# Ways to condition



## GunsABlazin (Jun 1, 2011)

Im a little confused about conditioning, because i have read allot of different ways that you folks on here use.
I know the basics...Frequent feeding of live or frozen food, Clean water, about 80 degrees. 
But whats the most successful method you guys have used, and what do you think is the best method for a new breeder?

Thanks a Bunch.


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

Lots of different methods that will work to condition for breeding as you are finding out......lol.....

What I like to do or how I view it-conditioning is to stimulate and/or to find the triggers that are instinct driven.....

Instinct tells the fish its time to reproduce based on-food, water quality, temp and photoperiod.....

In a closed system we have to artificially provide these things to help trigger their spawning instinct.....

Quality foods-especially live, longer days, clean water-but not too clean that it lacks the needed minerals and DOC's and temp changes to emulate rain.

When I condition-I find it easier and faster if I use live foods...mass fed mosquito larva, I leave the lights on 12-13h and make water changes the day I want the spawn.... allowing them to stay in separate containers with limited water changes and with hard to spawn breeders- I use the temp shock method...the temp shock method is safe as long as the breeders are healthy to start and the Bettas should be healthy anyway when used for breeding...


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## GunsABlazin (Jun 1, 2011)

Both of my Pair are healthy, i have been mass feeding mosquito larvae for about a week, doing small water changes every day.
I have a ~40G long tank with 3 1/2-4 inches of water getting up to temp (82). 2 IAL, breeding mops for hideing (when they go in).


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## Punki (Apr 30, 2011)

I did the same, 3 times a day id go scoop some mosquito larvae out, rinse/feed. I think that live conditions alot faster then frozen if its fed throughout the day. My girl plumped with eggs after 3 days of mass feeding those


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## GunsABlazin (Jun 1, 2011)

My girl isnt really getting plump. I feed about 7 larvae 3 times a day.

i have a 10G tank divided 3 ways, the male i am going to spawn is on the out side, and another male is on the other out side, this leaves the middle open. (i hand made the dividers, they cant be seen through). Would that be a good place to put her whilst i feed her up? Or should i just continue to float her in a cup in the middle?


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## Punki (Apr 30, 2011)

Hm, im not sure, my female lived next door to my male for a month in a 10g divided and they could glimpse at each other and she still spawned with him. But ive read that its best to keep them out of each others water/view because of the hormones he releases to ripen her eggs. But floating in a cup cant be fun either ) Hopefully ofl comes back around with advice. For my second breeding attempt (they ate the eggs the first time) i removed her from the divided tank and put her in a 1.5g tank away from him for 5 days.
Id say id feed about 10-20 larvae each feed but they were smaller larvae most of the time.


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## GunsABlazin (Jun 1, 2011)

the larve i feed are anyware between just hatched to almost ready to fly. I have a seperat tank, put i cant get it up to 80 with the current heater.


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## Punki (Apr 30, 2011)

Yeah my larvae are like that now, but when i was conditioning my bucket got ruined so i had to wait for new ones, so all small  
If you have a large vase, or sterilite bin, anything will work, it just helps her feel isolated and lonely so when she suddenly sees the male she gets so excited and ripens up. Maybe a cup would work though, i was just thinking of her comfort, my girl swims against a cup all day wanting out so it tires her out.


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## GunsABlazin (Jun 1, 2011)

im just trying to figure how i could keep her warm enough in my 1.5G. I could lower is to 1G of water so the heater has to heat less... :/ I just pulled this female out of a sorority today, (she was still getting fed up the same) so she will get lonely fast.


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## GunsABlazin (Jun 1, 2011)

ello?


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## Punki (Apr 30, 2011)

I am hoping someone will come along and say cupping is okay ) For me im in florida so i just put them in a non a/c room and their water stays at 78-82 (night/day) so im not much help with small heaters


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## GunsABlazin (Jun 1, 2011)

yea..washington hasnt hit 80 in a while.


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## Punki (Apr 30, 2011)

Id love that weather, today was 102 here outside  Tanks hit 86 and i put a ziplock filled with cold water floating in their tanks to get it back down to 82-84 range. Opposite problem unfortunatly. Some people float those gladware bowls? They are about 1/2 a gallon and they saran wrap and poke holes in the top and attach that to a heated tank. Im not sure how big the cup is but if its a store cup maybe a 1/2 gallon gladware bowl would work, or something similar.


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## GunsABlazin (Jun 1, 2011)

hmm good idea


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## Punki (Apr 30, 2011)

As long as shes warm, can swim a bit, gets fed well, and doesnt sense any fish/male hormones she should egg right up when seeing him


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## GunsABlazin (Jun 1, 2011)

ok, iv got her in a large tupperware bowl, floated in the middle 1/3rd of my heated 10 gallon. so far as she can see or smell, shes all alone.


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## Punki (Apr 30, 2011)

Nice, hopefully it works out for ya, good luck


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

Its best to keep the Breeders in separate container so that they can't see each other during the conditioning process....if the female is healthy to start she should be able to tolerate room temp in the low-mid 70's...if its really cold in your area you can also place the cup on top of the lights as long as you monitor the temp hourly and move/remove as needed and since you have an empty 1.5gal...why not place her in that....

When I get my breeders ready to spawn-I like to place both of them in separate containers with tannin stained water- that are small and kept so they can't see each other and mass feed mosquito larva for 2-4 days-no water changes-keeping the water temp low in the 70's and the spawning tank setup and ready at 80F and drop both in the tank at the same time for a little shock.....and usually I have spawning within the hour......if not-it will be at first light the next day....healthy fish will tolerate the temp shock of 10-15 degrees without issue IME

Me too Punki-hot-hot-hot....lol....over 100's every day and the water temp in my outside spawns is staying in the upper 90's and my baby bed spawn setup is 102F(see album) since it get a bit more sun than the other setups...good thing I have tough fish that can tolerate this heat.......


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## Punki (Apr 30, 2011)

lol I love your baby bed setup OFL. So his girl would be okay in her cup for conditioning? I wasnt sure if that was too small of a place for her to be comfy. My fish seem to drive themselves crazy in the cup, and it made me feel they were wasting all their energy trying to get out all the time ) 
I havent cooled my fry tank, its at 87 right now, i wasnt sure if 90+ was safe, but now i know not to worry )


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## GunsABlazin (Jun 1, 2011)

The 1.5 isnt empty, but i can esily move my DS male into the middle section. Would that be better?


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## GunsABlazin (Jun 1, 2011)

the "cup" she is in is about 1/3-1/2 a gallon.


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## Punki (Apr 30, 2011)

Oh that is a large cup! my petstore cups are maybe 1/8th of a gallon so thats what i had in my head.


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## GunsABlazin (Jun 1, 2011)

she was in a pint. but that was just to get her adjusted to the water temp in the larger cup.

Would my 1.5 gall be better?


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

I use containers that are roughly 3cup'ish...but I also have the water tanned fairly dark along with some bits of oak leaf that always end up in it with a floating plant..."water lettuce" and this gives them a sense of security with the leaf floating on top and long roots hanging in the water column....... mine don't seem to fight the container much longer than an hour or so..if at all.... after I remove them from a 75gal NPT...I also drop a bunch of mosquito larva in the container and this keeps them busy too

Even in a small container you can create a sense of security and if they run the walls a lot and you don't have tanned water and/or floating plant....wrap the container with dark paper leaving half inch from the top open for light and a dark lid.....so they feel safe.....


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## GunsABlazin (Jun 1, 2011)

how do you do the tanned water? i have IAL, but i dont know how to use them.


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

I keep a 1gal jug of dechlorinated water with 10-12 crushed naturally dried and fallen from the tree- Oak leaf- steeping all the time ready for use......and I also keep some leaves in the tanks too......

The longer they steep the more tannins released the darker the water the more the Betta likes it.......

Remember-both IAL and oak leaf can alter the pH slightly-so make sure you use it in both the tank and replacement water especially with 100% water changes or do slow acclimation to both temp and chemistry just like you do with new fish...better safe than sorry......

With IAL-you use the same way.....add to the spawning tank so they can steep and have one in some replacement water that you will use for water changes


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## GunsABlazin (Jun 1, 2011)

Ok, so i dont have to crush the two leaves i have in my spawning tank?
i have it already set up becuse it takes a good amount of time to reach temp.


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

You can crush them or not...when crushed its harder to get the pieces out...but I don't worry about the pieces in my tanks or the decomp but I have lots of live active growing plants that help take care of water quality issue they may cause....using whole makes it easier to remove as needed....

Why don't you start with like temp water when you first fill the tank.....then you don't have to wait for the temp to equalize....a little trick to speed up the temp......fill a plastic bottle with hot water and nuke and float in the tank...be sure and cap the bottle....


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## GunsABlazin (Jun 1, 2011)

I usualy do, but today i filled it with ice cold water... im not sure why, i just didnt turn the hot water on in the tub...but oh well, gives me a good chance to make sure the heater holds temp well. 
and, ill have to try the whole water bottle thing...though with my luck i will let it go to long an...*boom*.


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