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December 8th, 2008
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| | Fish Helper
| Have my betta's spawned?
We are an "easy fish" loving household, and while my husband has had some real complex saltwater/ live rock/ labor intensive fish set ups BEFORE we had children, those are no more (the point is, he has some background knowledge). I want to say, though, that we are attempting a casual fish breeding for our small children to see (and for us too!).
We have a 10 gallon, freshwater tank with a big beautiful crowntail betta - and since the second we purchased him, that little dude has been obsessed with building a bubble nest. With no female in sight, or living in the house - so after a few months of his obvious baby making desires, we bought him a female and read up on breeding. First try around didn't work out, and we ended up taking that gal fish back to the store. She was too small to defend herself.
We are now on female number 2, and last night for round two of them both in the breeding tank (her introduced in a betta box) things seemed to go well! After we released her, they displayed all the classic signs of spawn readiness, and before we went to bed, we saw them in the "embrace" so to speak with his body wrapped around hers, though it seemed like neither one of them really "got" how to do it correctly. Who knows. LOL.
This morning, they are ignoring each other, and she is hiding in the bushes. He is tending the nest. She STILL looks fat, and is still showing that small, pearl like bump beneath her body that suggests she still has eggs? I can't really seen anything in the bubble nest, which is MASSIVE and foamy, but I seem to be unable to see anything in there. Have they spawned? Any more clues how I can tell? I want to take the female out before the male decides to kill her, but not if they haven't spawned yet. Any insight? | 
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December 8th, 2008
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| | Fish Helper
| Spawned or not?
Hello ladies and gents: Im brand new to these forums!
We are an "easy fish" loving household, and while my husband has had some real complex saltwater/live rock/ labor intensive fish set ups BEFORE we had children, those are no more (the point is, he has some background knowledge). I want to say, though, that we are attempting a casual fish breeding for our small children to see (and for us too!).
We have a 10 gallon, freshwater tank with a big beautiful crowntail betta - and since the second we purchased him, that little dude has been obsessed with building a bubble nest. With no female in sight, or living in the house - so after a few months of his obvious baby making desires, we bought him a female and read up on breeding. First try around didn't work out, and we ended up taking that gal fish back to the store. She was too small to defend herself.
We are now on female number 2 (much heartier, and closer to the size of our big lavender and pink male), and last night for round two of them both in the breeding tank (her introduced in a betta box) things seemed to go well! After we released her, they displayed all the classic signs of spawn readiness, and before we went to bed, we saw them in the "embrace" so to speak with his body wrapped around hers, though it seemed like neither one of them really "got" how to do it correctly. Who knows. LOL.
This morning, they are ignoring each other, and she is hiding in the bushes. He is tending the nest. She STILL looks fat with eggs to me (hubby thinks differently) and is still showing that small, pearl like bump beneath her body that suggests she still has eggs? I can't really seen anything in the bubble nest, which is MASSIVE and foamy, but I seem to be unable to see anything in there. Have they spawned? Any more clues how I can tell? I want to take the female out before the male decides to kill her, but not if they haven't spawned yet. Any insight? | |
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December 8th, 2008
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| | Fish Master
| welcome to fishlore!! JD has sent you a great link..and I would say if you dont see eggs, there probably wasnt a spawn and Id take her out and try again in a few weeks.... | |
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December 8th, 2008
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| | Moderator
|  Hi welcome to Fish Lore.
Your threads have been merged. It'll be easier to keep the replies in one place.
We have a few members who have experience with breeding, I'm sure they'll be able to help you.
Good luck. | |
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December 8th, 2008
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| | Fish Master
| The white bump you see on the female is her eggspot. All females will have this. It doesn't mean that she still has eggs. | |
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December 8th, 2008
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| | Fish Helper
| What do the eggs LOOK like? Am I looking for a black speck, or is it too soon yet to tell? I would assume that, if the spawn took place last night, the eggs would still be SO minute and difficult to see.
What exactly am I looking for?
I will run over and inspect the tank and bubble nest and let you know what I do or do not see. | |
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December 8th, 2008
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| | Fish Master
| Here is what a 20 hour old nest should look like it the spawn was a success..You will see white milky round things in the bubbles..The eggs will hatch anywhere from 24 to 48 hours after the spawning..The temp on the tank needs to remain a steady 80 degrees...The top needs to be covered at all times..
Can you take a photo of the parents and the nest? Also, what type of live food do you have available for the fry once they hatch? | |
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December 8th, 2008
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| | Moderator
| Here's a link to Allie's thread. She included pics. Maybe that will help you. Betta eggs in nest  Thanks, MM | |
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December 8th, 2008
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| | Fish Addict
| If his nest is very thick, it's quite possible you won't be able to see the eggs. From the way they're acting it sounds like they probably did spawn, especially if they were embracing last night. Eggs are white to pale creamy yellow, about a mm in diameter. Using a flashlight can help. If you're really not sure, keep a close eye on things to watch if the female is being overly harrassed or beaten. You'll know in a day or 2 for sure if there are fry hanging/falling from the nest! | |
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December 8th, 2008
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| | Fish Helper
| I think we have a successful spawn! Thanks for the thumbnails - I BELIEVE I see the tiny eggs, though it is difficult as his bubble nest is (and they always have been in the past, sans eggs and female) very thick. I see 3 or four tiny, vertically hanging "larvae" looking specimens, and from what I've read, I've got a few immature fry! Is this possible already?
I removed the female from the breeding tank VERY carefully now that Im fairly certain they have spawned, and popped the heater on briefly after the "steady 80 degree" comment above.
The hubby and I read so many different takes on the process of breeding bettas - everyone seems to have their own opinion about creating the correct conditions. However, OUR betta's didn't spawn until the weather turned cold and we turned the heater off in the tank (which was holding anywhere between 76 and 78 F) : now that the female is out, I will monitor the temp carefully and adjust to 80. Is the growth of the fry more dependent upon temperature than the breeding pair?
Im hoping for some pretty ones - if I could find my digital camera, I'd snap some pics. Our male, named appropriately "Swimmer" by my two year old, is lavender and pink, the female a pearly white with red fins. My ULTIMATE goal is to raise several males together from this spawn and into maturity in the same tank so that I might have 3 or 4 males in our large tank. | |
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December 8th, 2008
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by BettasfortheBabe  I My ULTIMATE goal is to raise several males together from this spawn and into maturity in the same tank so that I might have 3 or 4 males in our large tank. | That would be every betta lovers ultimate goal, however Betta Splendens were originally bred to fight, not to be simply territorial as they were originally. From what I've read you "can't" have a tank big enough because eventually they will find each other and that will be the end of it. However you could have a group of sisters from this spawn if you'd like. Many breeders keep the girls in sorority tanks, simply remove the most agressive if they start causeing problems. | |
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December 9th, 2008
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by BettasfortheBabe I think we have a successful spawn! Thanks for the thumbnails - I BELIEVE I see the tiny eggs, though it is difficult as his bubble nest is (and they always have been in the past, sans eggs and female) very thick. I see 3 or four tiny, vertically hanging "larvae" looking specimens, and from what I've read, I've got a few immature fry! Is this possible already?
I removed the female from the breeding tank VERY carefully now that Im fairly certain they have spawned, and popped the heater on briefly after the "steady 80 degree" comment above.
The hubby and I read so many different takes on the process of breeding bettas - everyone seems to have their own opinion about creating the correct conditions. However, OUR betta's didn't spawn until the weather turned cold and we turned the heater off in the tank (which was holding anywhere between 76 and 78 F) : now that the female is out, I will monitor the temp carefully and adjust to 80. Is the growth of the fry more dependent upon temperature than the breeding pair?
Im hoping for some pretty ones - if I could find my digital camera, I'd snap some pics. Our male, named appropriately "Swimmer" by my two year old, is lavender and pink, the female a pearly white with red fins. My ULTIMATE goal is to raise several males together from this spawn and into maturity in the same tank so that I might have 3 or 4 males in our large tank. | What did you feed them before spawning? Well fed parents equal healthy fry.
Yes fry need to be in a tank which has high humidity. To accomplish this cover the tank with plastic wrap tape so it will stay in place. Fry development is definitely temperature related b/c of their sensitive labyrinth gills.
Getting the colors we want is nearly impossible unless you have to identical looking fish, then there will be a few who will look like them. The most compicated thing about Betta is their genetics with coloring and patterns...I guess it's apart of their charm.
Betta are like a box of chocolates...ya never never know what you are gonna get. 
This guy has great tips and his site goes thru his experiences with breeding. http://www.waynesthisandthat.com/bettas.htm
The larger the tank for a grow out the better. Most sites recommend 55g...but I am using a 33g and my fry are fine.
Last edited by Allie; December 9th, 2008 at 11:57 AM.
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December 9th, 2008
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| | Fish Master
| Allie is correct about predicting color...Breeders usually breed sibbling pairs which usually produces fry that closely resemble the color of the parents and look like they came out of the same mold......
Here are some of my recent spawns... | |
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December 9th, 2008
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| | Fish Helper
| Both Swimmer and our female were on a diet of freeze dried bloodworms, and fed three times a day per the suggestion of the very knowledgeable man at the fish store. Let me add here that with two cats, a toddler, an infant, a busy small business and a house to care for, I will NEVER have the time (or desire) to devote to caring for live food for the bettas. I had amphibians as a kid, and did the whole keeping of and daily rinsing of the bloodworms (who's odor, even at memory or suggestion, makes me gag to this very day). The fish loved the freeze dried fair - they are big, fat, happy, active and their colors are vibrant and beautiful. I've never had such active bettas in my life! The man at the fish store also suggested that, if we crush the freeze dried flood worms into a powder and feed that to the fry, they would do fine. Im not opposed to feeding them frozen brine shrimp - what will they like best that will NOT require me dealing with more life things (especially in my refrigerator!).
Spawning these fish really was so much easier than all our research suggested - Id like to attribute that to the mild, all year round Mediterranean climate of northern CA and the perfect, natural levels of humidity that we all pay so terribly much for in cost of living to remain here. The female is doing great in her two gallon "cube", and our attentive daddy is either caring for or caring for/eating the eggs at this point. Very happily. We've already line up a string of friends and family that would love any bettas that survive this spawn: it was pretty easy, and I count myself lucky!
Here is hoping they hatch soon and I have good news! | |
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December 9th, 2008
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| | Fish Addict
| Unfortunately, betta fry are finicky lil things, and tend to turn up their noses at anything offered if it doesn't swim. Powdered blood worms probably won't be eaten at all, and as an only food, even if they do eat them probably aren't nutritious enough for proper growth and development of the younguns. They might take the frozen baby brine if you can get that, though you may need to start out hatching some live and mix them until they figure out it's edible. Hatching baby brine shrimp isn't really that hard or time consuming once you have a schedule down for it, and is well worth it in terms of the health and growth you'll get!
Good luck with them. | |
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December 9th, 2008
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Pandora Unfortunately, betta fry are finicky lil things, and tend to turn up their noses at anything offered if it doesn't swim. Powdered blood worms probably won't be eaten at all, and as an only food, even if they do eat them probably aren't nutritious enough for proper growth and development of the younguns. They might take the frozen baby brine if you can get that, though you may need to start out hatching some live and mix them until they figure out it's edible. Hatching baby brine shrimp isn't really that hard or time consuming once you have a schedule down for it, and is well worth it in terms of the health and growth you'll get!
Good luck with them. | That's is all I have been feeding my fry, baby brine shrimp, since day 1. They will go for the powered John's fry food but not like the bbs.
A baby brine shrimp factory is easy to make. Google baby brine shrimp and there will be a ton of site which will show you how easy it is.  | |
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