Betta Breeders Canada - Betta fish care and breeding advice for siamese fighting fish

Betta Breeders Canada (henceforth mentioned as the BBC) is currently mainly a Betta forum for Canadian enthusiasts. We are in the process of some intense growth to help spread this awesome hobby throughout Canada though!

The group is made up of dozens of fans of Siamese Fighting Fish. We share tips on how to properly care for bettas, and how to deal with any unfortunate diseases that may arise. Also, numerous fun stories about our bettas are discussed!

The main goal of the BBC, however, is to help new breeders learn the art and science of breeding their Siamese fighting fish. Learning how to breed these feisty fish really does take some initial work and dedication. They are not like many other species (such as guppies) where you just put a male and female together and 30 days later you will have some babies (known as fry in the aquarium world).

Preparing for a betta spawn takes a few weeks of prep-work and careful planning, but the rewards are endless. Successful members are proud to show "spawn logs" with many pictures of betta fry as they grow up.

If you are interested in joining us, we welcome you to visit as at the Betta Breeders Canada community. We'd love to see you on the forum! Membership and activity in the forums is limited to people who have active paid memberships in BBC and the international betta congress as well.

This slim mini heater is perfect for any betta tank. It is just 1/4" thick which allows it to be easily hidden out of the way in any betta tank. Now you don't have to worry about how you will keep your betta fish in a heated tank! This is by far the best method of heating a betta jar or tank that I have come across.

This product is available in 7.5 or 15 Watt versions. The 7.5Watt heater should be perfect for a 1 to 2.5 gallon betta tank. At 15 Watts, this heater can heat up to 3 to 5 gallons of water. This ultra-slim betta tank heater is perfect for a desktop aquarium. It is also fully submersible so you can even place it out of the way on the bottom of the aquarium.

At only $9.99 you can properly heat your betta's jar efficiently and for a great price!

If you want to breed bettas, the first step is to do as much reading as you can. The process can be quite confusing for a beginner, but once you learn the process, it becomes easier with every spawn.

The first stage is picking the right bettas, but that will be discussed elsewhere on this page. Once you have your fish, you need to help get your bettas ready for the spawn. This is done by keeping the male and female Siamese fighting fish in separate containers but in full view of each other. They should be fed a variety of high quality food. You may want to alternate feedings of "Atison's Betta Pro" with live foods such as adult brine shrimp, white worms, and grindal worms. You can find these at your local pet shop or at BuyMicroworms.com. Try to change the water every two to three days to ensure the highest water quality possible.

You can spawn your fish by putting the male in a 5 gallon tank, filled up with 6" of water. In the tank, have a heater set to 80 or 81F as well as some plants for the female to hide in. In one corner, have half a styrofoam cup or an Indian Almond leaf to entice the male to build a bubble nest.

After the male has had a day on his own, put a chimney lamp (or the cylinder part of a 2L pop bottle) in the middle of the tank. Place your chosen female in this enclosure. This helps make the male and female interested in each other, but unable to spawn because of the barrier. When the male has a nest built, and the female starts showing vertical bars, the bettas are ready for spawning. The female may also start swimming with her head down at a 45 degree angle.

When all these signs are present, release the female and watch from a distance. The female might initially hide from the male betta, but she should eventually start to chase him and lead him to the nest. They will then start spawning by the male wrapping around the female, causing eggs to eject as he fertilizes him. The female betta becomes 'stunned' and slowly sink to the bottom of the tank. The male fish will gather the eggs up in his mouth and spit them into the bubbles, then wrap the female again. This process continues for several hours. When the female betta starts hiding again, the spawning process is complete and you should take the female fish out.

Leave the male betta alone and undisturbed for a few days. If you watch him too much, he may get annoyed and start to eat the eggs. Basically, the male betta will watch the nest diligently. Any eggs that fall out of the bubbles will get gathered up and spit back into the nest.

The betta eggs will hatch within 24 to 48 hours depending on the water temperature. The father will continue spitting them up into the bubbles until the betta fry (another word for young baby fish) are able to swim horizontally on their own. At this point, you should take the male betta out before he is enticed into eating the fry, since he hasn't eaten any food in up to a week by this point. Some advanced betta breeders will leave the male in as the babies grow up, but I suggest taking him out until you are more comfortable with betta breeding techniques.

And there you have it - a quick guide to breeding bettas. Why not join the Betta Breeders Canada forum by clicking here. We can answer any questions you may have. If you continue reading below, there is an overview of what foods you should feed your betta fry.

Over the years, I have heard and read about the debate regarding what foods are the best to feed to growing betta fry. Part of the reason for this unending debate is that none of the foods would be considered the ideal. Typically, there is some sort minor issue that can be found for any food you may consider feeding to your baby bettas.

The standard foods people think of feeding to their fry include egg yolk, infusoria, Atison's Betta Starter, vinegar eels, walter worms, microworms, baby brine shrimp (bbs), grindal worms, white worms, and Atison's Betta Pro. These are conveniently listed in a rough guide to when (in the overall life cycle) you should think about feeding the above foods to your bettas.

I will try to explain some of the pros and cons of each food, and end off with the tips I have developed as I learned to become a successful Canadian betta breeder (the foods may not all have explanations yet so please come back in a day or two to see if I have updated this section yet).

Some people start their betta fry diet off with egg yolk. Basically, one can hard-boil an egg, save the yolk, and dilute it with some dechlorinated water. Several times per day, TINY amounts of this yolk can be fed by medicine dropper to the betta fry. The benefit of this is that it is cheap, always available, and nutritious. Unfortunately, any uneaten egg yolk (and there will be plenty of this) will quickly foul up the water, so you will have to clean the tank a few times per day.

Atison's Betta Starter is a commercial finely powdered betta food for babies. It has everything the fry need at the early stages of their lives, all packaged up into a size that will fit into their mouthes. Unfortunately, it isn't readily available in Canada yet (this might change soon) and comes in very tiny containers. Some people report that their babies do not readily take to non-live foods.

Vinegar eels are very similar to microworms. They are cultured in a mixture of apple cider vinegar, apple juice, and apple bits. They wiggle continuously like microworms. The benefit to these is that they 'remain in the water column'. Basically, unlike microworms, they don't fall to the bottom within 10 minutes. They stay out in the open for the betta fry to continuously hunt. Microworms measure a few millimeters long and I personally believe they are one of the best first foods for young bettas. They are easy to culture, and one culture can literally last forever if properly taken care of.

Another early food for betta fry is newly hatched baby brine shrimp (usually referred to as BBS). You might have had brine shrimp in the past without even realizing it. They are the same as sea monkies that many children grow in little jars for fun. BBS are most nutritious right after they are hatched, before the yolk sac is used up. They are hatched in salt water at 80F and will hatch within 18 to 24 hours. I usually have my 'hatchery' right in the fry tank so that it is easily kept at 80F. Baby Siamese fighting fish can be fed a mixture of microworms and BBS for the first 4 to 6 weeks of their lives, until they are ready for grindal worms.

Grindal worms can be considered a larger version of microworms. They are the next food for baby bettas after brine shrimp and microworms. They can grow to 1cm long, and are cultured in soil. I feed my grindal worms flaked baby food every day to maintain booming cultures. By doing this, my betta fry can be fed grindal worms every day!

Whiteworms are larger versions of grindal worms. They can grow to several centimeters long and have similar culturing requirements as grindal worms, except that they are a bit more picky about temperatures in their soil. When grindals are no longer cutting it for the juvenile bettas, I usually try to move on to whiteworms if I have some available.

Daphnia are water fleas. There are several species available, with the main difference between them being the size. They live in water, and can healthy cultures can be maintained with either yeast, spirulina, or 'green water'. They can be fed to juvenile and adult bettas by directly transfering them to the fish tanks.

Ultimately, your bettas will need to be transitioned to betta pellets as these will be the staple food for the life of the fish. To do this, start the process when the betta fry are about 2.5 centimeters long, not including the tails. Every few meals, try feeding a few pellets. They may not be interested at first, but if you keep this up, they can be weaned to pellets quite easily.

As mentioned earlier, one of the most difficult aspects of breeding bettas is the pre-spawn effort. The bettas need to be "conditioned" to be in tip-top shape. Then, they need the correct spawning tank setup. Finally, they have to accept each other and spawn for you.

Well, if that's the most difficult aspect of learning how to breed your bettas, then a close second would be knowing how to keep your babies growing quickly (and sticking to the necessary routine).

Come back soon, because in the next few days, I'll be adding detailed instructions (including a fry maintenance schedule) on how to get your baby bettas to quickly become healthy breedable adult bettas.

Every day, hundreds of people tread their first steps of their journey with tropical fish. These first steps can look very different for various people. Some people may randomly walk into a pet shop and be fascinated with the available fish. Others may know a friend or family member who keeps fish and slowly develop the infamous "itch" to start their first aquarium. For many people, betta splendens - also known as siamese fighting fish - are a great way to dip your feet into the tropical fish hobby.

There are many reasons why having a betta as your first tropical fish is a good choice. Bettas do not require complicated aquarium setups or accessories that most other fish do. A betta can be quite happy in a medium sized (1 to 2 gallon) tank or jar. While most accessories are optional, some items and decorations will definitely make your betta a happier fish. Bettas can be quite active and healthy without gravel, filters, or lids. However, some decorations will definitely help entertain your betta.

Since betta tanks are inexpensive compared to those of other tropical fish, the money saved can be used to spruce up your new fish's environment. Some favorite decorations include divers, buddhas, fake plants (silk are best), little glass fish, and anything else you think your fish might like! As you can see, the decorations you can add in your betta's aquarium are endless, and definitely fun!

Betta fish care is also much simpler than caring for other tropical fish. If you keep your fish tank at approximately 80 Fahrenheit and feed the proper amount of betta pellets (just a small pinch twice per day), you will run into very few problems. Water changes need only be once per week and it's quick to change 100% of the water in a 2 gallon tank. You can do less drastic water changes if your fish tank is filtered. Proper water changes will ensure the health of your betta and it's potential tankmates for years to come.

Finally, your betta doesn't have to be a lonely fish. Male bettas cannot safely be kept with other males. If you have enough aquarium plants and hiding place, female bettas can be kept in groups, making for a nice tropical fish tank. A single male betta can safely be kept with a medium or large apple snail. Other good tank mates include chinese algae eaters or other small non-aggressive fish that do not have flashy tails. Fish to avoid are guppies, mollies, and platties.

Once you have bought your first siamese fighting fish, you will become hooked. Many people ultimately want to try their hand at breeding bettas, and information on this is available higher up on this page.