Calli

I have chose to breed bettas and I was wondering if you could have other fish in the tank... by other fish I mean that I have 6 guppies in the tank with them. Is that ok or should I move the guppies to another tank? If someone could help me that would be awesome!!

chickadee

I wish I had more time right now or I could probably write you a book on the subject, but no I would not suggest having other fish in with them. Breeding bettas is a risky enough business when you have only the bettas involved. Adding guppies will only add to the already charged situation. Bettas become particularly testy during this time and during the time the fry are young. I will try to write more later or you can contact me by PM whichever you would care to.

Chickadee

Rose

atmmachine816

thats good chickadee and Calli if you want any help and can ask me the ? i have two books on breeding bettas and if you want any help i can tell you the book and who writes them and tell you any info you want and you can go to the library and try to get them i find them helpful you can PM me or just write here if you want. Good luck

chickadee

First of all, what size tank are you planning to use?* I presume you know that the bigger the tank the better off you will be.* The fry will create large amounts of nitrogenous waste products and the more water you have to dilute it the better.*

Have you read much about the process of breeding Bettas and if so what and by whom?* Do you have a set - up to accomidate the female betta after the spawning process has been completed?* She will have to be removed immediately from the male or perhaps even pay with her life.* She will also need exceptionally clean and calm surroundings for a couple of weeks with no tank mates of any kind and calm water movement.* The spawning tank should have no water movement so the bubblenest and surface of the water are not disturbed in any way.* In the first stage of development the prolarvae are extremely sensitive to water movement.* If there is movement in the water it disturbs their tentative hold on the bubblenest.* At this point, they do not have gills or a labyrinth organ to breathe on their own or a mouth to eat, or eyes to see.* All their nutrition comes directily through their tissues from the water.* They are attached to the bubblenest by a sticky substance and can be seen falling from the nest and spiralling back up to the nest to fix themselves back to the nest at least temporarily.* With other fish in the tank it would be impossible to control the movement of water around the bubblenest and since the male betta is the parent that gaurds the nest a fight can ensue if it is disturbed before he is ready to give the job up.

Another thought, if the guppies you are talking about have long fins, the male betta may attack them at any time without provocation whether he is getting ready to spawn or not.* They will fight long-finned fish whether they be bettas or not because they mistake them for another of their own species.

Hope this has helped a little.* I had some more information, but cannot seem to locate it.* You might try http://www.bettaforums.com I believe they have a whole thread on breeding of bettas.* The pictures are worth the visit while you are there.* * Yes, I just checked - It's called "The Bubblenest" It is all about breeding bettas and how to get started.

Rose

Calli

chickadee

You have to have prepared them physically by feeding them live foods and having them in warmer temperatures for a couple of weeks ahead of time. The female will usually show a colored band when she is ready to spawn. I believe the bubblenest should be started before the female is introduced into the tank and will be added to when the male begins to be excited by her closeness. Also you have to make sure at the stage when you put the jar into the tank that it is tall enough that neither fish can jump over the wall of the jar or disaster could happen. Think of this as a "getting acquainted" period. If you haven't conditioned your fish ahead of time though, you may not get any action at this time. I would suggest going to the forum I mentioned and posting with people who have actually bred bettas. The link is:

http://www.bettaforums.com

It doesn't cost anything to join and they are run just like Fishlore.com. They just specialize on Bettas. The part of the forum devoted to breeding bettas is called "The Bubblenest".

I really think this is the best answer I can give at the present. These folks know so much more than I do and I don't know of anyone here who is breeding them at this time, so go to the experts. The pictures on that sight are worth the trip. You are always welcome to ask any questions you may have here, but I just don't feel qualified to give you complete answers on this because all I know about it I have read in books and I know there are folks over there who have actually done it.

Rose