# male betta won't breed?



## fishloverzj

Okay, so my male betta won't breed. he's got a bubble nest and everythig, but he keeps scaring the femle. We have a nother "backup" betta that we can probably bred.

Anyone know what we can do?


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## timmo2009

hey so i don't have much advice from the info that you gave me, but more importantly, are u prepared for possibly 20-30 little bettas, that eventually will need a place to live? I just want to make sure, since u are trying to breed in a critter keeper, i'm not trying to be rude, just making sure.


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## bmlbytes

OK a few things about betta breeding. First, bettas are not a good fish to try breeding if it is your first time. 

Second, is the female ready? She will display vertical bars on her body when she is ready to breed. Before that, you have to keep the bettas separated but visible to eachother.

Thirdly, not all bettas will breed with eachother. 

Fourth, the male will likely beat the female up during the breeding, but unless she is seriously injured, you have to leave them together. 

Fifth, make sure you have about 30 jars and a tank that will fit all 30 jars. Once they breed, you will need to wait until the fish are big enough to sex, then you separate the males into their own jars. You float all the jars in an aquarium so that you can keep them all heated with the same heater.


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## elvis332

Or the betta can be old and Maybe just cant breed anymore.I heard that happens to some fish.


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## ApplePie

On the being prepared note: be ready for 100+ fry... it can happen.

How old is the male? When you buy them from a pet store, they are already a few months old. Just because he has a bubble nest does not mean that he is ready or even younger enough to do it. Have you done your research? Did you introduce the two properly?


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## fishloverzj

yes, thanks. i am positive that he is young enough.


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## Mikaila31

yeah I thought 100+ fry was the average spawn you get from a betta.... not 30, unless you plan to do some heavy culling.


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## ApplePie

Wait, are you trying to breed them in that 1 1/2 gallon? No wonder you are getting no where. Again, DO YOU RESEARCH. Put them in a 10 gallon... please. Goodness.


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## elvis332

fishloverzj said:


> yes, thanks. i am positive that he is young enough.


ohh maybe he just isnt ready.


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## Guest

breeding betta is a easy step to do if u can follow it right.

what u need is a tank 5-10 gallon. people in thailand breed them inside a small bucket, about 12 inch width and 10 inch deep. 

the male can start breeding at 7 month and will still breed at 12 month.
when he chase the female away, it just mean he's not ready to breed yet. his bubble nest aint ready yet. when its time he will get to work. just leave them in there for a couple more days.

other reason is, maybe the female keep breaking his nest.


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## betta0fish

a male betta can start breeding at 3 months but that all depends on the size of the female too. if the female is bigger than the male, then he cant wrap himself around her to spawn. have you conditioned them? before you breed, you should feed them small amounts of food 4-6 times a day for about two weeks to get them ready to breed since the male will be staying in the spawning tank for at least 5 days without food. be sure to hav medication ready if one or both of the fish are injured. i see in your signature that you have an empty 10 gal. if you want to breed bettas, i would use it unless you have other plans for it. what is the temperature in your tank? the temp should be aroun 78-82 F . Do you have any plants? here is a good website on breeding bettas
http://www.bettatalk.com/breeding_bettas.htm
read this website. it helped me A LOT  good luck


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