# Set up/spawning pics



## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

Just thought I'd share.. 

I used to spawn in containers the size of shoe boxes, but recently have started going for using the actual tank. Here are some of my set ups I generally use now.. I just had two pairs spawn today after placing them in together.. was able to get pictures of one pair spawning, the other I didn't as the male is skittish and likes to eat eggs.. -.-

So, here are my set ups, and then the spawning picture from today  Excuse the mess, I always forget to clean up the tanks before pictures lol.

Please share your spawning/breeding pictures if you have any  Like to see how others set their stuff up as!


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## shannonpwns (Jul 15, 2013)

How cute! I cannot wait to see this for myself next week hopefully! Congrats!


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

Thanks! And good luck!


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## Deanna01 (Apr 22, 2013)

Did you leave the girl jarred first, Myates? If so, for how long? I am having terrible luck with spawns--one out of five attempts, so far--and am trying to figure out what I am doing wrong.


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## Ilikebutterflies (May 19, 2012)

Here is my newest thing. I'm dividing 10g (with glass so it is sealed off from the other side) and doing a spawn on each side.
You will have to excuse the water spots. We are doing a w/c on the one side and a pair is flirting on the other. I use a glass vase for my female BTW...



I'm leaving them in here for 21 days then transferring to grow-outs. No sponge filter or airstone. Just 50% w/c every day. So far so good. These are a few from the first batch done this way:


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## trilobite (May 18, 2011)

Im usless at taking photos of spawns, everytime I try watermarks come and destroy the picture haha...
I really should clean the outside of the glass





















This is the only decent picture Ive ever gotten of a spawn all the rest come out like the above ones


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## Ilikebutterflies (May 19, 2012)

I'm jealous, lol. I don't put nearly the effort into decorating Myates.
All mine get is a fluffy spawn mop and something to build a nest under.


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

Deanna01 said:


> Did you leave the girl jarred first, Myates? If so, for how long? I am having terrible luck with spawns--one out of five attempts, so far--and am trying to figure out what I am doing wrong.


I keep the females in their own containers 24/7 (the breeding ones, the others I'm keeping in various tanks together, etc). Prior to breeding for 2-5 days I'll keep them separate from viewing any other fish.. once in a while I'll let them see another betta for a few moments, but otherwise during conditioning they are set apart (if the male stresses out and bites his fins I won't segregate him). Then I just plop them in together - normally I don't separate them, I just place them in at the same time and let them do their thing. And you'll get the hang of it, it took me many tries at first 



Ilikebutterflies said:


> Here is my newest thing. I'm dividing 10g (with glass so it is sealed off from the other side) and doing a spawn on each side.
> You will have to excuse the water spots. We are doing a w/c on the one side and a pair is flirting on the other. I use a glass vase for my female BTW...
> 
> I'm leaving them in here for 21 days then transferring to grow-outs. No sponge filter or airstone. Just 50% w/c every day. So far so good. These are a few from the first batch done this way:


Interesting.. are the pairs able to see one another? Or do you stagger them so the males don't stress out seeing another male so close? Or is the glass painted? How is the survival rate with no filter/airstone? As they don't use labyrinth organs for the first month+ and rely on their gills.. unless you have live plants that can help. I'm a creature of habit and place my filter in 1-3 days after free swimming.



trilobite said:


> Im usless at taking photos of spawns, everytime I try watermarks come and destroy the picture haha...
> I really should clean the outside of the glass


I made a point to wipe the glass on one of the tanks.. normally I don't either lol so most of my cute pics I have to scrap  But I do like the last ones!



Ilikebutterflies said:


> I'm jealous, lol. I don't put nearly the effort into decorating Myates.
> All mine get is a fluffy spawn mop and something to build a nest under.


The breeding tanks and grow out tanks are in a room where we have the big tv, gaming computers, etc so I try to make them look halfway nice (except that one where I end up tossing things behind it lol) since we have to look at them often.


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## Ilikebutterflies (May 19, 2012)

The glass is painted-I also painted the back so I could see the fry better. It works great! I start w/c at day 8-10. I think they are so very tiny they just don't use up all the oxygen and there are usually no plants in the fry tanks. My spawns are small. Once I see enough eggs I go ahead and take the female out. I have lost roughly 1/3 of the spawn over the last 7 weeks so roughly 80 still down from 120ish. That is about normal for my spawns though. 
I'm hoping for faster growth on the next two batches now that I have most of the kinks out of my system.


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

I hope this doesn't sound rude or mean, as that is NOT my intent - 

I've only found maybe 5 dead fry at the most in the last 6-7 spawns.

Here is the difference.. 

I use a filter as it does more than just provide oxygen, its a great place for the bacteria to grow.
I use live plants as it helps keep the water cleaner, stable, provides oxygen and food for tiny fry.
I start siphoning the day I start to feed them - which is day 3 of free swimming - that way the food isn't fouling up the water all those days and causing bad bacteria a chance to attack the fry. I drip new water in daily when I start their water changes - usually 1 drop per 2-3 seconds, and up it as they get older.

I don't remove the female from mine, I just condition them a little less - most of my spawns will happen within 24hrs of being placed together - I don't separate them, I condition for 1-3 days, keep them separated from view of all other bettas, and then toss them in the spawn tank together with no separation. Haven't had problems doing it that way, and like I said a spawn within 24 hrs regardless if they are a virgin or not. I will get anywhere from 10 - 40 babies with only a day or so of conditioning. Since they spawn rather quickly, the female isn't spending days being chased, etc. She gets in, sits and watches, breeds then is removed and fed.

So that is how I do it.. even with my 550 fry spawn (my very first one) I never saw a dead body as they grew up. After almost two months of age I had a filter mishap thanks to a pleco which killed a good number of them, and that was the only time I lost fry in multiples.

Faster growth feed BBS from the beginning 3x a day- mine will grow twice as fast feeding only BBS vs feeding those micro cultures, in my experience. More water changes will help, the younger they are the better they grow with water changes.

These guys here are 3 weeks old or so, already coloring up.. this is what I get from how I do it.


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## Ilikebutterflies (May 19, 2012)

Beautiful babies! I would never take your suggestions as rudeness. I lean a bit more towards the natural approach mostly because I don't want huge numbers of fry/juvies/jarred fish at a time. I allow the weaker ones to die off. I'm comfortable with 30-50 jarred fish out of a spawn. Now, when I finally do find that perfect show quality pair then I will really baby the whole process and try to get as many as possible but right now I'll take the strongest. I generally lose the most from week 2-4-I think that may be due to the way I do water changes and move the fry to the grow-out. After week 4 it is culls and bullied fish-not so much unexpected deaths.


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## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

Love this thread. I think I learn more from other people's setups then anything else. 

This is basically my breeding setup. Nothing fancy... I like to keep it simple for spawning, makes cleaning easier. Fast growing live plants are very important IMO because they suck up ammonia and provide infusoria for the little ones. Duckweed and hornwort are good.
View attachment 198842


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## Croz711 (Aug 23, 2013)

This thread is awesome! You guys are teaching me so much every day.


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## Croz711 (Aug 23, 2013)

Myates said:


> I hope this doesn't sound rude or mean, as that is NOT my intent -
> 
> I've only found maybe 5 dead fry at the most in the last 6-7 spawns.
> 
> ...


What kind of filter do you use?


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## alunjai (Jul 29, 2012)

Myates, this is a useful thread!! It's nice to see how others setup their tanks.

My latest setup is similar to Matts. I will condition for about week with the pair seperated and feed them blood worms each day. I would allow them to see each other for 15 minutes each day. Then set up spawn tank (like Matts) and let the male get use to the tank for a day. Then place female inside a clear container within the tank for a day - I like to this to help the male start on the nest. 

Unfortunately, its not been happening for me and unsure why its not working. From the looks of the pictures, all the tanks seems slightly bigger than from what I use... but I'm not sure if that makes much difference? The only difference is I don't have lighting. I just leave the tank in a spare room with curtains wide open so when its day they get natural light. 

Would extra lighting during the day make much difference? How long do you leave the light on for?


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## alunjai (Jul 29, 2012)

My water level is around 4-5 inches. Is that too low?


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## Ilikebutterflies (May 19, 2012)

I put my pairs in at the same time. Once she is barred up and he is flirting I turn her loose. I find giving the male time alone in the tank makes him think it is his territory so he ends up guarding and not spawning. My spawns normally happen in 24 hours or so. I don't wait for him to build a nest before turning the female loose.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## JayM (Aug 4, 2013)

Great set ups. We are attempting our 2nd spawn tomorrow. Our breeding tank is a 30g but only fill it about 5". Have a filter already in & will be turned off when Sebastian & Emerald are place in. Have a terracotta pot with anubias on it, some ambulia & 1/2 cup. Will be interesting to see where he decides to build his nest over night.
We will release her in the morning. Can't wait.


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

MattsBettas said:


> This is basically my breeding setup. Nothing fancy... I like to keep it simple for spawning, makes cleaning easier. Fast growing live plants are very important IMO because they suck up ammonia and provide infusoria for the little ones. Duckweed and hornwort are good.


I like it, nice and simple.. I used to breed in complete bare containers and add in the plants after spawning. Now I just place in a bunch of plants and let them do their thing lol



Croz711 said:


> This thread is awesome! You guys are teaching me so much every day.


Glad it helps! Always interesting to see how others do it 



Croz711 said:


> What kind of filter do you use?


Basic duo sponge for small tanks.. for grow outs I use either larger sponge filters or HOB modified.



alunjai said:


> Myates, this is a useful thread!! It's nice to see how others setup their tanks.
> Unfortunately, its not been happening for me and unsure why its not working. From the looks of the pictures, all the tanks seems slightly bigger than from what I use... but I'm not sure if that makes much difference? The only difference is I don't have lighting. I just leave the tank in a spare room with curtains wide open so when its day they get natural light.
> 
> Would extra lighting during the day make much difference? How long do you leave the light on for?


Thanks  I breed in no larger than a 10g, anything bigger than it can cause a bit of a headache for you and the fry. I will sometimes breed in small shoe box sized containers - usually with better results. So the size isn't going to be a big factor. The light can.. during the night do they have some sort of light on? Whether on in the room or a nightlight right next to them? Sometimes leaving them in the complete dark at night can cause them to become aggressive rather than 'friendly'. What is the temp of the tank, and how long are you keeping them in there for?



alunjai said:


> My water level is around 4-5 inches. Is that too low?


Nope - most prefer that amount as it makes things easier on the males sometimes when it comes to picking up the falling newborn fry. If I make up a tank for breeding I add in a bunch of water just to make sure the water takes a bit longer to "go bad", so I have an extra day or so before I have to do a water change. Whether that is accurate or not, I like to think it holds onto the quality of water a bit longer having a bigger volume lol  Your set up looks great!



Ilikebutterflies said:


> I put my pairs in at the same time. Once she is barred up and he is flirting I turn her loose. I find giving the male time alone in the tank makes him think it is his territory so he ends up guarding and not spawning. My spawns normally happen in 24 hours or so. I don't wait for him to build a nest before turning the female loose.
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


I place mine in at the exact same time (don't recommend for a lot of pairs/breeders, etc).. I know my breeder males well enough to know whether or not the females will be safe.. the females on the other hand can turn on a dime so I set up my spawn tank right before I start my water changes on my containers and such so I can keep an eye on them while I do my work. Unless one of them is overly aggressive I haven't really had any issues - they may chase for a bit, then usually the male will begin the nesting and the female will sit and watch. So I agree, I don't place the male in first.. otherwise it would become an invasion to his territory  



JayM said:


> Great set ups. We are attempting our 2nd spawn tomorrow. Our breeding tank is a 30g but only fill it about 5". Have a filter already in & will be turned off when Sebastian & Emerald are place in. Have a terracotta pot with anubias on it, some ambulia & 1/2 cup. Will be interesting to see where he decides to build his nest over night.
> We will release her in the morning. Can't wait.


Good luck! Careful turning off an established filter and then turning it back on - the bacteria will die off and be pushed into the water column which can easily kill the fry, and any cycle it has established will crash and kill them as well  I will sometimes place the filter in, but not have it turned on - I boil mine between uses. I am always worrying about things like that lol


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## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

View attachment 200297


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

That's a great picture!


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## MattsBettas (Dec 18, 2012)

Thanks . I love how remarkably gentle they are during the actual spawning... It's like the're compleatly different fish. IMO it's the most exciting thing to watch in all of betta keeping. 

Edit- I got this one too. I like it more then the other one I posted I think.
View attachment 200313


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

Hehe here are two of my old 'spawning' set-ups. Dozens of fry were born and raised in those two tanks, most of which I still have. 










Then here is one of my pairs from these tanks wrapping. This pair were particularly feisty during courtship.



















As a totally different approach, this was a picture from my one and only time I attempted to spawn splendens. I got a successful wrap within five minutes of the female being released, but the male was an egg eater no matter what tank I had him in.


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## alunjai (Jul 29, 2012)

Myates,

the water temp is around 82-84 and I leave them in for a least 1-2 weeks. 

Over the weekend I've set up a 2 new spawns. One in the tank shown in my previous picture (extra water this time) and another in a shoe box size container (This was a random spawn - So was a coincidence when you also mentioned you do shoe box size spawns). 

I have a lot plants inside the small spawn so it seems cramped. No heater, so just using room temp. The male has built a nest and chasing. Poor female doesn't have much room to escape but there are places to hide with all the plants and IAL.


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## JayM (Aug 4, 2013)

> Good luck! Careful turning off an established filter and then turning it back on - the bacteria will die off and be pushed into the water column which can easily kill the fry, and any cycle it has established will crash and kill them as well  I will sometimes place the filter in, but not have it turned on - I boil mine between uses. I am always worrying about things like that lol


Sorry it is on but only 1 bubble every now & then. Happy to say there are about 16ish tails this morning. Yes, we like smaller spawns.


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

Love it Matts!

Littlebettafish - love your set ups and pictures. What type of leaves are you using besides IAL?

Alunjai, in the small containers I don't put places for the females to hide - I just place in a nest anchor and let them go.. it sort of forces her to watch him. It's not the nicest way.. why I have been doing more standard 10g set ups.. but it does give good results to those harder to breed pairs.

Nice Jay  Smaller spawns are much easier to handle, especially during the jarring stage.. less to choose from, but overall if breeding multiples I prefer smaller spawns


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## dramaqueen (Jul 7, 2008)

I like this thread! It's full of very good info.


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## JayM (Aug 4, 2013)

Myates said:


> Love it Matts!
> Nice Jay  Smaller spawns are much easier to handle, especially during the jarring stage.. less to choose from, but overall if breeding multiples I prefer smaller spawns


Our first spawn was 18 fish. 
Sadly, looks like we've lost a few as fungus appeared in the nest. :-( Have found 8 free swimming fry but hoping some are hiding in the plants. Will find out soon I guess.


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

I had one recent spawn where I thought I had 18-22 fry.. when I transferred them to the grow out I ended up with 40+ .. they are good at hiding among plants! lol.. 

Do you use IAL in your breeding tank? It can help reduce the risk of fungus.. I keep my breeding tanks set around 88/89F (a fungus' dream!) and haven't had that issue which I believe is due to the anti-fungal components of IAL. You can also put in a tiny bit of ant-fungus medication when setting up the breeding tank to help minimize the risk.


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## JayM (Aug 4, 2013)

Myates said:


> I had one recent spawn where I thought I had 18-22 fry.. when I transferred them to the grow out I ended up with 40+ .. they are good at hiding among plants! lol..
> 
> Do you use IAL in your breeding tank? It can help reduce the risk of fungus.. I keep my breeding tanks set around 88/89F (a fungus' dream!) and haven't had that issue which I believe is due to the anti-fungal components of IAL. You can also put in a tiny bit of ant-fungus medication when setting up the breeding tank to help minimize the risk.


We had the tea bags with IAL in it. The actual leaves arrived today so have moved fry to a new tank with a leave & anubias on driftwood as the breeding tank had a slime which we think it due to the vinegar eels solution. Was horrible so they're now in a nice clean tank. Thanks for the tips.


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## LittleBettaFish (Oct 2, 2010)

Myates said:


> Love it Matts!
> 
> Littlebettafish - love your set ups and pictures. What type of leaves are you using besides IAL?


In those tanks I was using only IAL and oak leaves. However, I have used alder leaves with no issue in the past. 

I am moving away from using so much leaf litter. While it produced a lot of infusoria and micro-organisms for the fry to eat, it makes a lot of mess and smells repulsive if you do a big tank clean.


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## Myates (Aug 2, 2011)

I agree.. I wouldn't mind it so much in my corydoras tank as they like to rummage through things.. but I can see where the trouble may be in larger tanks with fry/juveniles. They already make such a big mess themselves as it is 

Thanks!


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