Tank setup

[mdellasalla]

Ok. I have read everything and tried to follow all instructions. Please make sure I am not missing anything

What I have there is a 10 gal tank that is doing its first 24 hr run as I just set everything up.

I plan on placing the female more toward the plant side in a 2L bottle with the top and bottom cut out. The styrofoam cup will be anchored to the corner furthest from the filter so that he is sure it is stable.

The water was treated with water conditioner and a tiny amount of Maracide to prevent Ick infestations during the breeding process.

The plants were washed thoroughly.

I plan on dunking a regular tea bag in there once it is closer to breeding time to make it a bit cloudy.

I have Hikari first bites on hand, and the brine shrimp eggs are being shipped.

Please let me know if I may have overlooked something. Thanks for all your help!

[BettaLu&Meg]

WOW you are on the money, and i hope my info has something to do with your knowledge . You are fully prepared for the breeding process. The tea bag is a great way to introduce tannins which i'm sure u know, but make sure its regular tea (i've done this too) Now your male will get a little curious in his new surroundings so this i would recommend first.
Place your male in first! get him used to the tank before introducing the female in the bottle! this way he can explore without distraction of any kind. Do not place the female in for about a day. this will give him plenty of time to KNOW ITS HIS DOMAIN NOW. after this place the female in the center of the tank. (i find it best to be there, so that its not to close not to far)
For your female, Cut out the top of the bottle higher than the water level about and inch+ and the bottom doesn't have to be cut out. i did this and just made big enough holes all around the bottle to provide water circulation through the bottle and tank, You also don't want the holes big enough for her to squeeze through, the bottle is made of hard plastic and can fataly wound your female if she attempts to squeeze through. I simply and CAREFULLY put slices in the bottle for this, and worked for me. If you do also put holes small enough for water to flow easily, do what i did, i took a nail filer and smoothed the hard edges just in case. also I left the bottom on to easily catch your females wastes making it easier to clean out with a turkey baster.

So far so good, Also make sure your water temp is at a steady 80degreesF. no less. this is there breeding temp and with all you placed in the tank will help out greatly!
Your doing a great job and i'm sort of proud a fellow member is taking this fun and great hobby into great consideration. AND ALSO WANTING TO DO THIS RIGHT!

[BettaLu&Meg]

Oh i noticed about your filter, That filter will be no good once the fry are free swimming, they will get sucked up. So what i did was purchase a sponge from the inside of other filter systems and cut a whole to place in the way of the "intake" of the filter. Or you can purchase "sponge Filter" which is usually a breeders choice in filters when breeding bettas, I have the link if you'd like!

[mdellasalla]

Oh I planned on putting a piece of pantyhose over the filter intake to make sure it didn't suck up any fry. That's what I used to do with my other fish babies. Would this be acceptable for bettas too? or are they that tiny?

[BettaLu&Meg]

they are really tiny, but is very possible that it might work. i never thought of that, but i don't think i would of being that i don't wear panty hose lol. Like i said, i don't want to recommend that, just in case and also the dye in the hose and coloring might distrupt the water quality and release harmful chemicals in the waters. So now that i think about it, i wouldn't personally but experimenting is also apart of breeding. I like i said used the "AquaClear" foam inserts for bigger filters and cut out the hole for it and used that and i definitly work. If you do try it definitly let me know the outcome and how it works for you. If your reconsidering here's a link on what the sponge filter looks like [Registered users only can see links. ]

[mdellasalla]

Now that I am looking at the nylons I planned on using, there is absolutely no way a baby fish could fit through this. It isn't the cheap kind but very well woven. They should be just fine with it.

[mdellasalla]

hmm I don't know about the dyes and chemicals. I guess the only way to test this is to soak them in water for a day and then drink it and see if it tastes bad :P haha I will take one for my bettas! It would hurt me a lot less than it will hurt them!

[BettaLu&Meg]

use your judgement if you think it would work then try it. like i said, i probably would of tried it to if i wore panty hose lol. but if so and it works more power to you . just make sure no dye releases from them. might want to presoak them first to make sure

[mdellasalla]

They are in a glass of hot water as we speak! I will let you know how it goes

[bettalvr]

mdellasalla, sounds like you're doing a good job! I have heard of breeders putting the pantyhose over the intake also and said it worked well. I, like Luis, have never tried it tho. Knowing my luck, I would use the pair of hose that we treated with formaldehyde like the Victoria's Secret bra scandal going on right now! Anyway, keep us posted every step of the way cuz we wanna be right there with you. I know you'll do fine.