# Betta spawning 2.5 gallon



## jschristian44 (Jan 6, 2011)

Could I spawn betta's in a 2.5 gallon tank? I am just wondering, because I have my 10 gallon, the way i want it as my display tank, and I don't want to drain the substrate and everything all over again. It's really time heavy, and I hear people spawn in 2.5 gallons without problems? If I have enough java moss in there do you think I will be okay? Can I just move the fry over to the 10 gallon to grow out once they hatch like a week after they hatch?


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## Alex09 (Aug 9, 2010)

Eh, Just get another 10 gallon. Bare 10 gals are cheap anyways. Or even a large tupperware from walmart or something. I dont believe that 2.5 gallons provides enough space for them to get away from eachother if need be.


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## jschristian44 (Jan 6, 2011)

yeah i figured it wouldnt be enough space, so im gonna get a tub. would a non clear tub work or does it need to be clear?


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

2.5 would be fine for a spawn but you have to be careful because it does not allow a lot of room for the female to escape from the chasing male and vice versa.


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## baylee767 (Nov 5, 2010)

Well if it isn't clear then you wont see the problems the fry will have. IMO clear containes are a necessity... but that's just me.

ALSO. If you breed your female with that VT there will be no half moons and getting an expensive HM female would have been worthless. So I reccomend getting another HM or HMPK instead so your fish are in more popular demand.

Good luck...


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## jschristian44 (Jan 6, 2011)

i would do that, but see i named the veil tail leon and the female claire. and i want them to mate together because they are the resident evil 2 main characters. i could name one chris, but he is claires brother and that wouldnt work out.


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## 1fish2fish (Sep 10, 2009)

jschristian44 said:


> i would do that, but see i named the veil tail leon and the female claire. and i want them to mate together because they are the resident evil 2 main characters. i could name one chris, but he is claires brother and that wouldnt work out.


:shock2: What? Are you seriously telling me that the reason your breeding these two fish is because of their names?

I was trying to give you the benefit of the doubt and just telling myself your a new breeder and havent' done the right research but now I'm thinking you don't really understand what it means to breed responsibly and breed for the right reasons. :shake:


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## BettaLover101 (Aug 20, 2010)

In order to spawn in a 2.5 gallon give the male half of a styrofoam cup to built his bubble nest under, put java moss or a small terra cotta pot in the opposite corner of the tank. Make sure you have an adjustable heater in the tank near the cup so that the water will stay warmest near the eggs. 

Put the female in a glass/plastic cylinder over by the javamoss or terra cotta pot to introduce the two and once the male's bubble nest is built release her, as long as she is showing the signs that she is ready to breed.

I've used this method before it worked wonders. Good luck!


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## jschristian44 (Jan 6, 2011)

thanks betta lovers. when could i transfer them over to the 10 gallon then though?


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## BettaLover101 (Aug 20, 2010)

You mean the fry right? Well, if you wanted to do that I would wait until they are around 1 month old, maybe 2, by then they should have had a long enough time to grow up and experience frequent water changes. Just make sure that the 10 gallon has the same temperature as the 2.5 so that they aren't stressed out by the dramatic change in temperature.

Also, make sure you have baby brine shrimp to feed these little guys!


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## jschristian44 (Jan 6, 2011)

yeah i got the bbs, but im saying, how many fry will spawn in a 2.5 gallon tank?


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## vilmarisv (Apr 17, 2010)

The size of the spawn is not determined by the size of the container. 
That's why a lot of people prefer larger tanks for spawning, if you end up with 100s of fry your 2.5 gal will be overstocked even in the first few weeks. 
Personally, I like using the 10gal because it goes from spawning to community without having to move the fry.


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## jschristian44 (Jan 6, 2011)

yeah if i try this again ill do a 10 gallon. but as for the fry, i just got an email saying that a guy will take all the fry i dont want. how nice is that!


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## BettaLover101 (Aug 20, 2010)

That all depends on the pair. It depends on how many eggs the female releases, how well the male takes care of the eggs, how strong the fry are when they hatch. All of these things determine how many fry will survive based on the fish.

As long as you do daily water changes, feed the fry properly, and make sure that they are all growing up healthy and strong then you should be able to keep all of the once that are meant to live alive.

Remember though, you have to be ready to dispose of any fry that have bent spines because there is no point letting them live if they will be in pain. It is better to put them out of their misery while they are still young, before you get overly attached.


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## jschristian44 (Jan 6, 2011)

yup


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## baylee767 (Nov 5, 2010)

Also, IMO 20 gallons is the growout minimum. You can get $20 clear steril tanks at most stores like target and walmart.


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

.........ya. Well ya IDK what to say to that name thing.


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## scootshoot (Oct 11, 2010)

jschristian44 said:


> i just got an email saying that a guy will take all the fry i dont want. how nice is that!


lol, depends on what he plans on doing with them. For instance if I still had my 100 gallon saltwater tank setup that housed Clown Triggers and Lion fish, I would offer to take all those betta's off your hand as well. Would save me on Feeder goldfish and guppy's, :lol:


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## Alex09 (Aug 9, 2010)

If the _fish's names_ are the thing that is holding you back from breeding, I believe you need to reach a higher level of maturity before you can even think of spawning and raising baby fish. 

I have to agree with 1f2f and Mr vamp on this one...


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

You can't expect the fry to grow properly in a 2.5 gallon tank. I say 10 gallon minimum.


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## turtle10 (Dec 30, 2010)

I can't even believe you are still trying to do this. You messed up the first time (because you didn't listen to us) and now you are going to try again with a DIFFERENT female? This really upsets me, especially considering the fact that you are getting rid of the original one. 

It wasn't her fault the spawning didn't work out, it was yours. I hate to be harsh but you are making really immature decisions.

Check this out 
:
http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?fwbettashm&1297383434


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## turtle10 (Dec 30, 2010)

BettaLover101 said:


> You mean the fry right? Well, if you wanted to do that I would wait until they are around 1 month old, maybe 2, by then they should have had a long enough time to grow up and experience frequent water changes. Just make sure that the 10 gallon has the same temperature as the 2.5 so that they aren't stressed out by the dramatic change in temperature.
> 
> Also, make sure you have baby brine shrimp to feed these little guys!


The fry won't fit in the 2.5 at one month old


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## baylee767 (Nov 5, 2010)

As stated before... irrisponsible. The only reason I gave you advice is because someone was giving out advice that was off (no offense) Is he going to not breed? Because the only reason I gave him advice was to spare the fry's lives when they came at least (it seemed like he was going to breed no matter what we said). I'd hoped that he'd raise the fry thanks to good advice and realize how hard it is and quit.

Wait, where did he say he was going to try with another female? DON'T!!! You're male is waaaay too old and a VT with genetic probs, and you don't know about breeding yet. You're also breeding for the wrong reason.


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## turtle10 (Dec 30, 2010)

baylee767 said:


> As stated before... irrisponsible. The only reason I gave you advice is because someone was giving out advice that was off (no offense) Is he going to not breed? Because the only reason I gave him advice was to spare the fry's lives when they came at least (it seemed like he was going to breed no matter what we said). I'd hoped that he'd raise the fry thanks to good advice and realize how hard it is and quit.
> 
> *Wait, where did he say he was going to try with another female?* DON'T!!! You're male is waaaay too old and a VT with genetic probs, and you don't know about breeding yet. You're also breeding for the wrong reason.


I am assuming he is trying with another female because I saw he put the original female up for sale. I swear he had her like a week. The reason I think he is trying again is because he created this thread :/

It hurts to think off all the stress that female has gone through, and now she is going to be shipped out again? Though I doubt anyone will buy her on Aquabid, as her fins are very badly damaged and the total would be over $20.


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## BettaLover101 (Aug 20, 2010)

So you all discouraged this member from breeding instead of trying to help them out and now you are hating on them because they are selling their female and trying to spawn a different way? 

I do feel bad for this female because of course they shouldn't be selling their fish just because they won't breed, it is still a beautiful female and would make a nice pet.
I don't get why you are all just discouraging this person from breeding though. If you feel that some of my information(which I will agree) was off then respond and state your own advice don't just bash the member.
You really have no reason for stopping this person from spawning, yes they are being a little irresponsible, but they stated that they wouldn't be breeding their pair for a few months so that they could continue to learn about breeding and make sure that they do this right the first time.
So, instead of hating on this member and telling them all of the things that they are doing wrong, correct them, and let them know what they should be doing. 
By the way, there are different styles of spawning so don't try and tell this member that it must be done in a heavily planted 10 gallon because that is false information.


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## jschristian44 (Jan 6, 2011)

well i woke up this morning to find that theres a ton of eggs from the female floating near the top and shes sitting near them. i TOLD YOU she was ready to breed. everyone was like shes not ready to breed yet. sigh. and if i try again it wont be in the 2.5 gallon dont worry.


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## turtle10 (Dec 30, 2010)

BettaLover101 said:


> So you all discouraged this member from breeding instead of trying to help them out and now you are hating on them because they are selling their female and trying to spawn a different way?
> 
> I do feel bad for this female because of course they shouldn't be selling their fish just because they won't breed, it is still a beautiful female and would make a nice pet.
> I don't get why you are all just discouraging this person from breeding though. If you feel that some of my information(which I will agree) was off then respond and state your own advice don't just bash the member.
> ...



The only time we ever discouraged him from breeding was when he refused to listen to us and just plopped her in. And we DID correct him many, many times and told him what he was doing wrong many, many times. We weren't trying to bash anyone, we are just trying to make sure the fish live happy, healthy lives. And the fact that he is selling her because she wouldn't breed on his irresponsible first attempt just shows that he isn't mature or ready enough to spawn fish. Not trying to be rude, just stating the facts. 

I personally have no problem with people breeding the bettas for fun AS LONG as they and the fry are taken care of properly.


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## BettaLover101 (Aug 20, 2010)

Fair enough, I see where you are coming from now, sorry for being rude if it seemed so.

Well, the dead is done now and we can't do anything except answer any questions that he has, im assuming there will be more than a couple.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

No one is saying he shouldn't breed. It's just that he needs to do a lot more research and have the proper equipment to breed. You can't just throw them in a 2 gallon bowl and expect a successful spawn. Maybe an experienced breeder could, IDK. Also, we have some great, experienced breeders here and if I was going to breed my fish, I'd definitely be wanting advice from 1fis2fish, MrV, OFL and a couple others.


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## thestompa (Feb 4, 2011)

If i breed a pair of bettas without heater, Can it affect to the fish or fry ?. And How the other way to warm the water without using heater?


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## turtle10 (Dec 30, 2010)

Yes it can and will. A heater is a MUST if you are going to breed. And if you can't afford a heater you can't afford to breed.


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## MrVampire181 (May 12, 2009)

thestompa said:


> If i breed a pair of bettas without heater, Can it affect to the fish or fry ?. And How the other way to warm the water without using heater?


 Yes it will harm the fry. The only method I can think of is heating the room itself up to 90 degrees.


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

MrVampire181 said:


> Yes it will harm the fry. The only method I can think of is heating the room itself up to 90 degrees.


+1.


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