Betta Breeding Journal by AquaCaitlin

[AquaCaitlin]

I decided to rekindle my hobby of betta breeding a few months back and purchased a pair. That pair ended up not being compatible so I got a new female to pair with my male.
I decided to start this thread to follow my successes and failures of breeding my koi pair.

My male, an Inferno Nemo Galaxy


My female, a candy koi



I started conditioning them nearly a week ago, and as soon as the female seemed to fatten I decided to introduce her to the male for the first time through a breeding box, just to get them acquainted.
I normally condition for a week to two weeks, so I removed her and placed her in the breeding box for a few hours the next day.
The following day she was really plump, and I decided to leave her in the breeding box overnight.
When I woke up my male had built a large bubble nest and my female had already dropped some eggs in her breeding box, about 20 of them. I guess she had gotten a little too full.

To prevent her from dropping more I released her into the breeding tank, and the usual chasing and nipping occurred.
me, being the paranoid person I am, watched it all from a distance to make sure my female was not seriously injured.
After about half an hour I felt like she was too stressed so I’ve removed her.

she is currently once again in the breeding box, I’m going to feed her up a little more, hope she doesn’t try dropping more eggs, and than release her again when I feel they’re both ready.

She has no fin damage at all, but just seemed too stressed for my liking. How much chasing would you say is acceptable? I know everyone has their different methods of betta breeding and would love to hear other’s.

*side note: when I released the female from the breeding box all her eggs fell out and the male was careful about hunting down every one and eating it. I don’t think he was eating it because it was food, but rather because they were unfertalized.

 

[AquaCaitlin]

a few pictures of my male with his bubble nest that he is convinced is equivalent to a mansion. You can see him peeking out to get another bubble in the bottom picture.

 

[RichTino]

Amazing .. That's great .. I think both your koi are good pairs its because their in a see through tank and not a container their going to feel awkward about privacy ... Bettas are super private and if you have put them in something that they can be less seen through Im sure it would have worked out. I breed 3 pairs of betta couples and altogether god a huge spawn of 231 betta fry all living in a 20 gallon tank for now but they all didnt spawn the same time ... Some are 1 and 2 weeks the most apart.

 

[AquaCaitlin]

Amazing .. That's great .. I think both your koi are good pairs its because their in a see through tank and not a container their going to feel awkward about privacy ... Bettas are super private and if you have put them in something that they can be less seen through Im sure it would have worked out. I breed 3 pairs of betta couples and altogether god a huge spawn of 231 betta fry all living in a 20 gallon tank for now but they all didnt spawn the same time ... Some are 1 and 2 weeks the most apart.

That’s amazing, the most fry I’ve had at once is probably about 50, but that was awhile ago. I haven’t bred bettas in some time so I would say I’m a little rusty.

The female was trying to get to the male again after a few minutes in the breeding box so I decided to stop interfering with them.
they’ve been chasing for some time now, although the female has PLENTY of hiding spots. The male also will leave her alone if she’s too stressed.
I turned the tank light off, and once I did the female became less stressed.
The male keeps trying to entice her near the nest but I do not believe she is quite ready yet.
I’ll update soon, once things start moving forward!

 

[AquaCaitlin]

Update: they weren’t breeding so I put the female back in the breeding box, kept feeding them up, and left her in there for about 5 days.
When I released her again they got right to breeding- within 2 minutes. Currently they have been embracing, but no eggs have dropped yet. No aggression this time either.

Theyre also working together to expand the bubblenest, something I can’t remember my past pairs doing, and I thought that was pretty cute.

another update: The female has begun dropping eggs. I’ve noticed the male picking them up but because their tank is mostly curtained I can’t tell if he’s putting them in the nest. Hopefully he is. The female is also picking up the eggs. And I’ve seen her swim up to put them in the nest so that’s good.

3rd Update: Okay, I can see plenty of eggs in the nest but the pair are still embracing and the female releasing about 10 eggs each time. So excited and hopeful- already have all kinds of fry food prepared.

 

[AquaCaitlin]

Whew!
Went to check on their progress and saw the female was nowhere to be found and the nest was very very full, so I waited until she showed her little face and carefully netted her out. She has zero fin damage and looks very happy, already swimming around in her tank.
Dad is guarding his nest carefully, I quickly took a picture. Dont know if the eggs show up in the photos, but there’s sooo many.
Patience won the day!

 

[AquaCaitlin]

4/16/20 Update

Saw the first fry!
I actually looked through the plastic wrap lid of my aquarium and saw an egg wiggling, next thing I knew a little fry had broken through!
Pushed aside the paper towel curtain a little and saw a few more fry bouncing from the nest- the poor dad working hard to put them back only for them to fall again.

very excited!
I will try and get pictures when they’re big enough.

here’s a video (not the best quality) of the male catching some of the newly hatched fry and bringing them back to the nest.
Male HMPK Betta Caring For Newly Hatched Fry - Streamable

(ignore my dogs barking in the end)

 

[AquaCaitlin]

You can see some of the 2 day old babies on the leaf, and some hanging onto the side of the aquarium. The ones in the nest are harder to see.
I find it interesting that some are almost completely white and others are darker. Can’t wait until theyre free-swimming tomorrow and dada can finally have a break.

 

[conreality]

I love the color pattern on that first guy. What're your plans with the fry?

 

[AquaCaitlin]

I love the color pattern on that first guy. What're your plans with the fry?

I think I’ll keep one or two of the best for future breeding, sell some of the higher-quality ones on eBay (or offer them up on here first), and probably sell the pet-quality to people local

 

[AquaCaitlin]

Okay, they started free swimming a few days ago but I totally forgot to document it.

I haven’t been able to get pictures, will try again in a week when they’re bigger.

so far I’ve fed banana worms and Walter worms, once a day as they didn’t seem to be eating much.
fed the first brine shrimp today and most of them were big enough to catch em- they all have very round bellys!

I’ve estimated there’s maybe 100, but knowing betta fish I’m assuming there is more than what I’m seeing, especially because there’s a lot of hiding places.

I’ve noticed maybe 5 of them never started free-swimming, but have absorbed their yolk sack. They’re maybe half the size of the ones that did start swimming. I don’t really have a way to remove them, so I will just leave them in there and hope they start to swim- there was 10 before but this morning some had started swimming.

Another observation: some of the babies are a lot darker, while others are almost completely white. The majority are darker. I’ve noticed this in previous spawns and find it interesting.

 

[AquaCaitlin]

I managed to get a decent video!
1 Week Old Betta Fry - Streamable

They’re one week old today, I’ve started to slowly add water to their aquarium.

 

[AquaCaitlin]

Managed to get a few pictures!



Starting to see the caudal fin develop. They’ve also become more active.

 

[AquaCaitlin]

15 days old
Managed to get a video
Betta Fry- 2 weeks - Streamable

Both pectoral and caudal fins becoming visible. Noticeable size difference between the fry- some are about double the size of others.
Getting fed 3-4 times daily: BBS, Nematodes

Will be adding some guppy fry to the tank when they’re born in about a week so I can start feeding some non-live food and the bettas will grow up with other fish.

 

[AquaCaitlin]

First big water change today! 40%.

Once they’re 3 weeks old they will be getting 50% daily. When they’re a month I will be changing 70% daily.

The reason for such big and constant changes is that baby bettas release a growth horomone into the water. If there is too much of that hormone in the water they cannot grow. The water changes should also help the fry to grow at similar rates.

Some of the fry are looking nice and big, a few are getting iridescence on their bodies. Will catch better pictures in a few days.

Continuing to feed three times daily, increasing the amount fed.
Brine shrimp and nematodes in the morning, nematodes at noon, brine shrimp in the evening.

Once they’re 3 weeks I will start misting so there is even heavier humidity in their aquarium. This is to help the development of their labyrinth organ.

 

[AquaCaitlin]

3 weeks old!






I’m quite happy with how they’re developing, some more than others. Changed the background to white, seems to help my camera focus better.
Here’s a quick video!
3 Week Betta Fry - Streamable

 

[AquaCaitlin]

4 Week Update

Fry’s growth rate has slowed the tiniest bit, which baffled me....
Until I realized there was about two times the amount of babies I originally thought there were!
So I guess I was underfeeding a little and upped the amount I was feeding. We seem to be back on track now!
Whew, I’m a little rusty here.



Most of the babies have developed all their fins aside from the ventral fins, which come in a touch later and are hard to spot because they’re so tiny. Getting some nice iridescence on a lot of them as well.
50% water changes a day, 4 feedings a day.
Video: 4 week old betta fry - Streamable

 

[AquaCaitlin]

Some more random photos I took!
I added a few guppy fry to the tank, didn’t check to see if they photobombed though



One of the smaller ones. The little guy below it who is facing towards the camera is actually a bigger one, you just can’t tell from that angle.





Those little brown dots in their bellies are brine shrimp eggs that snuck in during feedings. They insist on swallowing them, only to poo them out (still in one shape) a few days later!



I haven’t even bothered trying to count them...

 

[AquaCaitlin]

6 Week Update!
I don’t have a video or many pictures today because I’ve moved the majority of the fry into a bigger tub that my camera has a hard time seeing through.


I did manage to get a few pictures of some of the smaller fry I had just moved over from the ‘runt’ aquarium, though.



As for coloration;
I’m seeing a lot of cellophanes in the tub, and many of the darker babies are turning a metallic blue.

Some of them have started to squabble a little, which I find kind of adorable at this age, but of course in a few months, will mean jarring.

 

[AquaCaitlin]

8 Week Update!

Moved some bigger babies into 25 gallon tub, there’s still a lot of runts. I would say I have 15 larger babies and 100+ teeny tiny ones.
Most of the fry have developed their ventral fins, which is exciting, and I’ve spotted one that even has some koi coloration, despite its small size.
Most of the fry are cellophane, blue, cambodian, and some a grayish color at the moment.

Some photos from the runt tank, the baby pictured in the first photo will be moving in with the larger fry soon.



I will hopefully be able to get better pictures next week.

Side Update: attempting to spawn another pair of mine, same father different mother. The female is ready, by the male has yet to build a bubble nest. Crossing my fingers, as I really want babies from this pair.

 

[philam]

How are they too small for their age? What are you feeding them? I want to see the new pair!

 

[jake37]

I'm late but i have a question - is it normal for the male and female to work together on building the nest and picking up eggs; and given that they worked together if you had left the female in the tank would they continue to work together or is it a given the male would have gone berserk on her sooner or later ?

 

[AquaCaitlin]

How are they too small for their age? What are you feeding them? I want to see the new pair!

Sorry for such a late reply!
I’ve been remodeling my house and haven’t had time to be on fishlore. I am confused to the small size as well. Temperature has been consistent at 80F, two feedings of brine shrimp, a feeding of other foods, and consistent water changes....

As for the other pair (Actually sane male, different female), they didn’t end up being compatible, but I might try again because she’s beautiful. Here’s a photo.

I'm late but i have a question - is it normal for the male and female to work together on building the nest and picking up eggs; and given that they worked together if you had left the female in the tank would they continue to work together or is it a given the male would have gone berserk on her sooner or later ?

Depends on the female. I once had a female who helped build the nest, than bring the eggs to the nest. This female didn’t build, but she did bring the eggs up. Once all eggs have been laid the male will chase her away, regardless of if she’s being harmful to the nest or not, though.

 

[AquaCaitlin]

As for the update! 10 weeks, I believe? The larger ones are developing nicely so far, not much aggression other than a little bit of chasing. Smaller ones have grown, but not as much as I’d like.

I was able to get some half decent photos of some of the larger babies




the one in the last photo has been doing a good amount of marbling, and has almost a gold iridescence on its body. There’s another that has a marbled greyish body with black and red fins who I’m suspecting to start changing soon. Other than that I’ve got some blues, a turquoise here and there, a few cellophanes, and a couple that (at the moment) have Cambodian type coloring.

 

[Vix1987]

Amazing .. That's great .. I think both your koi are good pairs its because their in a see through tank and not a container their going to feel awkward about privacy ... Bettas are super private and if you have put them in something that they can be less seen through Im sure it would have worked out. I breed 3 pairs of betta couples and altogether god a huge spawn of 231 betta fry all living in a 20 gallon tank for now but they all didnt spawn the same time ... Some are 1 and 2 weeks the most apart.

Amazing .. That's great .. I think both your koi are good pairs its because their in a see through tank and not a container their going to feel awkward about privacy ... Bettas are super private and if you have put them in something that they can be less seen through Im sure it would have worked out. I breed 3 pairs of betta couples and altogether god a huge spawn of 231 betta fry all living in a 20 gallon tank for now but they all didnt spawn the same time ... Some are 1 and 2 weeks the most apart.

Rich you seem to have good knowledge about breeding , could you check my query on my post?

love the colouring of this pair , I thought the same about being too rough with my female as my Male did damage some of her side scales but she wasn’t scared and kept going back so that was my indication to leave them longer

 

[Vix1987]

I managed to get a decent video!
1 Week Old Betta Fry - Streamable

They’re one week old today, I’ve started to slowly add water to their aquarium.

hi Caitlin, I’m just wondering how often did you do water changes in this process ? I’m not sure how to do myself as there isn’t much guidance on you tube for specific things

 

[AquaCaitlin]

Hello, I’m back from a very long break due to my mental health!

Little update on the betta fish— most are ready to go to new homes!
I’ve got a lot of cellophanes with some tiny spots of coloring, a single blue one that I expect to lose its color soon, and a few with metallic bodies.
They eat all kinds of food including flakes, pellets, live worms, dried worms, and gel foods.

I’d like to sell some on here if anybody wanted any, but the weather here is very hot and I’m a little nervous to ship. If anybody would be interested in possibly getting any I could do some research into how to safely ship in the high heat.

I’ve only jarred a few, the majority of them get along and do well with guppies as well, let me post some pictures

 

[AquaCaitlin]

Here’s a shot of one I’m planning to keep, he has such a lovely metallic layer that makes me excited to see how his coloring will develop:


here’s one of my jarred bettas, ill try to get better pictures during waterchange because its current coloring is hard to explain


Another jarred one, honestly probably one of my favorites. I’m guessing he will be a nemo.


And a few blurry shots of my bettas that live in the 30gal bin

 

[jake37]

Are they all females?

 

[AquaCaitlin]

Are they all females?

From what I can tell I have a decent combination of both, but they are surprisingly hard to gender at this point even though I’m usually pretty good at that lol. I’m sure about the gender on half of them, and still speculating on the others.

 

[jake37]

If they grow up together will they learn to live in peace and harmony or will they obliterate each other until there is only one ?

 

[AquaCaitlin]

If they grow up together will they learn to live in peace and harmony or will they obliterate each other until there is only one ?

It depends on the individual fish. Most of the females will probably be able to live together indefinitely as long as sufficient space and hiding places are provided, but a few of them have started to pick fights with the others, but I separate those ones out before they can do too much damage.

 

[jake37]

Angels are so much easier. All they do is eat eat eat. They wait till they become adults before picking fights.
-
In other words feed us feed us feed us - fighting is for the adults - us kids just want to eat and eat.

It depends on the individual fish. Most of the females will probably be able to live together indefinitely as long as sufficient space and hiding places are provided, but a few of them have started to pick fights with the others, but I separate those ones out before they can do too much damage.

 

[AquaCaitlin]

Angels are so much easier. All they do is eat eat eat. They wait till they become adults before picking fights.
-
In other words feed us feed us feed us - fighting is for the adults - us kids just want to eat and eat.

I like the challenge of the bettas, but I would love to try angels some day. I don’t have the space right now but they’re one of the fish on my long list of fish I’d like to eventually own.

 

[jake37]

Hum. The first time i totally failed. The second time i ended up with around 40 and that doens't include the ones i didn't grab from the tank. Right now they are in an orange pail which isn't the best environment for a baby angel - they definitely prefer a tank with clear sides. In about 2 weeks i'll give them to the lfs (they will be around 7 weeks old). I just don't have proper space to raise them and the lfs has a breeding room in the back where they can toss them.

I like the challenge of the bettas, but I would love to try angels some day. I don’t have the space right now but they’re one of the fish on my long list of fish I’d like to eventually own.

 

[RichTino]

Hello, I’m back from a very long break due to my mental health!

Little update on the betta fish— most are ready to go to new homes!
I’ve got a lot of cellophanes with some tiny spots of coloring, a single blue one that I expect to lose its color soon, and a few with metallic bodies.
They eat all kinds of food including flakes, pellets, live worms, dried worms, and gel foods.

I’d like to sell some on here if anybody wanted any, but the weather here is very hot and I’m a little nervous to ship. If anybody would be interested in possibly getting any I could do some research into how to safely ship in the high heat.

I’ve only jarred a few, the majority of them get along and do well with guppies as well, let me post some pictures

Are the Plakats or are they mixed ?? Inox me please.

 

[AquaCaitlin]

Another update!
a good number of the babies are big enough to ship out, and I’ll list them on the bstf section later today or tomorrow.
Here’s the ones I’m currently ready to send off to new homes.

 

[jake37]

But almost no colour

 

[AquaCaitlin]

But almost no colour

Yup, they just recently finished reverse marbling. Most of them were blue or red, than all their color faded away. Now they have to regain the color, which happens pretty quickly. The most colorful male only had a few little dots of color just a week ago. The more varied food you feed, and if you have tannins in your water, the faster their color will develop.

 

[Alwaysbina]

I decided to rekindle my hobby of betta breeding a few months back and purchased a pair. That pair ended up not being compatible so I got a new female to pair with my male.
I decided to start this thread to follow my successes and failures of breeding my koi pair.

My male, an Inferno Nemo Galaxy


My female, a candy koi



I started conditioning them nearly a week ago, and as soon as the female seemed to fatten I decided to introduce her to the male for the first time through a breeding box, just to get them acquainted.
I normally condition for a week to two weeks, so I removed her and placed her in the breeding box for a few hours the next day.
The following day she was really plump, and I decided to leave her in the breeding box overnight.
When I woke up my male had built a large bubble nest and my female had already dropped some eggs in her breeding box, about 20 of them. I guess she had gotten a little too full.

To prevent her from dropping more I released her into the breeding tank, and the usual chasing and nipping occurred.
me, being the paranoid person I am, watched it all from a distance to make sure my female was not seriously injured.
After about half an hour I felt like she was too stressed so I’ve removed her.

she is currently once again in the breeding box, I’m going to feed her up a little more, hope she doesn’t try dropping more eggs, and than release her again when I feel they’re both ready.

She has no fin damage at all, but just seemed too stressed for my liking. How much chasing would you say is acceptable? I know everyone has their different methods of betta breeding and would love to hear other’s.

*side note: when I released the female from the breeding box all her eggs fell out and the male was careful about hunting down every one and eating it. I don’t think he was eating it because it was food, but rather because they were unfertalized.

Hi I was wondering if you are still selling any of the spawns especially female and are they aggressive or can they be with tank mates

 

[AquaCaitlin]

Hi I was wondering if you are still selling any of the spawns especially female and are they aggressive or can they be with tank mates

Yup I’m still selling, and have a few I believe are female (I think the majority of this spawn is male) I have one male that actually lives with a group of guppies right now, and a few others who still live with the group.

 

[FishGirl115]

How many females?

 

[AquaCaitlin]

How many females?

There’s 3 that I’m sure of, and a few others who look pretty genderless