Breeding Bettas, Siamese Fighting Fish, Part 1 – Introduction

Breeding Bettas or Siamese Fighting Fish can be a very rewarding hobby. There are just so many colors and variations to experiment with so I suppose I knew not long after I started keeping Bettas (or maybe even beforehand) that it wouldn’t be long before I’d start breeding them.

You know it’s undeniable that we humans have an irresistible urge to create new things. It’s what drives gardeners to create magnificent gardens and car enthusiasts to restore classic cars. So if you have a fondness for keeping Betta Fish and would like to take the next step and start producing your very own “Betta Magic” then please read on. Over the next few posts I’ll write about how I went about breeding Bettas for the very first time, what I learnt and what I found did and didn’t work.

So before we get under way can I just say this, breeding Bettas isn’t difficult it just comes down to deciding how successful you’d like to be, getting your hands on the right information and then following the process. Therefore, first research the topic (the fact you’re reading this is a good sign) from as many different sources as possible (including this one) as breeding Bettas is not an exact science. The more you read though, the more you’ll discover slight variations on the best way to go about it. The most important thing is you will find a consensus on the important points to follow. Then just apply some common sense and judgement to interpret the other points that the “experts” differ on.

Therefore the more preparation you do before hand on research, setting up your breeding tank and selecting the right Bettas will greatly increase your chances of success and ensure that your time isn’t wasted.

Also consider this, if you are successful at your first attempt you may find you’ve ended up with somewhere between 300 to 500 baby Bettas that will quickly get too large for the tank you spawned them in. Plus at some stage the males will all have to be separated into individual containers. Have you got a plan and what are you going to do with all these fish?

Well I suppose this will depend on many things and your options are probably obvious. You can sell them to local pet shops, aquariums and wholesalers, advertise them locally to sell privately and just give them away to friends and family. The other option you have though is probably the most important and in many cases it will be the real reason you may decided go ahead and start breeding Bettas in the first place. And that reason is this………..

You want to keep some for yourself. Why? Well if you’ve gone to the trouble of selecting a quality pair of Bettas in the first place, there is a chance that you will produce some fish that will be well worth keeping. In other words you may be able to use them to breed a few Bettas that are unique, rare or just plain superior to the run of the mill Bettas you find in the pet shop. Therefore these are the ones that you will want to keep, breed from and show.

So this ties back with what we spoke about before about research. Getting it right is important. If you begin with the philosophy that, “if I start with 300 fry and only 50 survive, I’ll be happy” attitude then some of the 250 that didn’t make it may have actually been the one’s that were the pick of the bunch. Remember it won’t necessarily be the inferior ones that won’t survive. There are just so many reasons why some won’t make it and most of these reason will be caused by you.

Therefore this is the importance of research, interpreting what others do correctly and following directions. At the end of the day the numbers will decrease to some degree and this will be a combination of “natures way” and your mistakes (as I said before, mostly your mistakes). But the more you do right increases your chances of producing some quality Bettas that someone else will want to pay money for or accept as a gift.

So please read on as I made a few mistakes along the way and I’m more that happy to share them with you.

Breeding Bettas, Siamese Fighting Fish, Part 2 – Betta Breeding Tank Set Up

Possibly Related Posts:

• Cleaning the Betta Fry Tank
• Breeding Crowntail Bettas
• Do Bettas Take Breaks While Spawning
• Breeding Bettas During the Cold Weather
• Microworms