Where to get tank-bred marine bettas

[SoloChromis]

I'm looking to get a marine betta, but want to try and get a captive bred individual. I know ORA supposedly breeds them, but I haven't seen them available in forever. Any tips?

[ThRoewer]

Never seen one from ORA, if they breed them they may have just started.
From when I was breeding them I know that it takes a good while (6m - 1y) to get them to a salable size.

I know that Sustainable Aquatics had bred Marine Betta (http://sustainableaquatics.com/marine-betta/) in the past:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CqgcNcmj9PY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I have one of those paired with a wild, but both are still a year or two from getting to spawning size.

BTW: are that A. latezonatus at 0:45?

[SoloChromis]

Never seen one from ORA, if they breed them they may have just started.
From when I was breeding them I know that it takes a good while (6m - 1y) to get them to a salable size.

I know that Sustainable Aquatics had bred Marine Betta (http://sustainableaquatics.com/marine-betta/) in the past:

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CqgcNcmj9PY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I have one of those paired with a wild, but both are still a year or two from getting to spawning size.

BTW: are that A. latezonatus at 0:45?

Hmmm... God I hope so, they're one of my favorite clowns (along with classic percula, orange skunk, and McCulloch's). I actually called my LFS and he said Sustainable has them available right now, so I'll be putting in an order in a week or 2 :beer: :dance: :spin1: As far as ORA breeding bettas, ORA debuted them some time ago, but I haven't seen them available through them in maybe a year or 2. ORA tends to leave fish on their site that haven't been available in a long time, like mandarins, blue assessors, Red Sea mimic blennies etc. So it's hard to say what they have unless you have a LFS that orders direct from them. I'm considering trying to create a pair, so any insight or tips would be much appreciated :)

[ThRoewer]

Making pairs from juveniles is easier than making clownfish pairs - and if your tank is large enough you can have more than two. I had a group of 3 - an adult pair and one of my tank raised juveniles - that got along fine for years.
If you plan on breeding one day I would recommend to get a slightly larger wild one and pair him with 1 to 3 smaller tank raised. There will be some chasing and fin damage in the beginning, but that's kind of normal even for two that have been together for a long time.

For a harem group I would say you need about 2 to 4 sqft per female. Lots of rockwork with caves is ideal. These guys like rock piles - a minimalistic rockwork will not work well.

[SoloChromis]

Making pairs from juveniles is easier than making clownfish pairs - and if your tank is large enough you can have more than two. I had a group of 3 - an adult pair and one of my tank raised juveniles - that got along fine for years.
If you plan on breeding one day I would recommend to get a slightly larger wild one and pair him with 1 to 3 smaller tank raised. There will be some chasing and fin damage in the beginning, but that's kind of normal even for two that have been together for a long time.

For a harem group I would say you need about 2 to 4 sqft per female. Lots of rockwork with caves is ideal. These guys like rock piles - a minimalistic rockwork will not work well.

I'm not so much interested in actually breeding and rearing them, I just enjoy keeping fish in pairs, or groups when possible. What would you think of a pair of small captive juveniles in a 60g cube (2'x2'x2')? This wouldn't be a permanent arrangement, but would have to work for a couple years until I move into a bigger place. Thanks for the info :beer:

[ThRoewer]

I had an adult pair in a 160 liter (~40 gal) tank, so 60 gallon should work fine. Important is to do the rockwork right so that they have hiding places and don't see each other all the time.

BTW: the little ones will grow relatively fast if you feed them well.

[SNAKEMANVET]

Very cool ThRoewer,do they eat bbs when hatched.

[ThRoewer]

I fed them brachionus rotifers and later brine shrimp nauplii. Though the brine shrimp need to be of excellent quality or thy cause you massive losses.
A better second stage food would be tisbe or tigger pods.

[breck]

I thought the place in Tennessee had bread Marine Bettas? Can't think of the name of the place now. ..sustainable or something maybe?

[SNAKEMANVET]

Substainable aquatics.