How To Breed Betta Fish: Need-to-knows Of Breeding Betta Splendens

by: Karen Winton

Because the Betta Splendens is an attractive fish, more and more people become interested in betta for sale. Thus, many individuals also decide that they want to learn how to breed betta fish. This article focuses on betta breeding tips for wannabe betta breeders. 

Photo by: andyram1

For many people, breeding betta splendens is an enjoyable hobby. Some people, on the other hand, are interested in the topic of how to breed betta fish because they see betta for sale as profitable. When breeding bettas, however, you should have the knowledge, the time, and the resources as taking care of betta fishes can be demanding at times. 

Here are several betta breeding tips that will lead you to the path of becoming a successful breeder: 

1. Acquire enough knowledge. 

The very first thing you'll have to do if you want to raise bettas is to do your research and study. You should get complete information on the species, in this case, betta splendens, what bettas eat, how to care for a betta, and the likes. Once you have enough information, you can start taking care of bettas. Of course, before you think of breeding betta splendens, you should gain experience on caring for them first. 

2. Think about your goal. 

Before you tell yourself that you really want to understand how to breed betta fish, you first have to ask yourself why you want to rear betta fishes. You should be aware that bettas usually lay hundreds of eggs, and, if you don't have tanks that are big enough, big amounts of money to buy food, and so on, those bettas can end up dead, and, your money gets wasted. 

The following are some of the questions you should have clear answers to: do you want to breed betta fish because you want to sell them, or do you just want to participate in fish shows? Do you feel that betta breeding is a hobby you can't live without? Are you just interested in taking care of so many bettas to fill up giant aquariums in your home for decoration purposes? 

Once you have determined what your actual goal is, that is the only time that you should really strive hard to learn betta breeding tips. 

3. Set up your fish tanks properly. 

As soon as you've made the decision, the next step of how to breed betta fish is to prepare your fishes' homes the correct way. Two big tanks are needed if breeding betta splendens is your plan. There should be a detachable divider between those two aquariums. 

Each of the tanks should also be filled with around five up to ten gallons of H20. There should also be filters and heaters on those tanks, aquarium plants, reefs, etc. 

4. Purchase healthy betta splendens. 

A few words of advice for those who want to gain knowledge on how to breed betta fish: when you see betta for sale, do not immediately buy them without applying these betta breeding tips: get a male betta and a female betta that have almost the same size. You should also find a pair with good genes. Of course, if you purchase the pair from a reputable breeder, you can most of the time be sure that they have healthy genes that usually result to healthy fry. 

It is best to let your bettas adjust to their homes for a couple of months before letting your male and female betta meet each other and start multiplying. Once you see that your female and male are ready to produce eggs, you should also devote a few hours per day just to care for them, most especially, of course, for the eggs they propagate.

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About The Author

Karen Winton is an animal lover. To know how to properly care for your bettas, read: http://www.dp-db.com/betta-fish-secrets. If you are an honest to goodness betta enthusiast, see: http://www.dp-db.com/betta-lovers-guide.

How to Take Care of Betta Fish

by: Mike Hickmon


Betta fish, also known as Betta Splendens and Siamese fighting fish can be popular pets because they are friendly, interactive and can have low costs for maintenance and care. Betta fish can live for up to four years and there are some simple steps that you can follow in how to take care of betta fish so that your fish will stay happy and healthy and with you for a long time.

Before you purchase a betta fish, an important point to remember in how to take care of betta fish is what equipment that you will need to make sure that your betta fish remains healthy. You will need:

1. A 5-10 gallon fish tank
2. A filter
3. A heater
4. Water conditioner such as chlorine
5. A fish net
6. Betta fish food which is high in protein
7. Smooth stones or gravel which cover the bottom of the tank
8. Ornaments to decorate your tank as well as places for betta fish to rest on so that they do not drag their fins on the bottom of the tank and leave them prone to fin rot.

Once you have all of these items, then you are now ready to know how to take care of betta fish. The first important step in how to take care of betta fish is to prepare the home of your betta fish and you should take some of these points into consideration:

When choosing a home, you should remember that in the wild betas come from Thai rice paddies and they are capable of living in quite shallow but spacious environments. When choosing a tank for your betta, you should remember to give your fish a good sized tank to help prolong life expectancy and more water is obviously better. If you are keeping your betta fish with other fish then you should use a tank which holds at least ten gallons of water. And remember- larger fish tanks will enhance the betta’s quality of life.

You should also decorate your betta fish tank and you should remember that one of the betta’s better known features is that it can breathe oxygen in the air and the water so you do not need to worry about aeration. You should decorate the tank with colored stones or gravel, silk plants and even a cave structure so that the betta can hide, remember the more creative the living space the happier the betta will be. Add a filter and a small heater to take care of betta fish. 


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About The Author

The author has created a review site that provides you with the most in-depth and complete analysis of the best care of betta fish guide called Caring for Betta Fish.

http://pet-whisperer.com/Betta-Lovers-Guide-Review.html

How to Deal With Cichlid Diseases

by: Simon Edwards


Taking care of cichlids is a pretty simple task provided you adhere to some simple guidelines. Cichlids like you and I also suffer from sickness and diseases, and as their owner it is your responsibility to keep them at optimal health, meaning its good to keep an eye out for any signs of disease or sickness. If you neglect your fish then they will surely peril. 

Photo by: Ron's Aquarium photos 

Diseases in cichlid fish can be caused by parasites in the body, fungi on their exterior and also bad bacteria in the tank water.

Things that you want to look out for are cloudy or puffy eyes, sores on their bodies, loss of color, restricted movement, bloating of stomach or internal organs. Any of these symptoms are usually caused by some sort of bacterial infection.

If you observe any strange looking growth around the face area or sporadic behavior in the tank like darting about in a crazy manner you may be looking at some sort of fungal infection.

If you see any weak breathing, impaired movement, mucus growth on the skin, loss of appetite, spots, intense scratching. These are generally the sign of parasite infection which may include leeches, worms or lice.

Just about the most common cichlid disease is Hole in the head disease. Hexamita, usually results in rapid weight loss and a major loss of appetite, and you will also notice little indentations on and around the head area.

Ich or Ichtyophthirius is also another common cichlid disease. With this particular ailment whitened crystal marks show up on the head first, and then propagate over the entire body. Inhaling and exhaling is fast, the fish scrapes a great deal, and also the eye balls and fins all become cloudy.

When the belly is enlarged, and you find reddish scales encircling this area, it is possible that the cichlid is actually struggling with Dropsy. This may be because of germs, parasites, or even cancer. The best way to deal with this is saltwater treatment.

If you neglect their water conditions then your fish may end up with Fish Pox, Fin Rot or even Ammonia poisoning.

Columnaris or Cotton Wool Disease is one you must be very wary of as it is very contagious. Symptoms will be a grey/white layer on the skin, fin damage, ulcers and sores, loss of color in the gills. You must treat this immediately with a good antibiotic type treatment, and u will have to treat the whole tank. The same goes for Fish Tuberculosis which too is extremely contagious.

Another parasite type infection is Slime Disease which causes a white coating of the skin, sporadic movement, reddening around the gills and even folded fins. You must treat this straight away with a good parasitic medication and also by raising the water temperature a degree or two.

Cichlids can also suffer from constipation which will cause a swelling of the stomach, loss of appetite, and erratic swimming. The fish may even have feces hanging off of them. The best way to fix this is to starve them for two days then start them on a different diet.

On the subject of diet if you over feed your fish they may end up with Swim Bladder disease which will cause difficulty in swimming, swimming upside down, floating. Flip Over disease is also possible with these symptoms.

One popular way of dealing with diseases is salt treatment, but this should ideally only be done in a quarantine tank as other fish may be negatively affected. Plus it will not guarantee a cure for all diseases.

Fish tanks with heated water can become an incubator for disease if not monitored correctly. Regular cleaning of your tank and water will be your best weapon against disease in your aquarium.

It is best to spot these things as early as possible so as to implement a cure strategy before it is too late....Good Luck


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About The Author

You will find a vast range of cures and treatments for Cichlid Diseases on my websitehttp://www.cichlidssite.com which also covers cichlid breeding, care, species, buying, tank setup and much much more.