Betta Fish or Betta Splendens are a small fish that naturally can be found in the warm tropical areas of South East Asia and as such require warm water if kept in your home aquarium. Therefore most breeders of Betta Fish who live in climates with cold winters and hot summers choose to breed them during the summer as the demands of keeping the water warm are much less.
So if you have ever been interested in breeding Betta Fish and have always put it off because it’s too cold for half of the year then think again. There are simple, inexpensive ways to construct a Betta Fish breeding area that will decrease your electricity needs and still keep your Bettas nice and warm in an environment that makes them happy to breed.
So first of all, if your summer climate is ideal for breeding Bettas then why would you want to breed during the coldest part of the year anyway? Well for a start, breeding Betta Fish is an indoor activity. So if you like to get out and about and enjoy the outdoors during the summer then having a breeding tank full of Betta fry, that are dependant on you for their survival, may inhibit your lifestyle. After all most people do like to take their holidays during the summer. During the winter though it is mostly cold and miserable outside so having an indoor activity to keep you busy may be just the thing to get you through the winter. Another great reason for breeding Betta Fish during the winter is that if you are the only breeder in your area breeding during this time then you won’t have as much competition when it come to selling your Bettas.
So you can see there are advantages in breeding during the winter, so now the question is how to go about it without sending your power bill through the roof.
Well if you live in a climate where the temperature drops well below freezing during the winter then you will probably already be heating your house 24/7. Therefore keeping a breeding room warm shouldn’t be a problem as you are already heating your house. On the other hand though, if you live where the overnight temperature drops to only about 0 degrees Celsius then you’ll probably only be heating your house for a few hours a day. This is the situation where you will have to supply specific heating for your Betta Fish breeding area and this is also where you will need to be careful that it doesn’t become too much of a burden on your power consumption.
So instead of heating a whole room, why not build a cabinet for your breeding tanks that is insulated and can be enclosed to keep the heat in. Now the great thing about this is you can do it inside a room in your house or if you have a garage with some spare space then you can even do it there as well. Therefore what you will discover is when you heat the water in your tanks the radiated heat from the tanks is not lost but trapped inside the cabinet. This warmth inside the cabinet then greatly lessens the demand on you aquarium heaters and as such will reduce your power consumption.
Therefore your next challenge will be lighting the inside of your cabinet. After all you can’t keep your Bettas in the dark. Luckily though these days low energy light globes are now fairly easy to source. These will consume a minimum of energy while still providing enough light. To increase the brightness inside of your cabinet you can also paint it with a white paint. This will allow you to use the lowest wattage light globe while still providing enough light for your Bettas.
Another consideration with placing fish tanks inside an enclosed cabinet might be condensation. If you leave the covers on your tanks this should not be a problem but if you forget one day you may have a problem. Therefore mount all your electrical connections on the outside of the cabinet. You might also consider using a water proof light. Another option might be to use water proof paint but if you set up your cabinet correctly condensation shouldn’t become an issue. Nevertheless it still doesn’t hurt to take it into account.
Therefore if you’ve ever considered breeding Betta Fish but decided not to because it was too cold, then think again. There are simple, inexpensive methods that are easy to set up and won’t send your power bill through the roof.