[KL01toKA03]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

Used to do it with my father many years back. Nowadays too lazy to do it

I'll come to why I asked the question. I saw a picture of an electric blue guppy, and fell in love with it. I ordered it from a seller in Kerala. By mistake, he also sent a female betta. I wanted to return it, but he asked me not to worry. I was apprehensive, but he assured that the betta was kept in a tank with hundreds of other fish. I put the fish in the pond, and the betta seems to be shy and always hiding. I have kept a small tank ready in case she decides to attack the guppies.

[badboyscad]

Originally Posted by KL01toKA03

Has anyone tried breeding bettas? I'm planning to buy a pair and try breeding as a hobby.

My friend and I were into serious betta(koi & plakat) breeding before covid hit the fan. Betta breeding can be fun if you are ready spend some time daily, to monitor the progress.

Originally Posted by KL01toKA03

I put the fish in the pond, and the betta seems to be shy and always hiding. I have kept a small tank ready in case she decides to attack the guppies.

Please post some current pics of the pond, fishes and the smaller tank. What size is the female betta? If you are ready to breed betta, I suggest to start by pairing the female with normal male. By normal I mean, don't go for the fancy varieties such as crown tail, dumbo ears, koi etc.

Fill the tank with approximately 5 inches of water and place the male in it. Wait for it to get accustomed and build a bubble nest. Float a dried Indian Almond leaf so that the male can build the nest beneath it, also the tannins from the leaf will be helpful for the fry. A transparent plastic jar with bottom cut off and holes drilled on the sides, can be used to introduce the female after the nest is built. If the fishes start their dance then the plastic jar can simply be lifted slowly without disturbing the bubble nest and breeding process will start.

Also refer to numerous youtube videos on betta breeding to get a better idea.

PS: Incase you don't find any Indian almond leaves in your vicinity, try using a piece of transparent OHP sheet as float for the bubble nest.

[KL01toKA03]

Originally Posted by badboyscad

My friend and I were into serious betta(koi & plakat) breeding before covid hit the fan. Betta breeding can be fun if you are ready spend some time daily, to monitor the progress.

I had watched some videos on Youtube. Thought it would be a fun project which my son and I could do together.

Originally Posted by badboyscad

Please post some current pics of the pond, fishes and the smaller tank. What size is the female betta? If you are ready to breed betta, I suggest to start by pairing the female with normal male. By normal I mean, don't go for the fancy varieties such as crown tail, dumbo ears, koi etc.

PS: Incase you don't find any Indian almond leaves in your vicinity, try using a piece of transparent OHP sheet as float for the bubble nest.

Thanks for the response.

The pictures of the pond are there in the previous page. In addition to that I have a small glass bowl for emergencies (sorry, I incorrectly mentioned small tank earlier). The female betta is approximately 3 inches.

Any reason why you do not recommend fancy varieties? Also, is there any dry food which can be given to the newly hatched baby fish? What do you do with the fish after they hatch? I do not want to be stuck with a lot of fish that needs to be kept separately.

[badboyscad]

Originally Posted by KL01toKA03

I have a small glass bowl for emergencies (sorry, I incorrectly mentioned small tank earlier).

Im afraid the bowl may not be suitable for breeding. You could try to get a small tank, 12" x 6" x 10" (L x W x H) would suffice.

Originally Posted by KL01toKA03

Any reason why you do not recommend fancy varieties?

In my experience, i find these hybrids a little more vulnerable to diseases, deformities and temperature variations, so a normal betta might be easier to start with and easier on the pocket.

Originally Posted by KL01toKA03

Also, is there any dry food which can be given to the newly hatched baby fish?

During my starting days, i used hikari first bites and other crushed flakes, but live feed increases fry survival rate. Since you have already ordered fish from kerala, you can try to get moina culture. You can find sellers in FB guppy breeders groups. Also see if you can get some guppy grass plants for the breeding tank.

Originally Posted by KL01toKA03

What do you do with the fish after they hatch? I do not want to be stuck with a lot of fish that needs to be kept separately.

The female should be removed once you see eggs in the bubble nest, by this time the female will be battered. The eggs will hatch in 2 to 3 days, the male will ensure that the newly hatched fry doesn't sink to the bottom of the tank. The male should be removed once the fry start to swim horizontally and then you can start to feed the fry.

The babies do not get aggressive until they reach half inch or more. After that, you can keep the females in groups and males separated. In my case, my friend and I kept a lot of bettas to ourselves, at one stage we just bartered them with a friendly local aquarium for blue ram chichlids and multifasciatus .

[KL01toKA03]

Originally Posted by badboyscad

Im afraid the bowl may not be suitable for breeding. You could try to get a small tank, 12" x 6" x 10" (L x W x H) would suffice.

Thanks a lot for the response. The inevitable happened, and the betta nipped the tail of one of the guppies. I have moved the betta to a bottle. I think I'll give it away since I don't think I can maintain another tank for only one fish.

If anyone from Bangalore wants a blue betta female for free, please contact me.

[motorpsycho]

All, I have a aquarium which I had populated with 10 Tiger Barbs, within an year, 9 of them are dead and only 1 is left, I tried everything to ensure they have safe and healthy tank, from regular water changes (every 2 weeks) varied fish food, diff brand and boiled egg added once every week.

Now I plan to re-populate the tank with Tiger Barbs and a few Neon Tetras -

• I have read these 2 breeds are compatible, is this accurate?

I also plan to plant a few plants, I have shortlisted Amazon Sword, since these are hardy plants, do not need CO2 supply -

• Do I need a potting soil for this? Or my current substrate is sufficient, which is made up of small rock granules.
• What other plants I can plant?
• Where can I buy the plants online?

[deathwalkr]

Hey,

1) Size of tank?
2) What filtration do you have?
3) Tiger barbs are notorious fin nippers. I would avoid putting them with docile fishes like neon tetras.
4) Plants would love soil to root in. Otherwise you could try Java ferns or Anubias which can be tied/glued onto rocks/wood
5) Not sure if they deliver to Hubli, but there are sites like sreepadma.com that specialize in aquarium/pond plants

Cheers

[badboyscad]

Originally Posted by motorpsycho

Where can I buy the plants online?

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

5) Not sure if they deliver to Hubli, but there are sites like sreepadma.com that specialize in aquarium/pond plants

Try bunnycart.com, they ship aquatic plants by courier.

[motorpsycho]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

1) Size of tank?
2) What filtration do you have?
3) Tiger barbs are notorious fin nippers. I would avoid putting them with

Cheers

1) Size of tank? 80 Liters tank, located next to a window with sufficient air and light
2) What filtration do you have? I have a side hanging filter, filled with activated carbon, foam type filtration media and another internal filter, filled with activated carbon
3) Tiger barbs are notorious fin nippers. I would avoid putting them with docile fishes like neon tetras - Understood.
4) Plants would love soil to root in. Otherwise you could try Java ferns or Anubias which can be tied/glued onto rocks/wood - Java Fern is something I really like.
5) Not sure if they deliver to Hubli, but there are sites like sreepadma.com that specialize in aquarium/pond plants - They are not shipping right now, but will get in touch with them.

[deathwalkr]

So, 80L would be bare minimum for the barbs you have had. When it comes to fishes and other pets in general, more space is usually better.

Issue in your case was the lack of biological filtration. You have had mechanical filtration (the sponges) and chemical filtration (carbon). These two will keep your water clear but not clean.

Hope you changed the carbon periodically.

You need to get ceramic rings and such in your filter for bio. You can ditch the carbon. Change water (50%) with a gravel siphon once a week.

Stick to good branded feed, do not overfeed and avoid boiled eggs and the likes.

Remember that Tiger barbs are very fishes and love to swim around in schools. A long tank would be ideal for them.

For your 80L tank, can i suggest tetras alone? Could try hardy ones like the black widow tetras.

Oh, keeping glass tanks exposed to direct sunlight is an open invitation for algae to develop.

[motorpsycho]

Originally Posted by deathwalkr

80L

carbon
Ceramic rings .
carbon
Change water (50%) with a gravel siphon once a week.
branded feed,
suggest tetras alone?
Oh, keeping glass tanks exposed to direct sunlight is an open invitation for algae to develop.

Thank you!

I had only 10 fish, which I assumed was sufficient for 10 of the barbs.
Was under the impression that Activated Carbon was good for the tank and fish.
I do change water regularly, I do have a gravel siphon.
Feed - I feed Taiyo Ultima, is this a good brand?
I have 1 Barb left and do not want to give away, so will consider it.

[KL01toKA03]

I cleaned the filter of my pond, and was surprised to see a few snails inside the filter. By snails, I mean tiny snails which are about the size of a rice grain. I did not introduce them to the pond, so it must have come when I bought some fish. Is there any way to kill the snails without harming the fish?

Also, I don't want the house to be infested with snails. Any idea if they will come out of water (it doesn't look like that is happening) ?

[avimal]

Not sure how big is your pond. One way is to use some bait like fresh lettuce leaf and collect them manually next day. There are copper based chemicals that can kill snails. Many people also use assasin snails to get rid off other snails. Assasins will eat all other snails.

[KL01toKA03]

Originally Posted by avimal

Not sure how big is your pond. One way is to use some bait like fresh lettuce leaf and collect them manually next day. There are copper based chemicals that can kill snails. Many people also use assasin snails to get rid off other snails. Assasins will eat all other snails.

This is a 100 liter tank with a few guppies. Will assasin snails kill the guppies?

The snails are inside the filter and not in the pond. Will the assasin snails survive inside the filter, and will they multiply, causing the same problem with a different snail?

Also, any idea if snails will try to come out of the water?

[m8002?]

They mostly came in struck to the plants from the shop. These snails will not come out to your home if thats what you are concerned about. But I have seen them at the surface water level in the aquariums.

You can try some loaches to control the snails in the pond or use some chemicals to kill them. But there is no easy way out once they get in.