How To Breed Bettas?

[NotReallyCatfishGuy]

I posted a thread about choosing between a 75 or a 10 gallon, and a there's this reply that intrigued me, the person mentioned betta breeding, and how it's easy when you know what you're doing, and mentioned s0mething about buying tubs for less than $20 and breeding bettas inside them.

I have always wanted to meddle around with betta breeding, but I never looked too much into it.
I have a few questions though.
1) How big of a container would I need?
2) How many containers?
3) Does the type of betta matter?
4)What equipment would I need? (lights/filtration/lids/etc.)

so far that's all I can think of, please feel free to ask any of your own questions, and as always, thank you in advance!

P.s. PLEASE give me all the information possible over betta breeding and link any articles over it, It'll really help me study up on betta breeding for profit, I know it'll be easy to get money because even petco has a weak supply of bettas, all veiltails and paradise.

 

[jhook]

I bred mine in a 10g with a sponge filter turned down to a low trickle with floating plants (java moss). He built his nest, they entwined and after they were done I took her out. He guarded the nest and a few days later they hatched. I ended up with about 15 Bettas, but I left them in the tank, so no idea how many I would’ve had if I had separated them.
All in all, it was fairly easy to breed and raise Bettas.

 

[NotReallyCatfishGuy]

I bred mine in a 10g with a sponge filter turned down to a low trickle with floating plants (java moss). He built his nest, they entwined and after they were done I took her out. He guarded the nest and a few days later they hatched. I ended up with about 15 Bettas, but I left them in the tank, so no idea how many I would’ve had if I had separated them.
All in all, it was fairly easy to breed and raise Bettas.

How did you introduce them to eachother so the male didn't kill on contact? Did you keep them both for a while or did you just buy them both to breed?

 

[jhook]

I actually had 3 females in a Java moss heavy 10g. I think they were in there for about 2 or 3 months before I introduced a male.
I wasn’t thinking it would work out, so I just went to PetSmart and got a male that I really liked and put him in the tank. Whe. He and a female paired up, I moved the other females out before they either got torn up or had a chance to tear up his bubble nest.
It was a fun project and really got me started in wanting to breed aquarium fish (besides guppys and Mollys).

 

[David492]

You could breed them in a 10 gallon or bigger but nothing to big or they won't notice. I've bred them in a large bowl before so...... Anyway, it depends how aggressive your bettas are. You could introduce the female in a plastic cup filled with water so they get used to each other. Also, the male betta first needs to build a bubble nest. I put the female in their for around a day or two because I saw them spawn. The bubbles in the bubble nest that has the eggs have a white circle in the middle of the bubble. You should keep the male betta in there until they get big enough and feed them brine shrimp. Some people say they feed them brine shrimp right away some people use something else then change back it's up to you. I had success without any plants. I've seen some breeders use a little java moss in a plastic tub so the fries could hide there. You need the bottom of a styrofoam cup cut out and placed in the tank or anything that the male could build a bubble nest. Also, more convenient because if you decide to take everything out, you could just scoop the styrofoam out. Male bettas are generally good at taking their fry but get them out as the fries get bigger. Breeding bettas are easy, and they could be profitable if you breed high quality bettas! It's very fun! You should really try.

 

[David492]

I meant they won't notice each other but I guess you could do it with lots of cover?

 

[YankeeJack]

A great resource is ibcbettas.org. Another fun site is bettatalk.com.

I agree, it's a lot of fun. I bred them for a while and competed in the Opaque lines. Does require a bit of a time commitment. It's the water changes for all of the male tanks that eventually got a bit too onerous for me. It sure is fun to breed the bettas and send them to competition.

Regarding your questions:

1) How big of a container would I need? You can spawn them in a 2.5 gallon to 5 gallon tank. I spawned mine in 10 gallon tanks. I raised them in 20-40 breeders.
2) How many containers? This depends on how many you want to raise. This part can get crazy.
3) Does the type of betta matter? Not really, most need still, warm water.
4)What equipment would I need? (lights/filtration/lids/etc.) Yes, all of the standard stuff.

Read up and feel free to send us more questions!

 

[Deadliestviper7]

Most of your other questions have probably been answered, but I'll add a few things.

Filters and heaters aren't really needed in the warm months when you can keep and breed Bettas outside in plastic tubs, just use plants as filtration and don't put that many fish in each tub.

I prefer the plastic tubs that aren't shiny,as the shiny ones get brittle with time outdoors and only last a few years.

Start with good quality Bettas (eBay always seems to have some) or you won't make much, also keep in mind you can't sell the Bettas at full price to the stores.

Separate the male betta fry before they are a month old to prevent fighting.

 

[Matteus]

NotReallyCatfishGuy have you had any progress on this project? Just wondering if you are still planning or doing this?

 

[NotReallyCatfishGuy]

NotReallyCatfishGuy have you had any progress on this project? Just wondering if you are still planning or doing this?

I'm not gonna be going through with this project until I have the time to set up vinegar eel colonies to feed fry. Plus funds for decent bettas get pretty tight for a 13 year old like me :/

I'll work on it when I finish my current projects if I have enough resources. That'll be a long time from now though.