge filters are great and SHOULD BE USED! [Registered users only can see links. ]
Now for feeding fry, [Registered users only can see links. ] this should be used after the fry are free swimming. they wont be free swimming until the 3rd day after hatching. this is because when your fry hatch their still in there yolk sac. We can see this because its nearly invisible and has to be seen under microscopic conditions. thus when they do hatch DO NOT FEED. When you notice that your fry are free swimming and not just goin up and down, this is when you feed them the powder.
Live food should be giving after the 6th day of hatching. this will give them excersise and help tremendously in growth. but a mix for powder and live should be given. Baby Brine shrimp is in reference to the hatchery and is the easiest way to have live food, other than culturing microworms, walterworms, vinegar eels, etc. Baby brine shrimp eggs are easy to hatch and hatch within 24 hours giving you immediate access to live food for your fry. [Registered users only can see links. ]
but you don't have to worry about this until spawning is complete and the hatching happens. gives you about a week to obtain the baby brine shrimp eggs and neccesary stuff.
Now for removal of the parents. after spawning is done, which it can take up to 5 hours, remove the female immediatly, leaving her in after spawning is complete can lead to her DEATH! The male stay with the nest and cares for the eggs, you'll know when its done when her strips disappear. when they are spawning they are fasting so DONT FEED! after the female is out the male will fast and guard the nest for days, DONT WORRY ABOUT FEEDING THEM THEY CAN LAST UP TO A MONTH WITHOUT EATING. FEEDING THE MALE WILL RESULT IN HIS APPETITE REVIVING AND HIM EATING THE EGGS(trust me on this one learn from experiance). The male will stay and care for the eggs/fry until hatching. after the 3rd day of hatching and/or they are free swimming remove the male, failure to do so will result in him eating the eggs. and when they are free swimming its there first feeding. feed them 3x a day until 2 weeks have passed, but make sure ur cleaning 10% and replacing it with conditioned water every 2 days!
The hatchery is for this, and is very easy to make one, i made one out of house hold things and if you want i will show u how to make theme




heres some tips and facts
there are a couple of ways of promoting breeding in your bettas.
1- A seperate breeding tank should always be just for breeding this is so you don't have to run around wondering which tank you want to make your spawning happen in. A 10 gallon is good for this. limits the swimming all around and harrassments.
2- lower your water level to about 6 inches, this is because in there natural enviroment the water is shallow and still. For some filters it wont reach the water to keep it clean so being on top of that is neccasary.
3- Introducing tannins in the water. This can be done in a couple of ways. INDIAN ALMOND LEAF - AN ASIAN SECRET - IT WORKS LIKE MAGIC ! You will be amazed at the results and improved vitality and breeding frequency in your fish. The leaves have been a long kept secret in Asia where they are used by many breeders and wholesalers.
It also will brown the water making the bettas natural breeding habbitate available.
The Sea Almond tree produces a substance in its leaves and sap to defend against insect parasites. The dried leaves are ideal for reducing losses due to bacterial disease, and keeping sensitive species. This leaf will also if floating will be a housing for your males bubble nest. Add one leaf per 10-15 gallons of water for all sensitive fishes such as baby discus, dwarf cichlids, rare bettas and all black water tetras, rasboras and catfishes.
3A-For tannins instead of an almond leaf you can simply place a REGULAR TEA BAG in your water to brown it. this will also release the tannins neccasary for promoting breeding. AND WONT HARM YOUR BETTA! i know and did this and you seen my precious fighters
4- The Bubble Nest- Your male HAS to make a bubble nest before you even think of releasing her. Without this its just a death match. Insuring that there a bubble nest or to get him into the idea is place the Indian almond leaf in Or If thats available which for me at the time it wasn't here yet. Place a styrofoam cup, cut long ways, on top of the water. Giving him a bubble nest housing. This will Keep all the bubbles together, will give him the idea that bubble making will not be destroyed and float away (sense of security) and if he is already making one place the cup over the bubble and watch him make more in it. My video should the huge nest the CT made. This is because my female didn't like the nest, she swam up to it played with it and ran away. UNTIL his nest was that big is when she gave it up lol!
5- The Egg or "Pearl" and Strips- You also have to make sure your female is in a confined area like a vase, chimney, or a bottle in the center of the breeding tank. This is so the male has constant sight of her and will show off his stuff! then will retreat back to the area where the nest will be made, and start his project. Also keeping her close and not just on the other side of the tank with a divider is because with that she can get and hide far way on the other side of the tank and loose intrest quickly, same for the male. When You see that her vertical strips are present and her "pearl" is protruding out of her belly then she's intrested. (Remember wait for the nest to be a decent size before releasing her).
6- The hidding place- You need to place in your breeding tank a hiding spot for your female, while she's being harrassed or simply tired from matting she WILL run away looking for a spot to hide for awhile to relaxe for a few min. then she will come out and the be harrassed again, this is normal and not just being bullied.
7-The harrassment- You have to make sure your female is smaller than your male! Other wise your male will have trouble showing dominance in the tank, and do damage to him! Again learned this from exp. Making sure she's a little bit smaller than him will insure that he can wrap himself around to spawn, also will give him the upper hand in "dominance showing" and will eventually nip and rip some of her fins. This is NORMAL AND CAN'T BE ANOTHER WAY. THIS IS THERE NATURAL WAY OF BREEDING (unfortunatly). If you notice while she is being chase and hiding and looses her strips and its been gone for an hour take her out and keep her in the bottle for another 3 days and repeat.
8- Patients- this is the hardest thing to do, trust me i know! i'm as impatient as anyone else if not worse. but the spawning/matting process can take up to 4-5 hours with all the harrassing and chassing, flirting and showing off, and going back to the nest to spawn. This hobby will test your patients cuz it did mine! BUT will be worth it when you see your bettas spawning.
9- keep your water temp at 80 degrees F.

Keeping them in the bottle close will always get them to show off and promote spawning being that they always have sight of each other and have a chance to.

AS A BREEDER TO A BEGINER I ADVISE THIS... READ UP AND TALK TO EXPERIENCE BREEDERS BEFORE GETTING INTO THIS, DOING THIS TAKE ALOT OF PATIENTS, ALOT OF TIME,(MOST OF YOUR TIME), OR YOU CAN END UP WITH DEAD FISH, DEDICATION, $$$, REQUIRES ALOT OF KNOWLEDGE GETTING INTO. THERES A LOT OF PREPERATION FOR THE PROMOTION ON BREEDING, THE ACT OF BREEDING, AFTER THEY BREED, AFTER THE FRY HATCH, WHEN TO TAKE MALE AND FEMALE OUT. AND HOW TO CARE FOR THE FRY. I DO THIS FOR A HOBBY AND IF SOME PEOPLE WANT ME TO BREED A CERTAIN PAIR OF MINE I SELL FOR CHEEP. THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL THING TO DO, WHEN YOU DO IT RIGHT. AND I'LL BE HAPPY TO ASSIST YOU IF YOUR REALLY DEDICATED AND CAN ATTEND TO IT MOST OF YOUR DAY! ALSO..... read up on some of my post and replies on the breeding section of the forum and the Taking care of the fry section of the forum most of the answers to the question people have i already posted. i don't mind rewriting it but serious breeders look in a spots before relizing if its for them or not. Feel free to ask anything you need regarding breeding to me, For health and care FishMomma is the expert on this forum for those topics, as for me i'm the breeder here! it was a pleasure in giving you adive, information and how-to's and will be happy to further assist ya! Talk to ya soon!!!!