[Fresia]

I know not many on here are into fish but I have been trying to breed Betta Splendens (Bettas) / Siamese Fighting fish. I studied including genetics, and I have had eggs that I was never sure if they were ever going to hatch as I had an incident with the power, lowering the tank temp. I was sure it was not going to happen. They just hatched! So excited. I'd take a pic but they are too small. I hope I can get them to maturity now. I hate that they are still caught in the wild and was hoping to help minimize this. If successful, two pet shops here are interested so here's to hoping!

[lynn P.]

That's very cool Fresia. I recently bought my daughter a 4 gallon aquarium with one male Betta and we have it on the kitchen counter. Its very nice having it there while we eat our meals. We used to have an aquarium when I was a kid - my brother took care of it. We had babies once but I don't remember what happened.

Do you have to separate the babies from the parents? Do you have to keep the male and female separate once they've bred?? I was wondering if we should get a female for company, but the pet store said the male would fight her. Good luck with the babies.

[whenwillitend]

Baby fish are awesome. Congrats!

[advena]

Congrats! I love Siamese Fighting Fish. They make such good fish pets. My Betta, Zephyr, was surprisingly intelligent and sociable. Please keep us updated with the babies' progress.

[unaluna]

I love the Bettas! I used to fish-sit for a woman at work - when I came in on the weekend, I would bring her fish vase over to me desk to keep me company. I read that fish don't have big enough brains to form attachments, but I swear this little guy knew me. back at her desk during the week, he would respond to me and not to other people.

[lynn P.]

I agree Bettas are sociable and I read while researching that they recognize faces but IDK if its true ...but tend to believe it. This one we have is very sociable - the moment we take the cover off, he swims right to the surface and waits for his food.

We got one Betta and he was antisocial lol and constantly hid and wouldn't come up to eat. My daughter was feeling all disappointed so we exchanged him for another one. I feel a tad guilty for taking him back, but he wasn't fun at all. This Betta we have now is active and sociable.

[Fresia]

Thanks y'all.

They can even definitely be trained and some of mine will do tricks; food is always a good motivator for them as well as they will eat to their heart's content if you let them.

In answer to your question, Lynn. The female lays the eggs and is removed not long after, 24-36 hours, then it is the male who tends to them until they are free swimming, 48-72 hours later, then he must be removed as well. There aren't as many as I thought there would be and grateful it is in low end, as the estimate was 50 to as high as 1100, but at least I am prepared. With places for them to go if they turn out to be nice, a reputable internet company for breeders and hobbyists as well as the pet stores. We'll see how many I can help to becoming adults with the right conditions. It says typically 50-60 will survive; that's a lot of fish!

[lizardlady]

Fresia, this is so cool! My brother had a male and female Betta when we were kids. He wanted to breed them for babies, but it never worked out. Keep us posted on how it goes please?

[Fresia]

So far so good. The male is doing well in his own place, did not eat any like they said he might before being removed so must have been in time, and the little ones are swimming on their own, not just floating anymore. They're funny to watch.

[gizduk42]

My brother is a big fish person. He raises angel fish from babies.

[Fresia]

I lost all but 3 babies.
The heater croaked; water temp was too cold. So many emotions over this, too many to write, but devastated really is the best word. Hope these little ones will make it after what they've been through. We'll see.

[advena]

Oh, I'm so sorry! I hope the three precious ones left will make it.

[lynn P.]

((Fresia)) - sorry to hear 3 babies died due to heater problems. Very unfortunate when the heaters stop like that. I hope the remaining ones survive.

[Christina86]

Fresia, sorry to hear that. I've heard raising fish can be very finicky. Post pics! I've never seen baby fish.

[gma45]

This is sad news sorry you lost most of your babies. How are the three doing? I love fish. Right now I have a Betta. I have had many tanks in the past just don't have the room right now. Let us know how they are doing Ok?

[eskielover]

((((Fresia))))),

What an exciting experience. Sorry you lost all but 3 babies. I had 2 Betta's that I brought home from the centerpiece at their son's wedding reception. I really enjoyed them....they even made the trip from California to Kentucky. One was the very blueish color & the other was purple. Loved to set their bowls close to each other & watch them fan their tails at each other. I was surprised at the long life span also. But then, my daughter had a goldfish that lived a long time with her wonderful care of him. Fish are very relaxing to watch.

Will be interested in hearing how your 3 babies end up doing. Hope all turns out weill

[LibertyBelle]

Bettas definitely seem smarter then other fish of comparable size. I had a betta in college. He was so cool, I thought about breeding him but never did. I set up a tank full of fake plastic fish to entertain him though. The way the water circulated, made the fake fish "swim" backwards. He studied them intently and taught himself to swim backwards. I'm a bit of a slob, and often I'd be looking everywhere for something then notice that he seemed to be mimicking my movements which freaked me out but encouraged me to try to not be a slob.

I'm sorry you lost so many fry. If you decide to raise them again in the future, you might want to set up a battery backup to protect them in the event of a power failure. Techies use them to protect against data loss, check best buy or tiger direct or something.

Bettas like to eat sea monkeys. I raised them a few times as treats for my betta.

[MyFathersGirl]

We have a couple Bettas too. Are your fish picky eaters? The two Betta fish that we have will only eat the food they were fed when we got them from the pet store. We have tried two other types of food and they won't touch it. It just accumulated at the bottom of the tank so we went back to the first type of food.

[pepsi lady]

i have a male and female in a community tank, no babys, but still fun to watch. still thinking of getting a few more females but the male picks on the one female i have... bummer.... but all in all thay are doing well.....good luck with your babys

[Fresia]

Originally Posted by MyFathersGirl

We have a couple Bettas too. Are your fish picky eaters? The two Betta fish that we have will only eat the food they were fed when we got them from the pet store. We have tried two other types of food and they won't touch it. It just accumulated at the bottom of the tank so we went back to the first type of food.

They sure can be picky eaters. Some will eat alternating foods that I will rotate. Some will only eat a good pellet food and brine shrimp, but then all will happily eat blood worms as a treat once in awhile.

[eskielover]

How did the 3 babies that made it turn out, or did you end up loosing them in the long run also?

They are so beautiful with their flowing tails & fins. Hope you have better success in the future.

[LibertyBelle]

Originally Posted by pepsi lady

i have a male and female in a community tank, no babys, but still fun to watch. still thinking of getting a few more females but the male picks on the one female i have... bummer.... but all in all thay are doing well.....good luck with your babys

How big is your tank? I heard that it's ok to keep 3 females in a large tank if there are lots of places for them to hide, but that two almost always ends up with one constantly picking on the other.

The male will start building a bubble nest if he wants to have babies.

[Fresia]

The little ones are doing beautifully, gratefully, and happy to report. Thanks for asking Eskie! I am not the best photographer but will try to get pictures.

Liberty Belle - I have a power back-up on all my tanks; unfortunately learned this lesson the hard way a long time ago but I can't back up the heater, or at least I don't know of a way. Meanwhile it is a good suggestion to back up tanks in the event of a power failure. The older ones can survive the water temp dipping but apparently these were too fragile for that. I wish my schedule had not taken me away to have kept better eye on things to catch it sooner, and that did not occur to me to let the house/pet sitter know. Lesson learned but still feel terrible.

Quote:
How big is your tank? I heard that it's ok to keep 3 females in a large tank if there are lots of places for them to hide, but that two almost always ends up with one constantly picking on the other.

The male will start building a bubble nest if he wants to have babies.

Plantings and hiding places are good for them and also keeps things interesting to move them around for them. I have not had any trouble keeping females together but have heard there can be trouble, just have to watch. They will nest too if they are content. It is a good sign when they do this, sign of a good home. Best wishes with your tank!

I have 5 female Bettas in a 26 gallon that do well. I have a few other tanks: a 29 gallon salt, and the two 20 gallon community fresh water tanks: one with three female Bettas plus some others in it and then the other tank has the little ones in it now, and then there are three 5 gallon filtered tanks for the male Bettas. There so graceful and peaceful to watch.
__________________

[eskielover]

Glad to hear your little ones ended up doing well. That is very exciting.

I remember when I moved to KY my last trip with some more of my things & my bettas was in December right before Christmas. It got really cold & I almost lost both the males I had. Luckily, they survived the move. One actually lived another year after that. I don't know exactly what their life span is, but it seems like they lived about 5 years & that was without any fancy tanks....just a bowl for each one. It was a pain having to constantly clean the bowl just never got into the aquariums other then the little one we got for my daughters goldfish she won at a carnival.....her goldfish lived for many years in that healthy environment.