# Breeding Betta Advice?



## DTetras2 (Jan 20, 2010)

Hello I have a male and female betta and I'm going to breed them in about a week I already know the process of breeding them, but can you guys give me some advice on it? These are my 2 bettas








This is my female









And this is my male


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## chocolatecrunch (May 21, 2010)

Like I said before in another thread, beautiful fish! Here are some tips:

Start feeding them high quality foods or live foods (usually you do this two weeks before breeding but one week is fine). Feed them a little more than usual as well.
Set up your spawning tank. It should be at least five gallons but ten is much better. Fill water only about 4-6 inches tall. Make sure there are lots of hiding spaces such as plants, decor, a betta log...etc. Set temp to at least 80 but not higher than 83.
After everything is set up and well, add the male betta. Give him about ten minutes or so to learn his new souroundings. Then add a female betta on the divided side of the tank or in hurricane glass.The male and female have to be seperated at this point and make sure they never come in direct contact with each other!
The male should be flaring at the female (showing off) and building a bubble-nest (if you have a betta that is a really pathetic bubble maker...Switch him with another male betta. When the nest is built by the different betta, switch the betta out again and place the one you want to breed with into the tank).
The female should be developing vertical bars...At this point, you can release the female betta. This is usually after a day or two from the point you first added her. 
Now that the female is loose in the tank, the male will start trying to nip at her fins. This can often apear quite violent...They are trying to prove to each other that they are both good mates (so no bad genes are passed on!). Do not feed them while they are doing this. The male will chase the female around and they should be "dancing" every now and then.
The female will bend her head down after she has aproached the male and his nest. The spawning prosses will probably acur now. If the spawning prosses has not happened with two days (48 hours) after the female has been released, remove the female and try again another time with the same female/different female.
The male will "hug" the female betta. Both will seem in a daze of some sort. They will repeat this about two times. The male will catch the falling eggs in his mouth and then blow a bubble around each one. The female should be removed to a warm, clean, quite spot to recover. The male should be taking care of the eggs for the next 1-3 days. After the betta fry have hatched are swimming freely and have consumed their egg yolks (about 5 days after the spawn), the male should be removed...


Good luck! I'll post more about feeding the fry, taking care of them as they grow, jaring them...etc, tomorow morning. I get kinda bored after typing for so long...LOL.

Peace!


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## Xox-Zip-xoX (Aug 14, 2010)

Is there anything specific you would like advice on?

-Just keep an eye on them especially after you've released the female, make sure she has lots of places to hide and if the male is being to violent with her take her out and wait a few more days, if he continues to be violent stop and wait for a couple more months or try again with a different pair.

-Make sure you take the female out as soon as they have finished the courting process, the female will often try to eat eggs the male hasnt put into the nest yet and suffer a violent attack that could seriously injur or kill your female.

-Make sure you safe gaurd the breeding tank before you start breeding your bettas because there will often be torn fins after the courting process, this makes them more suseptible to disease. Also make sure you have a remedy for torn fins to allow your bettas to relax in after being removed from the breeding tank.


*"if you have a betta that is a really pathetic bubble maker...Switch him with another male betta. When the nest is built by the different betta, switch the betta out again and place the one you want to breed with into the tank"* Thats something I would avoid doing at all costs, If he's not the best bubble nest builder then he probably isn't the best daddy either (Not in all cases) and it also defeats the purpose of letting your male get used to his surronding before being bred.

*"Give him about ten minutes or so to learn his new souroundings"*
you'll want to give him more then ten minutes, It's like bringing a new fish home from the pet store, it's going to take about a week before he his fully adjusted and relaxed in his new environment

*" This is usually after a day or two from the point you first added her"* Not necissarily, It really all depends of the pair, after you've added the female the to the breeder tank (In her cup/jar), the rest of the process can take anywere between a few hours to several days


Good luck, if there is anything else you would like some advice on, pm me


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