Betta Male Making Huge Nest. Should I Breed?

Hey! So question. I understand the process of breeding bettas. I have once a have years ago.

My son has this make BETTA fish that he absolutely adores. The fish tlwas super unhealthy when we got it. (honestly I thought it was a lil ugly) my son wanted him. He has turned into the most beautiful BETTA ♥️ vibrant, always flashing his fins, curious, just all around happy. This BETTA has built a bubble nest bigger than a half dollar. I'm wondering does he need to breed? I've never had a betta fish make a nest this extravagant. Would it be smart to breed him? Or not freedom does it matter either way would that make the fish Happier?

 

First thing it I do NOT think breeding will make the fish happier if that's what you're asking.

As to if you should breed I'd ask yourself a few questions as it is really a big process and can be quite expensive to set up. Biggest thing is where did you get the male and is he a high enough quality/desirable genetics to be creating healthy fish free of issues? Most pet store fish do not make good breeders.

There is also a lot of risk in breeding with stress, breeding itself could mean torn up fins or injury, expense. So you'll need multiple tanks to do this properly. You'll need a quality female, separate "living" tanks for them and usually a 10 gallon tank for breeding. To get them ready to spawn you'll need to condition them for a few weeks. Fast forward. Once they spawn and the babies start growing usually people put them in a 29 gallon or larger to grow out until time to jar. You also will need to cull any that have deformities or anything like that. Jarring them means you have to separate all of the males and sometimes the females as well. You need multiple filtered and heated tanks if no filters you'll be doing daily water changes on TONs of tanks. Most people with baby bettas feed live food so you'll also want to make sure you a ready to start a live food set up.

Once you have successfully done all that you'll need to find them homes. Some fin types and colors are much easier to sell than others. Normal veiltail bettas are hard to sell because they are so cheap in stores and are readily available everywhere.

There is a lot more to it, this is a topic I am very passionate about as I am in the process of conditioning a couple pairs now! Betta breeding is very stressful but can be a cool experience if done correctly!

 

Yes I'm aware of how much it takes to "breed" correctly, and raise the fry. I guess my question is is the betta going to get stressed out even more if he's putting so much energy into displaying himself and building a nest is he going to get stressed out if he is unable to breed. He is a double crowntail bought from a local fish/reptile house. I got him on a deal because he was so depressed and my son was asking what was wrong with him. Three months later here we are total different colors acting really flashy. I've never had a betta act this intensive over a nest. Thank you for your reply

 

I do not believe he will get stressed out not being able to breed, often males I've had or worked with in the LFS I worked at in the past that were super enthusiastic about making bubble nests would just make them over and over again regardless of if they were bred or not. So like the LFS I was working with bred a male for this same reason and after he was bred and successfully had fry he went back to his main tank and started building another big nest.

I think it would be MORE stress on him to breed him than not breed him honestly.

 

Ok awesome. thank you so much then I will definitely not be braiding him cuz I really don't want to take any risk of him being harmed. I've heard from a couple people it will stress him out/shorten his life. So thank you so much again for clarifying that. If you do not mind I do have one more question the betta right now is in a 2.5 gallon. From when I was having to fix his sickly state. I tried to move him up to a 10 gallon. Same water testing. Give him time he was clenched on the bottom of the tank and acted like this for 2 days. Wouldn't eat. Was laying on his side. I put them back in a 2.5 gallon and he's happy as can be. I want him to have a bigger tank so he obviously he would have more room. Do you have any suggestions?

 

Sometimes it honestly depends, if he was a cup betta from the store he may not have the muscle and stamina built up to handle it. Was the temp the same and everything?

Some bettas honestly just prefer smaller tanks. I've had some like that before over the years as well! If he's building this big bubble nests I'd say he's a pretty happy camper! I know the "rule" is 5 gallon min but as I said I had a few over the years that preferred the smaller tanks.

 

Yes. He was in a .5 gallon when I bought him. Water temp the same. Maybe I'll try after a while or so. Yes he's happy but I want him in a bigger tank! Lol thank you so much for you're time again! Have a wonderful day.

 

Ok awesome. thank you so much then I will definitely not be braiding him cuz I really don't want to take any risk of him being harmed. I've heard from a couple people it will stress him out/shorten his life. So thank you so much again for clarifying that. If you do not mind I do have one more question the betta right now is in a 2.5 gallon. From when I was having to fix his sickly state. I tried to move him up to a 10 gallon. Same water testing. Give him time he was clenched on the bottom of the tank and acted like this for 2 days. Wouldn't eat. Was laying on his side. I put them back in a 2.5 gallon and he's happy as can be. I want him to have a bigger tank so he obviously he would have more room. Do you have any suggestions?

On your profile it says you don't know about the nitrogen cycle- I believe that is likely the majority of the reason he reacted like this. You can read up about it by clicking on the hyperlink back there. TLDR; the new tank is not cycled which means ammonia from waste builds up but no beneficial bacteria is there to bring it down. Ammonia causes burns, lethargy, clamped fins, etc.
Also- what all is in the tank? Are there plants? Any hides? Bettas are small and vulnerable and they know it- they like to have things they can hide in and behind.