Betta Breeding Questions

Oh yeah. Bettysplendens covers just about every possible method. This doesn't mean they're all recommended, though

 

I did read someone's blog who experimented with leaving the male with the spawn and reported positive results, but since there is no advantage to that over the standard way, and many things that could go wrong, I would not even consider it.

 

Wow, okay, definitely will not be dosing the tanks. Granted it was just one website that I'd that on, and it seemed to make sense initially. I hadn't even thought of the fact that it might affect the eggs and their development! Thank you, that would be terrible!

 

Hey, so yesterday I put my male and female in a 5 gallon tank with a heater, the male built a small bubble nest and then today I released the female out of the jar and they started chasing and fighting and what not, now they are just sitting there, not doing anything at all, it's been 2 and a half hours since I released the female in there, is it completely normal?

 

Did you get the bettas from the pet store? Most of the time, those are too old to breed.

 

Yeah I did about a week ago, they seemed rather small at first, but they grew in a week

He also destroyed his bubble best like 20 min ago and he is starting to build a new one, why would he do that?

 

junebug or _Fried_Bettas_ might know.

 

Sometimes they just do that. Fish are weird. I had one that built a bubblenest as soon as he saw the female, then destroyed it when I released her, then built another one and destroyed it when their spawn failed. Rinse and repeat.

Like I said, fish are weird.

 

Yeah, and unfortunately they don't spawn on demand, often don't get around to it the first day, or even the second, I usually separate them before the 3rd day though, so often they just don't spawn for no apparent reason.

 

Thanks!!

 

Welcome to fishlore!
I hope you enjoy the forum.

 

HI I got two crowntail bettas (frmale and male).
The male is "black cooper red devil orchid crowntail" and the female is just "white" idk what's tge exact genetic.
Anyway I set up the breeding tank 10 gallon, heater live plants on bottom and a hiding spot.
So I put the female in an upside down glass and wait after a day the male finished the nest but it was small because he built a nest in the past and it was huge so first they chased each other for one day and then under the nedt was tge first embrace (cought on canera youtube link after it finish uploading!) so after the first embrace nothing happend and I wait one day but then! My cleaning lady (I said it right?) move the tank and the bubble nest destroyed!!! It was sad but now tge male seems to be dipressed and sad and dometimes he is sitting at the bottom on the side (before the nest destroyed he was completley healthy) so I changed the water and did the setup again this time he didnt build a bubble nest and didnt show a lot of interesting at tge female so do I need to wait a week or so.. Or give up?
I got another betta maybe ill try it with him..
Thanx.

 

Youtube link:

 

Btw I'm trying to breed another couple and the male's nest is huge! Going to release female soon and send you some vids!

 

NICE !!! keep up the good work

 

'Ello!
I have 3 female Bettas and I've read SO MANY articles on Betta breeding but I still don't think I understand the whole breeding with Bettas vibe? Ya feel me? Anyways, these 3 little bettas are my children and I want more bettas from my precious bettas (grandchildren I guess? lol) I don't understand what I need and how to breed bettas? My apologies, I'm a little dimwitted but I would really love to breed my girls! betta

 

I personally would never do betta breeding because the fish can get beat up very badly to the point of death even if everything is at the right conditions. It's a lot more complicated then simply putting a male and female together.

Here is the instructions on this forum:
Responsible betta breeding:
So you want to breed bettas: Responsible Breeding | Betta Breeding 89909

Step by step:
https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/threads/step-by-step-guide-to-breeding-bettas.37434/

It does show a pretty beat up female.

There is also a specific forum just for betta breeding where I got the other links from:

You also have to keep in mind you will need money and space, not to mention homes for all the fry. You will need another tank for them to specifically breed in (you can't put one male in with all three of your females). You will need lots of containers for the fry when they get old enough to begin fighting among each other too. Not to mention separate tanks for the two bettas who bred to heal in afterwards.

 

Oh gosh, an estimated total? Maybe $200? Would I put more than one female in with the male? - Thank you! <3

 

Oh gosh, an estimated total? Maybe $200? Would I put more than one female in with the male? - Thank you! <3

Well if you read the links she gives a total of $2000 for just one spawn. $200 may cover another good tank setup for the breeding part and no you can not put more then one female with a male. You may end up with dead fish that way. I really recommend reading the links I posted up there.

If you want an easy fish that will breed you should into livebarers such as mollies or guppys. You will still need a separate tank for them, plus one for their fry but they breed easily. You would get one male for every three females with them.

 

Well if you read the links she gives a total of $2000 for just one spawn. $200 may cover another good tank setup for the breeding part and no you can not put more then one female with a male. You may end up with dead fish that way. I really recommend reading the links I posted up there.

If you want an easy fish that will breed you should into livebarers such as mollies or guppys. You will still need a separate tank for them, plus one for their fry but they breed easily. You would get one male for every three females with them.

Yes I breed guppies but I'm just a clueless fool when it comes to Bettas heh... Thank you for the links!

 

Yes I breed guppies but I'm just a clueless fool when it comes to Bettas heh... Thank you for the links!

I've done a lot of research on betta breeding myself, basically enough to say I don't want to lol. I wish you luck.

 

I also really like this guide:


I'm just now finishing up the process of breeding my bettas (my babies hit 10 weeks tomorrow).

We had just gotten a 55 gallon tank, which I used as a breeding and grow-out tank, and my bettas had a really small spawn. Plus we had some issues with uh fishy cannibalism...So we're actually keeping all the fry that made it (1 male and the rest are females being kept as a sorority).

But yeah I mean it's a lot of work, you have to have various kinds of live food ready, and you should be doing daily water changes once the fry hit like 2 weeks. I really enjoyed the process of watching the baby fish grow, and I'm really glad I got to experience this, but you really need to be prepared before you start.

I think personally using one big tank for spawning AND for letting the fry grow was nice. A lot of the guides talk about using like a ~10 gallon spawning tank, and then switching to a large grow-out tank, but I mean if you can just have a spare large tank (maybe 20g+), and use it for both it would probably be easier and less expensive. I just put a divider in during spawning, which kept the adults from being too spread out, and let me keep a better eye on the baby fry. Once the fry got a little bigger, I took the divider out to give them more swimming room. And now, I'm turning the 55 gallon into a real community tank with my sorority of female fry and some other fish.

Plus you need a heater and gentle filter, and probably IAL to help the spawning process. Live plants are also strongly recommended. You need to be ready to separate the males once they start fighting- personally, I got a couple of those floating breeder boxes, used the bottom halves of some soda bottles, rectangular plastic food containers, etc. I just floated them in my 55 gallon whenever I needed to separate fish, and even now I always have one ready in case my females get too aggressive.

For actual mating, you need to condition the pair for a week or so by floating the female in a cup or something in the male's tank. This lets the sort of "get to know eachother", and start getting interested in breeding. You just float her for maybe a half hour every day leading up to the actual mating day. I fed them dried bloodworms for conditioning, but live food would be better. Just try to give them a lot of protein. Then you have to introduce them each (separately) to the breeding tank- let the female see it by herself, to find hiding spots, then take her out, then put the male in for a day, then put the female in. Watch to make sure they don't kill eachother..But there is chasing a violence even when it's going well. I think my bettas took like 2 days to actually mate. And sometimes they just may not like eachother, or you have to take them out and re-condition for another week or so.

 

I also really like this guide:


I'm just now finishing up the process of breeding my bettas (my babies hit 10 weeks tomorrow).

We had just gotten a 55 gallon tank, which I used as a breeding and grow-out tank, and my bettas had a really small spawn. Plus we had some issues with uh fishy cannibalism...So we're actually keeping all the fry that made it (1 male and the rest are females being kept as a sorority).

But yeah I mean it's a lot of work, you have to have various kinds of live food ready, and you should be doing daily water changes once the fry hit like 2 weeks. I really enjoyed the process of watching the baby fish grow, and I'm really glad I got to experience this, but you really need to be prepared before you start.

I think personally using one big tank for spawning AND for letting the fry grow was nice. A lot of the guides talk about using like a ~10 gallon spawning tank, and then switching to a large grow-out tank, but I mean if you can just have a spare large tank (maybe 20g+), and use it for both it would probably be easier and less expensive. I just put a divider in during spawning, which kept the adults from being too spread out, and let me keep a better eye on the baby fry. Once the fry got a little bigger, I took the divider out to give them more swimming room. And now, I'm turning the 55 gallon into a real community tank with my sorority of female fry and some other fish.

Plus you need a heater and gentle filter, and probably IAL to help the spawning process. Live plants are also strongly recommended. You need to be ready to separate the males once they start fighting- personally, I got a couple of those floating breeder boxes, used the bottom halves of some soda bottles, rectangular plastic food containers, etc. I just floated them in my 55 gallon whenever I needed to separate fish, and even now I always have one ready in case my females get too aggressive.

For actual mating, you need to condition the pair for a week or so by floating the female in a cup or something in the male's tank. This lets the sort of "get to know eachother", and start getting interested in breeding. You just float her for maybe a half hour every day leading up to the actual mating day. I fed them dried bloodworms for conditioning, but live food would be better. Just try to give them a lot of protein. Then you have to introduce them each (separately) to the breeding tank- let the female see it by herself, to find hiding spots, then take her out, then put the male in for a day, then put the female in. Watch to make sure they don't kill eachother..But there is chasing a violence even when it's going well. I think my bettas took like 2 days to actually mate. And sometimes they just may not like eachother, or you have to take them out and re-condition for another week or so.

WOOF! That is quite a bit, completely different from guppy breeding... I have the chance to get a 40 gallon... Perhaps I could use that. Wow wow woah this is a lot to acquire for breeding... I just have a tiny question off topic, I'm really sorry to ask but can I house males together as long as they don't see a female? Sorry to ask

 

No males should never be in the same tank unless there is a divider where they cannot see each other.

 

Oh ok, thank you!

 

Okay! So, I've been breeding bettas for a while (I just started back up again) and last time I found myself really discouraged. My luck keeping the fry alive was 0-none. I would like some more information from experienced breeders because google isn't doing much. My betta eggs have just hatched. I ordered a culture of microworms a week ago and I now have started my brine shrimp hatchery.
Are the brine shrimp small enough for them to eat? Should I take the dad out once they are all free swimming?! These are mistakes I have made and I need help in order to properly raise these babies!

 

Flowingfins breeds bettas, she is very knowledgeable and will be able to help you

 

Hopefully she will give me some input!

 

Can you outline everything you have done since starting to condition them? How did you condition them? What usually happens to the fry? What have you been feeding them? Are these pet store bettas?
Welcome to the forum

 

One is from a farmlike place in my area, the 3 females from petsmart. I only spent about 2 days conditioning this time (usually 2 weeks) and then I set up the breeding tank and proceeded. The other females are conditioning for future breedings.
I typically would introduced hard boiled egg yolk. But Ive had no luck and only gotten bacteria out of this. When should I feed them? What should their first meal be? I feed them frozen bring shrimp, blood worms, pellets and flakes to mash up their diet.

 

https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/threads/betta-care-guide.226842/
Here's a care sheet I wrote up. This should answer most if your questions.

I would try ordering from a quality breeder. Most pet store bettas aren't that good(form wise) and are older.
Can you answer some questions for me?
How are you conditioning them?
What are you feeding the newly hatched fry?
What tail types are your bettas?
Do you have room for over 500 baby fish?
Do you have the time, money, and space?
What tanks are you using for grow out?
Do you have a goal for the fry or are you breeding for fun?
Do you have homes for the babies?

 

I'm conditioning my females in a 5 gallon tank, soon to be fully planted. One of my heaters stopped working so I do have to pick one up asap. I'm feeding them a variety of foods and allowing them time to heal after breeding.
I am not feeding them yet as they are still vertically swimming but I will start feeding BBS within the next 24-48 hours depending on how quick the begin swimming.
They are just the typical long fin type. I'm not 100% sure but the females have long fins and almost had me fooled as males. (Egg spot was my clue)
I have the 10 gallon they are in right now. My 29 gallon will be the grow out tank, but I also have a 40 gallon shark tank that will be moved into a 75 shortly.
I will be selling them to local pet stores once they are full grown.
My goal is to keep the best ones and continue.

 

Hello FishLore people! Having a good day?
I'm simply here to ask about Betta Breeding. I've been breeding all types of fish for 7 years now (successfully). And I have decided to try my hand at Bettas. I went out to Petco about a year and a half ago and bought 3 baby Betta (1 male, 2 females). My male is fairly small (about 2 inches in length) and my female I'm trying to breed him with about the same size.

I noticed two days ago, he made more than 1 bubble nest in the corner of his 5 gallon tank. Well, I waited and added the female (in a clear breeder net/tank) yesterday. Now from what I read online I add her in his tank (in the clear breeder tank/net) for a day or two, and he will get use to her. I then put her out into his territory once he stops flaring his gills at her (which would be today, possibly tomorrow as he seems to be a bit more laid back now).

But...the sites (3 of them) also said the male would make the bubble nest BEFORE being ready to mate, and my male has yet to make a bubble nest...

Am I doing something wrong? The temp. in his tank is always 82-84F, PH and Ammonia test perfect, and he has fake grass but real wood/log in his tank.

If you need pictures let me know and I can get pic of the male as well as female.
Thank you!
~Cys

 

UPDATE:

He has made a small bubble nest but is still showing a fair amount of aggression to my little female. Any tips? Help me? Please? As no one has responded to this but numerous have looked...Thanks guys.

 

Step by step betta breeding.

Flowingfins can help you.

 

Some useful information here

 

Please please please don't breed in your males tank! It is extremely complicated and isn't at all like breeding guppies. You have to condition your bettas and set up a spawn tank.
Questions-
Are your bettas show quality?
Are your bettas veil tails?
Do you have the time, money, and space needed to raise 500 bettas, each in their own tank?
Do you have live foods for the fry?
Do you KNOW, 100%, that you can rehome them?
Do you have a goal in mind?
It sounds like you haven't researched this properly, I'm sorry for being so blunt, but there is a huge issue with people breeding just to try it, not considering what to do with the fry, and then getting in over their heads. This leads to many bettas without proper care.
https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfi...t-to-breed-bettas-responsible-breeding.89909/
https://www.fishlore.com/aquariumfishforum/threads/step-by-step-guide-to-breeding-bettas.37434/
Check out these links and truly decide if this is a path you want to take, and if you are sure, please let me know.
Edit: I forgot to say welcome to fishlore!

 

Flowingfins

1) I don't believe they are. Just regular Bettas. I specialize in show quality Freshwater Angelfish.

2) My male is a veil tale, I am still unsure about my female, but she does not seem to be (I will try and post pics if you can get back to me)

3) I do have the space time and money.

4) I raise brine shrimp and can use that, if not I could buy live food from my local privately owned pet store in Chattanooga.

5) I do know 100% that I can re-home them

6) My current goal is to breed them, keep a select 4 maybe 5 babies (re-homing the rest NOT to be used as feeder fry etc) and raise them up to show quality. As show quality bettas are gorgeous.

You're fine for being so blunt. I understand 100%. The first time they bred I wasn't even paying attention to it, and I only knew they bred because I found 4 or 5 babies. I am assuming the rest got eaten, as they were in a community tank with 2 or 3 other bettas.

But I promise you I am not breeding just to try it, I do have a goal in mind. I don't breed just for "fun" or to try it, I do have goals when I breed I swear

I will check those links out and if you can get back to me let me know and I'll post pics of my male and both females

Thanks guys!

 

Glad you have a goal
Ok, first, if you want show quality fry, you need show quality parents. I recommend joining the IBC(international betta congress) and taking a look at their show standards.
You are not going to find many people breeding veils, they are considered pet quality and the IBC doesn't have a category for them. The IBC holds many shows, and their standards are what most, if not all, breeders strive to achieve. The most popular tail types (for show) are halfmoon, crowntail, halfmoon plakat and elephant ear(Dumbo). Traditional plakat and double tail are less common.
To find show quality fish, you will most likely have to order online, eBay and aquabid are good sites.
Everybody breeds differently, this is how I do it.
Start conditioning your breeders by feeding them frozen/live foods such as bloodworms, mosquito larvae, and brine shrimp. Feed them a mix of these foods for 1-2 weeks, showing your breeders to each other for 10-15 minutes each day.
During this time, start setting up the breeding tank. I have found that they breed faster in smaller tanks, so I use bare bottom 1.5 gallon critter keepers. Set the temp to around 80*, add an Indian almond leaf, and some floating plants. Release both at the same time(after conditioning) and watch them to make sure they aren't going to kill each other. Keep checking on them until they have spawned, take mommy out, place a desk lamp over the top so daddy can see the eggs/fry. In 2 days, the eggs should hatch and in another 2 they should be free swimming. The male shouldn't be fed during this time. Once free swimming take daddy out and wait 2 more days to feed them. Once free-swimming you can turn off the lamp. I start off with micro worms, and once they are big enough newly hatched BBS(baby brine shrimp). Once free-swimming add a small sponge filter.
At 2 weeks from hatching, move them into a large tub(around 20 gallons), start doing large 50-75% water changes daily. This helps remove growth inhibitors produced by the fry. Feed them lots of BBS, microworms and once big enough, start weaning them onto frozen BBS and crushed betta pellets. Eventually you will be feeding them just pellets. As they grow you will need to keep upgrading them, depending on spawn size. Once the males start fighting it is time to jar them, as well as aggressive females, you have to heat the jars too. I use 2 liter soda bottles and juice jugs because they are pretty much free, but I so plan on building a heated, filtered betta barracks in the near future. I will be using heat tape to heat the jars. You can keep the females together in a large sorority.
If you have any questions let me know

 

Hi!

I'm about to start trying to breed my bettas. My project would be to try and achieve a nice butterfly combtail for shows.

I've started conditioning my pair with brine shrimp. I was wondering if anyone had ever tried chopped up pieces of small earthworms?

Thanks,