bettas full of eggs

[doubletrouble]

I have some awesome bettas!

I have three females...one crowntail two normal ones..and a crowntail male very beautiful. I wasn't planning on breeding, but maybe I'll try it. I actaully have some very mild mannered bettas. They are all together and friendly!!! I am keeping a very close eye out just in case and have some extra tank homes just in case.

I can't do anything about it until I get back from vacation unless they get to it before then. I will separate while I am gone probably, but they have been fine so far.

They are in a 20 gallon right now...but the male will be moving to a small home for the week possibly till I get back> unless he has his bubble nest and then the females will be moved to the 10 gallon. I may be moving them to the 30 gallon though one day.

So I was just wondering what you all think about bettas actually getting along; for one..and how would I do baby bettas lol. I read some great sites for info and i know all about what should and needs to be done. So any advice? I am more concerned about finding homes for the babies when they are ready (getting ahead of myself, but I don't want to have tons of babies in little bowls all over..I hate those little bowls anyways ha ha) I would plan on GIVING them away not selling...but do you think anyone would want them? and possibly a petstore as an option?

[MokeyBird]

I don't breed my bettas for many reasons, but I have researched and researched and researched which is basically what YOU need to do. You can't read a few sites' instructions and know it all, I promise you. There is a lot more to it than just following a step by step instruction page, that tells you the what but not the why or what could happen. Those sites are a dime a dozen.

Breeding betta splendens (or any animal for that matter) should never be made on a whim. It needs to be thought out and planned for beforehand.

Bettas can have upwards of two hundred young in a spawn. You need to really think about where you are going to put all of them *if they survive*. I doubt the idea of culling the young would be a well recieved topic here.

The actual spawning of the fish is very easy, but that is where it ends.

It is EXTREMELY time consuming, tedius, MONEY EATING and tricky to successfully raise the young, especially if you do not have the. The online "instructions" are not going to tell you that you could have your entire spawn die because you skipped a water change. You have to have near perfect water quality, ESPECIALLY for Crowntails. In thier development, the qualty in their rays depends on the water quality. You have to keep temperatures EXACT, and deal with rapid evaporation in the low level of water you will spawn in. You have to keep running cultures of live foods at all times for all stages of growth and parent prep. So if you don't like worms....Uh...Don't do this. During spawing, one or in most cases both of the parents will be wounded quite severely. In courtship in an enclosed tank, even with many places to hide, thier fins are going to be severely SHREDDED. So that means you need to have a hospital tank waiting for both fish and they need to be treated ASAP. Plus it is a very expensive hobby.

Do you really have awesome bettas? Have you compared them the betta standards? Do they have the correct body style/finnage? How well are the rays on your crowntails? Are they REAL crowntails or just petstore imitations (aka, veils with rays)? I am not a fan of CTs because of those petshop imitations. Only full spread, almost halfmoon CTs do I really like. By "Normal" what do you mean? What tail type?

If your females are really really fat with egg, get them out of sight of the others and they will get rid of them on thier own. They will not be harmed by being full of eggs, but more than likely will be severely harmed if they are spawned.

IMO Even females need to be kept apart unless you have a whole bunch of them where fighting is dispersed amongst a large number of them. If you just have two, you will always have one dominant and one submissive, and being aggressive fish, the submissive fish will be beaten to death in one way or another. In one of my tries, the submissive fish was not allowed out of one corner of the tank, was not allowed to eat, and when ever she tried she was brutally attacked. I still have them both because I separated them.

And males and females should never be kept together. It is very stressful on them. Females, even dark bodied females, are just as vibrant as males, and will really show thier true literal colors when they don't have anyone else to worry about.

This guy is the greatest. I have the utmost respect for him and his fish. He is working on some strains of some simply STUNNING color variations in his show bettas. And he has a link to my FAV betta forum where you can get a lot more info.
http://www.bettaterritory.nl/

I hope this helps and I hope you don't feel slighted or attacked or offended in any way for me opposing your idea. And do you have any pics of your bettas? I would LOVE to see them.

[MokeyBird]

And I just had to add that the petshop is definitely not an option. They have thier own mass supplier. And they would be kept in those stressful barracks hung from the side of the tank, or worse, in those God Forsaken cups. Plus they will sell to anybody with five bucks in thier pocket and would sell them the quart fish bowl and sharp plastic plants to boot.

[doubletrouble]

I do appreciate your input..and I do see your point.

I have decided not to breed them. I have seen the quality show bettas and they are amazing.

I have 1 male and 6 female in a 30 gallon. They are doing great, but I will keep an eye out for trouble.

I am curious as to how the females will get rid of their eggs on their own? do they absorb them if they are not spawned? I only have 2 females that have the eggs. The male has not built a bubble nest recently. He does keep showing off and the male and female sorta swim next to each other fanning and he does try to bring the females up to the corner he seems to be guarding..but no bubble nest.

I can tell from the 6 females which are dominate..but they do not chase each other.