Breeding Bettas (SOLVED)

So i have a 10 gallon glass tank with no gravel, a lid and a light.
Inside is an airstone, and a low flow filter so my male betta can make his bubble nest under the cup here.
I have been following this tutorial: Step by Step guide to breeding Bettas | Betta Breeding 37434
Followed everything to a key, temperature is a perfect 80 degrees for 24 hours straight. I did start glassing them last night and they were flaring at each other.
But i have noticed this morning the male is no longer attempting to show off
EDIT: The male and female will only flare with my room light off.
The male is in the 10 gallon free roaming and the female in a breeder box.
Female is showing eggs, she is very thick in the tummy, ready right now i assume...
Here are some attached pictures:




The only thing i dont have installed in this breeding box is Christmas moss and indian almond leaves.
Do those matter? What am i doing wrong? Anyone have any tips?

Note: He hangs out around the cup alot but i have yet to see him build his bubble nest.

 

Tannin is very good at getting them in the mood. I think adding dead/dried oak leaves or IAL may do the trick.

If you are able, add some live plants of some sort. Floating plants are pretty great for betta nesting, also helps the dad keep the fry up when they hatch.

 

Tannin is very good at getting them in the mood. I think adding dead/dried oak leaves or IAL may do the trick.

If you are able, add some live plants of some sort. Floating plants are pretty great for betta nesting, also helps the dad keep the fry up when they hatch.

What is Tannin and IAL? Never heard of it.
And as for oak leaves, i have some in my backyard that are dead/dried, would that work?
I have moved 2 live plants from my 30 gallon to this one. Hes very bright in colors and keeps swimming near the female. The female keeps going to whatever side hes on. On a very important side note, as soon as i turned my room lights off and left the tank light on they started flaring at each other again. He has yet to build a nest though.
Some more attached pictures:


Photo of my little guy flaring at his girl(Would only do this with the room light off):

 

Tannin is the brown stuff that leaches out from organics like wood and leaves. It's present in their natural habitat and is often used to induce spawning in fish that live in soft/acidic water. Grab around 6 dried oak leaves, rinse them off and toss them in the tank. The male may build a nest under the floating leaves and after a couple days you should see the water being tinted brown.

To cover other basics, what is the temp and do you have live food cultures ready for future fry? I learned the hard way the first few times I tried breeding bettas. Thought I could make do with liquid fry food and boiled egg yolk but no such luck. They simply must have live foods.

I suggest you do some more reading up on tannin and bettas, they love the stuff and it's good for their health.

 

Tannin is the brown stuff that leaches out from organics like wood and leaves. It's present in their natural habitat and is often used to induce spawning in fish that live in soft/acidic water. Grab around 6 dried oak leaves, rinse them off and toss them in the tank. The male may build a nest under the floating leaves and after a couple days you should see the water being tinted brown.

To cover other basics, what is the temp and do you have live food cultures ready for future fry? I learned the hard way the first few times I tried breeding bettas. Thought I could make do with liquid fry food and boiled egg yolk but no such luck. They simply must have live foods.

I suggest you do some more reading up on tannin and bettas, they love the stuff and it's good for their health.

I will grab some leaves and clean them. The temperature is Allways at 80 degrees F.
As for food i have never done this, so no. Should i google some food ideas? Do you have any?
And yes i will research tannin and bettas. Do the leaves im putting in the water have tannin in them?

 

Tannin will be released as the leaves soak in the tank. I use an assortment of botanicals like acorn caps, alder cones, oak leaves, IAL, and teak leaves. Some I collected some I bought. Just make sure there are no pesticides being used around where you collect.

If you don't have first foods prepared before the fry are free swimming then most the fry will likely end up starving to death. I use micro worms (culture bought online) and freshly hatched baby brine shrimp (eggs bought off ebay). Some people also use infusoria cultures but I do fine with without it.

I think you best wait on breeding them until you have live food ready to go. The live plants and oak leaves will provide some infusoria in the breeding tank but not enough for a whole spawn of bettas.

 

Tannin will be released as the leaves soak in the tank. I use an assortment of botanicals like acorn caps, alder cones, oak leaves, IAL, and teak leaves. Some I collected some I bought. Just make sure there are no pesticides being used around where you collect.

If you don't have first foods prepared before the fry are free swimming then most the fry will likely end up starving to death. I use micro worms (culture bought online) and freshly hatched baby brine shrimp (eggs bought off ebay). Some people also use infusoria cultures but I do fine with without it.

I think you best wait on breeding them until you have live food ready to go. The live plants and oak leaves will provide some infusoria in the breeding tank but not enough for a whole spawn of bettas.

I have just purchased 1 OZ Matured Microworm Culture from ebay for $4 with free shipping. They will be here on may 8th. I will get the environment healthy and then go from there. It says it includes instructions on how to get your microworm colony growing. Do you have any tips on that? Thanks, you have been so helpfull

 

For now i have moved my Betta male back to his 30 gallon tank and removed the female from isolation so she can free roam. I have put this on hold until my microworm cultures get here.

 

I have just purchased 1 OZ Matured Microworm Culture from ebay for $4 with free shipping. They will be here on may 8th. I will get the environment healthy and then go from there. It says it includes instructions on how to get your microworm colony growing. Do you have any tips on that? Thanks, you have been so helpfull

When I need to restart by culture I get a clean container (I use betta cups) and fill it about half full of dry oatmeal. I use warm water and stir it up till is a good, slightly watery consistency. Add a pinch of yeast then add a spoonful of the old cultured smeared on the top. Put the lid on and wait a few days until they start crawling up the sides.

About once a month you should restart a culture. If you keep them in a warmer area they grow faster.

 

Hello!
I recently successfully bred a betta pair of mine a few days ago.

There are a few things that will greatly increase your success.

1) Watch LOTS of videos on betta breeding, Lifewithpets on YouTube as well as Creative Pet Keeping have some really excellent ones. Simply Betta is also a great YouTube resource.

2) Already have your culture producing plenty of microworms- make sure you have baby brine shrimp as well.
Keep in mind that feeding too many microworms can result in betta fry without ventrel fins, and feeding too many bbs can result in swim bladder problems.

3) I agree with many previous posts, tannins are really a must.
In my opinion as are live plants, like guppy grass or hornwort. Not only do they help with water quality but they also give the female places to hide.

4) Some can get away with introducing the pair for only 24 hours but I’ve found 5 days is a much better period, and reduces the risk of biting during mating.

5) Zero water flow at the surface is best, completely still water will help your betta build a better nest.

6) conditioning. The most important step. It is best to condition with live foods, although possible to do so without.
Condition for 1-2 weeks. I condition with freeze-dried bloodworms, a high quality pellet, freeze dried tubifex, and egg yolk.

7) I have found that Bettas prefer relative darkness to spawn. Keep the light low and their surroundings dark- another thing that tannins help with.

8) Do research on various sites, watch as many videos as you can find, probably best to go through other’s betta breeding threads on fishlore as well.

-
The reason your male may not be showing off to the female might be because he does not feel his environment suitable to breed in, or because he hasn’t been conditioned enough.
betta Breeding takes lots of money, and lots of patience.

my spawning set-up looks like this, which is way more heavily planted than most prefer, but it’s just what I found works efficiently.

It is currently holding a large spawn of 4 day old fry.
The water is heavy with tannins, there was plenty of hiding spots for the female, the sponge filter is running in such a way where there isn’t much water flow.

I wish you the best of luck, but my suggestion would be to condition more, add tannins and some plants to the breeding tank, and than try again.

 

Hello!
I recently successfully bred a betta pair of mine a few days ago.

There are a few things that will greatly increase your success.

1) Watch LOTS of videos on betta breeding, Lifewithpets on YouTube as well as Creative Pet Keeping have some really excellent ones. Simply Betta is also a great YouTube resource.

2) Already have your culture producing plenty of microworms- make sure you have baby brine shrimp as well.
Keep in mind that feeding too many microworms can result in betta fry without ventrel fins, and feeding too many bbs can result in swim bladder problems.

3) I agree with many previous posts, tannins are really a must.
In my opinion as are live plants, like guppy grass or hornwort. Not only do they help with water quality but they also give the female places to hide.

4) Some can get away with introducing the pair for only 24 hours but I’ve found 5 days is a much better period, and reduces the risk of biting during mating.

5) Zero water flow at the surface is best, completely still water will help your betta build a better nest.

6) conditioning. The most important step. It is best to condition with live foods, although possible to do so without.
Condition for 1-2 weeks. I condition with freeze-dried bloodworms, a high quality pellet, freeze dried tubifex, and egg yolk.

7) I have found that Bettas prefer relative darkness to spawn. Keep the light low and their surroundings dark- another thing that tannins help with.

8) Do research on various sites, watch as many videos as you can find, probably best to go through other’s betta breeding threads on fishlore as well.

-
The reason your male may not be showing off to the female might be because he does not feel his environment suitable to breed in, or because he hasn’t been conditioned enough.
betta Breeding takes lots of money, and lots of patience.

my spawning set-up looks like this, which is way more heavily planted than most prefer, but it’s just what I found works efficiently.
View attachment 687345 It is currently holding a large spawn of 4 day old fry.
The water is heavy with tannins, there was plenty of hiding spots for the female, the sponge filter is running in such a way where there isn’t much water flow.

I wish you the best of luck, but my suggestion would be to separate the pair, condition more, add tannins and some plants to the breeding tank, and than try again.

Thats a very nice looking spawn tank. I just threw some floating plants and washed/dried oak leaves in my tank setup.
I am waiting on my microworm culture to get here. By the 10th of next month i should have a good microworm colony setup going. My LFS sells baby brine shrimp eggs. Do i need to buy a 5 gallon tank or something to hatch my shrimp eggs in? I plan on conditioning with freeze dried Mysis, Daphnia, and bloodworm.(A little snack kit my LFS sells)

 

When I need to restart by culture I get a clean container (I use betta cups) and fill it about half full of dry oatmeal. I use warm water and stir it up till is a good, slightly watery consistency. Add a pinch of yeast then add a spoonful of the old cultured smeared on the top. Put the lid on and wait a few days until they start crawling up the sides.

About once a month you should restart a culture. If you keep them in a warmer area they grow faster.

Sounds like i need to get some oatmeal and plastic cups, Thank you!

 

Thats a very nice looking spawn tank. I just threw some floating plants and washed/dried oak leaves in my tank setup.
I am waiting on my microworm culture to get here. By the 10th of next month i should have a good microworm colony setup going. My LFS sells baby brine shrimp eggs. Do i need to buy a 5 gallon tank or something to hatch my shrimp eggs in? I plan on conditioning with freeze dried Mysis, Daphnia, and bloodworm.(A little snack kit my LFS sells)

Brine shrimp eggs are very easy to hatch, don’t worry! I use a soda bottle, cut the very top off and set it inversed in the bottom half of the bottle.
you put the piece of airline tubing (bbs eggs need constant movement) through the bottle opening.
Keep a light on it, and the water should be warm- I just put warm water in and keep it in a fairly warm room.
Just add some salt, baking soda, and bbs cysts to the water, turn on the air pump, and you’re good to go!

I have it running now with some eggs but let me try and get a picture.

 

Brine shrimp eggs are very easy to hatch, don’t worry! I use a soda bottle, cut the very top off and set it inversed in the bottom half of the bottle.
you put the piece of airline tubing (bbs eggs need constant movement) through the bottle opening.
Keep a light on it, and the water should be warm- I just put warm water in and keep it in a fairly warm room.
Just add some salt, baking soda, and bbs cysts to the water, turn on the air pump, and you’re good to go!

I have it running now with some eggs but let me try and get a picture.
View attachment 687356View attachment 687358

So i want to use this method. But i have a few questions:
1. When you say keep a light on it, do you mean just a light?
2. I could put warm water in the bottle, but my room where the fish are at gets to under 60 degrees at night. I use heaters in the fish tank. How do you keep yours warm?
3. So you just toss the eggs in there after you put in salt and baking soda? If so how much salt and baking soda should i use?

Thank you so much if you can answer these questions.

 

So i want to use this method. But i have a few questions:
1. When you say keep a light on it, do you mean just a light?
2. I could put warm water in the bottle, but my room where the fish are at gets to under 60 degrees at night. I use heaters in the fish tank. How do you keep yours warm?
3. So you just toss the eggs in there after you put in salt and baking soda? If so how much salt and baking soda should i use?

Thank you so much if you can answer these questions.

1) I use a desk lamp, seeing as my bedroom doubles as my fishroom and it’s easy to cover the desk lamp at night so the light doesn’t keep me awake.
2) My room stays warm enough (partly because of my horrible windows that let the heat in lol) to where I don’t have to use a heater. the eggs will still hatch if not kept super warm, they will just take a bit longer. You can even wrap the bottle in towels or something to keep the heat in, I did that last winter and it worked well.
3) This is the instructions I follow for mine: Hatching Brine Shrimp Eggs
Just mix the baking soda and salt into the water than you can just toss the eggs in.

Hope this helped!!

 

1) I use a desk lamp, seeing as my bedroom doubles as my fishroom and it’s easy to cover the desk lamp at night so the light doesn’t keep me awake.
2) My room stays warm enough (partly because of my horrible windows that let the heat in lol) to where I don’t have to use a heater. the eggs will still hatch if not kept super warm, they will just take a bit longer. You can even wrap the bottle in towels or something to keep the heat in, I did that last winter and it worked well.
3) This is the instructions I follow for mine: Hatching Brine Shrimp Eggs
Just mix the baking soda and salt into the water than you can just toss the eggs in.

Hope this helped!!

Thanks so much that was more than helpfull!

Demeter One last question i did have was i plan on throwing most of the females that spawn in my 30 gallon tank, at least 6 of them(as long as they get along) and then the male betta would have to live in the 10 gallon until i get rid of the females. But as for the remaining females and males that spawn, im just going to put them in betta cups. How many fry should i be expecting to care for? I plan on trying to trade them to some of my LFS's for credit or giving them away for at least $1 each so people dont use them for feeder fish. My biggest question here is, how do you seperate them?

 

If you cull fry that have obvious problems (spine deformities, swim bladder issues, runty etc) and seeing as this is your first batch, I’d guess less than 50. For small spawns I use breeder baskets for the males, larger spawns I’ve used a big tote that was heated and floated mason jars in it.

 

If you cull fry that have obvious problems (spine deformities, swim bladder issues, runty etc) and seeing as this is your first batch, I’d guess less than 50. For small spawns I use breeder baskets for the males, larger spawns I’ve used a big tote that was heated and floated mason jars in it.

I use basically the same set-up, although I like to keep the bigger males in these one-gal plastic containers.
Clear PET Round Wide-Mouth Plastic Jars - 1 Gallon S-18077 - Uline

 

I use basically the same set-up, although I like to keep the bigger males in these one-gal plastic containers.
Clear PET Round Wide-Mouth Plastic Jars - 1 Gallon S-18077 - Uline

I ordered 48 clear glass 32oz mason jars to be prepared. I felt these were decent size.
I plan on keeping them in there until i find them homes. I don't plan on keeping them in the long run. If i do keep any it will only be the breeder pairs, and i would keep those in real tanks. These jars should help me with breeding my guppies also. Cause females have to be seperated of course.
Tomorrow my shopping list is:
- Oatmeal for microworm colony
- Pickup my mason jar order
- 2 litre of sprite to make brine shrimp home.
- Get brine shrimp eggs from my LFS
- Get betta conditioning snack kit from LFS
- Air hose splitter to provide air to the brine shrimp's from LFS

Thank you so much for the information both of you. It feels good only having to spend about $100 to start breeding

 

So i got most of my stuff today.
Managed to pickup everything i needed for breeding and feeding fry.
Thanks so much for the advice everyone. I am going to start my microworm colony and start hatching my brine shrimp to get prepared!

 

So i got most of my stuff today.
Managed to pickup everything i needed for breeding and feeding fry.
Thanks so much for the advice everyone. I am going to start my microworm colony and start hatching my brine shrimp to get prepared!

Awesome! I’m excited to hear how it goes.