Breeding Bettas

[Lexi_Lover]

I want to breed my male Betta and I am getting a female, but how do you do that, what do you need, and how do you tell which male is best and the qualities of the female! Also how many little baby Bettas does the female have! I have been reading and studying everywhere....but I can't seem to find it...I did once but I didn't understand that!

[flamepony12]

I really don't think you should do it. You have to know ALL about it before you do it or you will probably end up with a dead female. There are also WAY too many bettas in those little tiny cups at the pet stores and such. :(

[micki76]

May I ask wat your reasons are for wanting to breed Bettas?

IDK, seems like there are plenty languishing in those little cups in Walmart already. :(

[Lexi_Lover]

For breeding, my reason is because I have many family members that have owned fish...the cheap ones you win and fairs and such...but they are wanting another and they love Bettas! They have also owned 2 bettas before about 1 year ago they had him for 2 and a half years!

They raised him well, thats why I wanted to know how many you would get when the female gives birth! I have many Betta aquariums taht I have purchased, any new one that comes out I get it! I take very good care of my animals! I have 3 male Bettas at the moment (Not in the same aquarium of course!) Flame, Rebel and Cloud!

[flamepony12]

Originally posted by Lexi_Lover
but they are wanting another and they love Bettas!

so, rescue some from those disguisting pet stores! :( That is no sensible reason to breed.

[lute]

Originally posted by micki76
IDK, seems like there are plenty languishing in those little cups in Walmart already. :(
i agree. i want to cry when i see them at wal-mart. i swear they never clean out their bowls.:( we have some at work,but we clean their bowls all the time and they are very clear.

[Aspen and Misty]

If you don't know the answeres to the basics, then you shouldn't be doing it at all!

Ashley

[flamepony12]

Originally posted by lute
i agree. i want to cry when i see them at wal-mart. i swear they never clean out their bowls.:( we have some at work,but we clean their bowls all the time and they are very clear.

I was at petsmart the other day and I had to tell the fish lady that there were 5 dead bettas floating in their cups. :( it disguists me. :( poor things.

[Erebus3]

I wen't through that phase.lol. But, I thought about it. Hours and hours of cleaning, observing, feeding, and giving alot of SPECIAL attention to those babies, the parents, the enviroment. You have to condition the parents, the aquarium, the food (babies absolutely need live food). And, there isn't a guarantee things will go good, but I'm almost certain there's basically a guarantee that you will hit bump at some point. Plus, there's already all those bettas in the stores who are just waiting for a home, desperately needing like most the other pets in stores. It's quite sad, that's the thing that made me change my mind. Also, the only reason I think breeding is necessary, is for those show type bettas. The ones from the pet stores won't give you show quality bettas, too many different genes resulting in non-dependable outcome. They aren't inbreed enough to be able to put a blue boy with a blue girl in order to make blue babies. You could get greens, purples, reds, and other colors cus they aren't specially breed. Anyway, best of luk.

[Harmanie]

I got crush from Walmart. But I found him in the very back and underneath the others.:( I was like....Ummm...NO WAY! He was just to cute and I wanted him! You know how betta males are very aggressive torwards each other? Well Its odd how they would put them in these little itty bitty containers right next to each other and on top of each other.
Why do they do that?

[binka_nugget]

If you're really serious about breeding bettas, I suggest going to a good breeder, buying some of their fishes, and maybe learning from them.

[PJ's Mom]

Originally posted by Harmanie
You know how betta males are very aggressive torwards each other? Well Its odd how they would put them in these little itty bitty containers right next to each other and on top of each other.
Why do they do that?

Because when they see other male bettas they flare their fins making them look prettier, and therefore more easy to sell. They're also a relatively clean fish, so even without good filtration, they can be kept in the little cups longer than most. :(

Being a fish person, I have to agree with everyone here. If you truly love bettas, you'll rescue some from the awful conditions they live in at places like Walmart and Petsmart. Breeding fish isn't worth the trouble when you can find so many needing good homes. :)

[Logan]

My daughter bought a Betta yesterday at Petsmart. She saw this tank that had a divider so you could have two at one time, I guess, but the lady who was waiting on us discouraged that because she said they would try to fight each other through the divider. Sort of sad, isn't it?


Sorry to have gotten off subject. I know nothing about breeding fish so I'm no help. I did used to have a tank when I was a kid and the guppies and the black Mollies would reproduce quite easily and we had to make sure to put the divider in so that they weren't eaten.

[CamCamPup33]

Originally posted by Logan
My daughter bought a Betta yesterday at Petsmart. She saw this tank that had a divider so you could have two at one time, I guess, but the lady who was waiting on us discouraged that because she said they would try to fight each other through the divider. Sort of sad, isn't it?

My brother has one of those. I think his little slider comes off so he just decorated it with those sticky things you get at petsmart with the nice designs, they go on the back of large fishtanks... :o No clue what their called.

I agree that you should buy a betta from the store. Those fish aren't wanted much, so maybe instead of trying to breed, and ending up with a badly hurt/dead betta, you could find a nice one at petsmart. :)

[Lexi_Lover]

But then if I do that...they will know that they are selling and then they will just bring more and more in..it isn't worth it...I got mine from a breeder by the way, just to let you all know! He's very nice and keeps his Bettas in tip-top shape!

[PJ's Mom]

Originally posted by Lexi_Lover
But then if I do that...they will know that they are selling and then they will just bring more and more in..

I somehow doubt you'll buy that many bettas. ;)

Sounds like you've already got your mind made up.

[Uabassoon]

.I got mine from a breeder by the way, just to let you all know! He's very nice and keeps his Bettas in tip-top shape!

Then why can't your family just get Bettas from him instead of you breeding them?

[Lexi_Lover]

Everybody is going after me like its something wrong to do...I really want to pass down my boys qualities! They are very easy keepers!

And plus the Wal-Mart and PETsMART near us only have like 5-10 Bettas on the shelf! They get their Bettas from a local breeder, they are in perfect health and are young so they will live for at least 4 years!

[PJ's Mom]

Originally posted by Lexi_Lover
Everybody is going after me like its something wrong to do...I really want to pass down my boys qualities! They are very easy keepers!

Nobody's going after you. You just aren't making a lot of sense.


And plus the Wal-Mart and PETsMART near us only have like 5-10 Bettas on the shelf! They get their Bettas from a local breeder, they are in perfect health and are young so they will live for at least 4 years!

Then why not buy your bettas there?

[Mandy1]

Originally posted by Lexi_Lover
Everybody is going after me like its something wrong to do...I really want to pass down my boys qualities! They are very easy keepers!

And plus the Wal-Mart and PETsMART near us only have like 5-10 Bettas on the shelf! They get their Bettas from a local breeder, they are in perfect health and are young so they will live for at least 4 years!

They may appear to be in good shape but I doubt they are. First of all they are living in a cup, they can barely turn around in the thing. Look carefully at their fins, they commonly have fin rot. Are you going to give all of your baby bettas so a store so they can be stuck in a little plastic cup?

[Lexi_Lover]

They are not in cups...they are in glass bowls on a shelf and fed Betta Pellets everyday..I asked to see what they fed and they also showed me a schedule! They feed them twice a day...It may seem to good to be true, but it is! They use the Betta water cleaner as well! And they but board inbetween them so they can't see each other!

They even have the name and number of the breeder there!

[CamCamPup33]

I just don't understand why you have to BREED your betta.

I would think you, being an animal lover too im guessing, would want to save an animal instead of bringing MORE into the world.

Please think about what we are telling you.

[Lexi_Lover]

I have decided not to breed them! Thanks all! Your comments got to me!Plus my boys haven't been feeling all that well lately:(

[wolfsoul]

Originally posted by lute
i agree. i want to cry when i see them at wal-mart.

I want to cry when I see a puppy in a pet shop. But I wouldn't buy it.

Not saying breeding is the way to go, but I think that the breeding vs buying from a petshop issue is silly because it's exactly like the breeding vs buying from a petshop issue with puppies. I can't imagine anyone here buying from a puppy from a pet shop after all of the knowledge they now have about puppy mills --- so why is it better to support 'fish mills' and buy fish from a pet shop? I guess where fish come from is of less importance than puppies, as long as you don't breed them yourself? :confused:

Just like they say, by 'saving' one, you are only dooming more.

My betta is from a petshop, and I never thought once or twice about it. However, after reading this thread, I can see that other people seem to care about the bettas and how they are treated in pet stores...And it makes me think about it. So if I decide to get another, it'll be from a reputable breeder.