Setting up your Fish Room

There is no specific solution for setting up a fish room.

It is surprising just how much space breeding bettas takes up!  Many betta breeders have an entire room or shed dedicated just to bettas, while others have a single shelf in their bedroom.  The amount of space you have will drastically limit or exand how many bettas you can reasonable have from a single spawn. 

Because everyone's space is different, I cannot tell you exactly how to set up your fish room.  Instead, I will tell you some information about tank requirements for spawns, and ask you to answer a few questions so you can set up a space that works best for you. 

Larger Tanks (20g and higher)

• Keeps female safer from an aggressive male 

• No need to move tanks as the fry grow 

• More food is needed to evenly feed all of the fry in the spread out space 

Small Tanks (10g and smaller) 

• Females can be at risk with an aggressive male, extra hides are required to keep her safe. 

• You will need to move the fry as they grow. 

• Easier to feed small fry/less live food is required each feeding. 

Garage Setup

This was the first setup I ever had.  I cleared out a section in my garage and built two heavy duty adjustable shelves.  The left side (not pictured) housed my breeding tanks, Jars, and Food Cultures, while my right shelf housed my adult bettas and a grow-out tank.  

I really enjoyed this setup as it allowed me to have a lot of space to grow my fish room.  I started with one shelf, but as I outgrew that I expanded into the second.  I never had to worry about spilling water, and had easy access to the hose.  I could safely house bettas out there from April through October, but after that had to bring everyone indoors.  Since I lived in Texas at the time, I was battling the weather in the warmest days of summer and the colder days into the winter.   I could have insulated the garage further, but opted not to as it would have been more then I was willing to spend on my fish room.  There was no natural lighting for the fish or plants.  I would open the garage door every morning and close it in the evening.  This helped with temperature control as well since the garage faced south.  

Pros: Lots of space, easy water changes, water stayed between 75 and 85 during the warm months.  Easy access to power outlets. 

Cons: No natural lighting, had to bring everyone inside in the fall. 

Office/Drip System Setup

This is a pretty common set up for many breeders.  The drip system keeps all of the bettas warm and in constantly moving, cycled water.  It also only took up 2x4ft of space so it was the best way to keep 30 bettas in a small area. However, I found that there were some pretty large drawbacks that made me sell it after one winter of use.  Because all of the bettas share water sickness can spread very easily.  We saw this at the LFS I bought this setup from.  I only added bettas from my spawns so I didn't have this issue, but some bettas also seemed to "fade" in the boxes.  They are 1/2 gallons so not as large as what I usually use.  I had to modify the containers to have 3D Printed Lids to prevent jumping, but still lost a few of the smaller bettas.  Growth was also smaller since they were sharing water.  I would do weekly water changes on the sump but that wasn't enough.  

Pros: Great for small spaces/indoor use.  Heats everyone, easy maintanence.

Cons: Potential for sickness to spread, slowed growth without water changes every other day, can't spill water on floors. 

Backyard Setup

My outside set up is by far my favorite way to keep and breed betta fish.  I was lucky enough to live in a very warm climate which allowed me to keep my fish outside from April through October.  Being outside allowed me to have multiple grow-out ponds ranging from 40 to 300 gallons.  The fish grow the best out here as well.  

The drawback to this setup is that it required a lot of forethought and management to keep the temperatures nice for the fish.  I would have to do daily water changes in the early morning to lower the temps when it would hit 100+ degrees. I also had rain sheilds to make sure the ponds and containers didn't overflow. 

I also had one issue where a pond was overrun by toads and I lost half of a spawn.  Being close to the house to prevent predators is important. 

Pros: Lots of Space, Easy Water Changes, Water Stayed between 75 and 90 during the warmer months, amazing betta growth, helped with older bettas. 

Cons: Required a lot of temperature management through water changes and shade, risk of predators, risk of overflow when it rains.  had to bring everyone inside in the fall. 

Greenhouse Setup

I have only had my greenhouse set up for 6 months, but so far I am loving it!  I was able to keep my sorority and breeding ponds active all winter, but was unable to keep any individually housed bettas as it was more difficult to heat them.  Water changes are easy since you can dump it on the plants.  The ponds have heaters which evaporates warm water into the air, heating the greenhouse.  I added insulation and a tarp over the winter which helped keep it warm.  I did have issues with evaporation making the ponds drain quicker, meaning I was refilling them weekly.  If the weather was too cold I had to fill 5gallon buckets and wait for them to warm up before adding them to the ponds.  

I am moving into the summer months now so we'll see how this holds up to the heat! 

Pros: Protection from weather, can be outside year round with access to power, easy water changes. 

Cons: Cant keep jars outside during colder months unless my setup was adapted for better insulation, Humidity Management, Heat Management, Cold Management, hard to do water changes in winter because the faucet temps are too cold.  

****If done better then this flimsy greenhouse setup, this could be a wonderful long term solution to keeping bettas outside year round!