My beautiful male and female betta, hoping they will breed

[Fishkeeper25]

my male, Irish (Super delta/half moon im not sure)


my female, Indigo (crowntail)


back ground information:
I've had Irish for a little over a year now and Indigo about 6 months, they where in separate tanks previously because indigo was way smaller than Irish
I have had this tank (20 gallons) for over 3 years now, I do a 25-50% water change once weekly
They've been in this tank together for about 4 weeks, no aggression whatsoever, they seem very curious about eachother and they build on their bubble nest together it's all together very fascinating but i'm going to have to get rid of my endler guppies due to the fact that they swim into the bubble nest and mess it up. I am hoping to get some either combtail or half moon babies because I have seen them and they are absolutely gorgeous. I am planning on possibly getting some duck weed or other floating plants ( open to any ideas ) just to put a bit more oxygen into the tank.

 

[dcutl002]

Hey, good luck! Sounds like a great project.

 

[Fishkeeper25]

Hey, good luck! Sounds like a great project.

Thank you so much!!! I will update on here if anything changes

 

[LittleYeti]

Thats so exciting! I'd love to try my hand at breeding but I am not there yet, and I would need to find homes ahead of time depending on how many there are. I truly believe in rescuing but there is something so exciting about choosing two beauties and seeing what they can create, plus being able to observe each step along the way... gosh, enjoy it for me too, will ya? And id love to see your progress along the way if you care to share! Best of luck to you all!

 

[bettasXD]

Wow! No aggression! Never thought that that was possible!

 

[Fishkeeper25]

Wow! No aggression! Never thought that that was possible!

Lol!! me neither!!! but it is, In the beginning they just kinda stayed on opposite sides of the tank now they pretty much stick together!!!

 

[bettasXD]

Are you planning to keep them in the same tank after they breed?

 

[Fishkeeper25]

Are you planning to keep them in the same tank after they breed?

Probably not I will put my female back in her old tank and put my babies in my fry tank once they hatch

Thats so exciting! I'd love to try my hand at breeding but I am not there yet, and I would need to find homes ahead of time depending on how many there are. I truly believe in rescuing but there is something so exciting about choosing two beauties and seeing what they can create, plus being able to observe each step along the way... gosh, enjoy it for me too, will ya? And id love to see your progress along the way if you care to share! Best of luck to you all!

I plan on updating on here ther progress!!!

Thats so exciting! I'd love to try my hand at breeding but I am not there yet, and I would need to find homes ahead of time depending on how many there are. I truly believe in rescuing but there is something so exciting about choosing two beauties and seeing what they can create, plus being able to observe each step along the way... gosh, enjoy it for me too, will ya? And id love to see your progress along the way if you care to share! Best of luck to you all!

Andi will enjoy it!!! I have never bred bettas until now but I did a lot of research beforehand

 

[e_watson09]

I do not want to be the bearer of bad news but here I come....

Please separate these fish as quickly as possible, this is not going to end like you want it to. If you want to breed bettas this really is not the best method to do so, heck I'd be surprised if both fish survived and bred at this point, I would count on at some point the male killing the female. It sucks but its the name of the game with bettas. They do not coexist well....at all.

So if you're looking to breed bettas here's the bare minimum you need just to get started. THREE tanks, 1 for each parents to live in normally plus the breeding/fry tank. They will NOT be able to live together. Usually you want roughly a 5g each parent or a 10g divided would be fine then I find it best to use a 10g with reduced water level to about half or so for breeding. All tanks need a heater and sponge filter (HOB can be used for adults but not breeding/fry tank)

You don't want to just throw them together. Condition them for about 2-3 weeks to get ready to breed. This involves 3-5 small meals a day but very protein rich healthy meals, often involving live foods. Then move male to breeding tank and add female separated but to where he can see her. He should build a bubble nest. There's more to this process so I'll leave this part here and just know it still gets more complicated than this. YouTube is your friend to understanding the process of betta breeding.

After the breeding takes place the female is immediately removed. She's often only in the tank at the very most 24 hours, usually way sooner. Male stays in tank a few more days until fry are free swimming then back to his tank.

From there obviously there is a lot of fry care involved that again, too in depth for this post. After about 12 weeks you'll have to start jarring males. You'll want to figure out a good method to do this because at this point they are NOT ready to be of size to sell or anything like that most likely. Jars if no filters need water changed daily and you need a way to heat them all. You'll also need to upgrade the fry not jarred to a 29-55g at this point depending on how many you have to finish growing out.

Ultimately this can mean you'll have at least 3 tanks going PLUS all the jars for the aggressive males. Is this something you're prepared for? I am in the process of rebuilding my betta breeding set up and it involves multiple tanks, importing quality bettas (don't just breed pet store bettas), building a custom recirculating system for my jars so they're filtered and heated, etc. Its a BIG process to breed bettas.

So this is all just focused on what you need to get started. Not really 100% the whole process, how to find quality fish, etc. I could talk for HOURS about breeding bettas because there is that much information you need to know.

 

[Fishkeeper25]

I do not want to be the bearer of bad news but here I come....

Please separate these fish as quickly as possible, this is not going to end like you want it to. If you want to breed bettas this really is not the best method to do so, heck I'd be surprised if both fish survived and bred at this point, I would count on at some point the male killing the female. It sucks but its the name of the game with bettas. They do not coexist well....at all.

So if you're looking to breed bettas here's the bare minimum you need just to get started. THREE tanks, 1 for each parents to live in normally plus the breeding/fry tank. They will NOT be able to live together. Usually you want roughly a 5g each parent or a 10g divided would be fine then I find it best to use a 10g with reduced water level to about half or so for breeding. All tanks need a heater and sponge filter (HOB can be used for adults but not breeding/fry tank)

You don't want to just throw them together. Condition them for about 2-3 weeks to get ready to breed. This involves 3-5 small meals a day but very protein rich healthy meals, often involving live foods. Then move male to breeding tank and add female separated but to where he can see her. He should build a bubble nest. There's more to this process so I'll leave this part here and just know it still gets more complicated than this. YouTube is your friend to understanding the process of betta breeding.

After the breeding takes place the female is immediately removed. She's often only in the tank at the very most 24 hours, usually way sooner. Male stays in tank a few more days until fry are free swimming then back to his tank.

From there obviously there is a lot of fry care involved that again, too in depth for this post. After about 12 weeks you'll have to start jarring males. You'll want to figure out a good method to do this because at this point they are NOT ready to be of size to sell or anything like that most likely. Jars if no filters need water changed daily and you need a way to heat them all. You'll also need to upgrade the fry not jarred to a 29-55g at this point depending on how many you have to finish growing out.

Ultimately this can mean you'll have at least 3 tanks going PLUS all the jars for the aggressive males. Is this something you're prepared for? I am in the process of rebuilding my betta breeding set up and it involves multiple tanks, importing quality bettas (don't just breed pet store bettas), building a custom recirculating system for my jars so they're filtered and heated, etc. Its a BIG process to breed bettas.

So this is all just focused on what you need to get started. Not really 100% the whole process, how to find quality fish, etc. I could talk for HOURS about breeding bettas because there is that much information you need to know.

I have my 55 gallon my 20 gallon and a 5 gallon I could possibly set up, or I could get a tank divider as the tank I have them in is 20 gallons so I could split it and give them both 10 gallons and then set up my 5 gallon for the fry. As for separating males and female fry, I already do this with my guppies and I have plenty of space. I am aware male bettas are aggressive towards each other but so far no problems between my male and female, and if there where I would just mover her back to her previous tank. I could put my fry in the 55 gallon once they get big enough (well the females) and I have some about half gallon containers I could use for the males plus a gallon bowl (usually used for my medicine/quarantine tank) I could rinse out and have that as well

I have my 55 gallon my 20 gallon and a 5 gallon I could possibly set up, or I could get a tank divider as the tank I have them in is 20 gallons so I could split it and give them both 10 gallons and then set up my 5 gallon for the fry. As for separating males and female fry, I already do this with my guppies and I have plenty of space. I am aware male bettas are aggressive towards each other but so far no problems between my male and female, and if there where I would just mover her back to her previous tank. I could put my fry in the 55 gallon once they get big enough (well the females) and I have some about half gallon containers I could use for the males plus a gallon bowl (usually used for my medicine/quarantine tank) I could rinse out and have that as well and that's already about 4 possible places to put the babies and the parents including jars and containers that I already use to hold fry or sick fish in until they are big enough/healthy enough to go back in their previous tank. Also I spent probably about a month introducing these two her in a see through container and him in his tank, I didn't put her in until I knew how he reacted to her and he reacted good, plus Its a 20 gallon tank with quite a few hiding places so they can go to there opposite sides of the tank if they need. Half the time my male stays in his cave and the female stays right on top of the cave.

 

[e_watson09]

Alright, good luck. I hope everything works out and you don't have to learn the hard way. There's a few great videos on YouTube that focus on betta breeding if you'd like to learn how to properly breed, raise, and even sell your betta babies. Bettas are NOTHING like guppies so I wouldn't compare the two. Very very different fish. Bettas all the males and some of the females will have to be separated individually which need heated water and filtration or daily water changes. Guppies can be raised in a tank all together until they're of size to sell without issue. In terms of breeding fish Guppies are one of the easiest fish to breed/raise and bettas I'd argue are one of the hardest to breed as its such an in-depth process.

Breeding bettas can honestly be super fun and rewarding when its done right and you prepare yourself. I remember when I first started trying to breed bettas I wasn't successful at first and actually lost my favorite male in the process I had just imported (talk about cha-ching, that hurt when he died). There's a huge learning curve to breeding bettas unfortunately and after researching more and working with some successful breeders now I am much more successful with it.

A great YouTube channel you may like is SimplyBetta. She is really fun to watch she has tons of older videos about the process of betta breeding, all the live foods she cultures for the babies to eat as they grow, how she handles jarring the males, etc. Another one that I've watched a lot lately with betta breeding is KeepingFishSimple he's a bigger breeder of various types of fish but had been doing a lot of betta breeding videos lately and I think he did a great job with them! There are a few others I watch pretty often that may interest you but I think those at least really go over the basics and how to handle everything.

I'm definitely not saying no you shouldn't breed but if you're going to do it why not do it the safest way for your fish and set yourself up for success, To get started put them in their own tanks, or divide the one and start conditioning them. 5ish small meals a day, preferably with a live food source, for about 2-3 weeks. Get some starter cultures of live foods for the adults and baby fish. Most baby bettas won't eat crushed flakes and stuff like that so they need some other options. Most start with vinegar eels then move to baby brine shrimp and then to microworms. All of these you have to culture or hatch yourself. After about the first 1-2 weeks they may eat some crushed flakes. Get your breeding tank ready when you're a few days from breeding, drop the water level down (NO HOB FILTERS, sponge only in this tank) get lots of Indian almond leaves and put them in the water. Once they're ready put the male in the breeding tank and add the female in a clear jar to where he can see her but not touch her. He should start building his bubble nest. After about 12-24 hours release the female and they should breed within a few hours or so. Remove the female after bubble nest is full of eggs. If they do not breed take them back out put in their normal tanks and condition them again and try again in a few days. If they still don't breed you may have an issue either with your conditioning, the fish aren't compatible, tank conditions aren't right, etc. They should breed within 12 hours or so if they are ready. They don't live together long term, if you do they won't breed most likely.

A few days after breeding fry will be free swimming and you can remove the male. Leaving them in this tank for quite a while is key. You'll slowly each week add a little more water level. There's a lot to fry care so I'm going to leave it at that. Its a process to feed them, water changes are a beast, etc. This response is already long enough so I'm going to leave that part off for now

 

[Flyfisha]

My suggestion is if you want to try breeding betta join your local club ( aquarium Society) .

Talking one on one with people who have been successful with your local water parameters. Learning how to change water in multiple take away containers at the same time in 20 seconds.
Learning that you cull / kill hundreds of fry in order to successfully raise a a few dozen healthy fish.
learning the live food cultures.
Hearing of how many adult betta they had kill each other before they had success.
And understanding the likelihood of being able to sell any fish for anything but store credit.
Should you bring any juveniles betta to our club auctions you might get one dollar each at auction?
My suggestion is you separate the two fish until you have understood what you are getting yourself into. Many people have done it before and will give advice. Sadly it’s not a species I have first hand experience at breeding.

 

[Fishkeeper25]

no eggs yet but my male has been busy

 

[Fishkeeper25]

yet another bubble nest

 

[Flyfisha]

One of the titbits of information I picked up about breeding betta by sitting through a presentation on the subject as I waited patiently for the monthly auction was how to manipulate the water parameters so the bubble nest lasts long enough for the eggs to stay in it and hatch. I also heard how to focus the eggs around a floating object helping the fish with his task.
As suggested in post 12 there is a lot to learn and hearing it from people that have actually done it who probably want to give you leftover supplies as well is better than getting information second hand from people like me . Despite my good intentions all I have hands on experience with is other nest building species.

A polystyrene coffee cup is cut in half and placed on the surface. He builds a stronger nest inside the cup that has protection from dry air above. Indian almond leaf tannins in the water help the bubbles remain intact . . A combination of the two objects can be made for a more pleasing thing to have floating in a tank . A chunk of polystyrene glued under an IAL was mentioned.

As polystyrene coffee cups have been banished into the human history of unnecessary consumer waste in my country in preference for recyclable paper coffee cups the five minute noodle cup is now the choice of breeders. The cup is cut from the lip to the base vertically to make a shell shape that has the moist air trapped inside.

 

[Fishkeeper25]

One of the titbits of information I picked up about breeding betta by sitting through a presentation on the subject as I waited patiently for the monthly auction was how to manipulate the water parameters so the bubble nest lasts long enough for the eggs to stay in it and hatch. I also heard how to focus the eggs around a floating object helping the fish with his task.
As suggested in post 12 there is a lot to learn and hearing it from people that have actually done it who probably want to give you leftover supplies as well is better than getting information second hand from people like me . Despite my good intentions all I have hands on experience with is other nest building species.

A polystyrene coffee cup is cut in half and placed on the surface. He builds a stronger nest inside the cup that has protection from dry air above. Indian almond leaf tannins in the water help the bubbles remain intact . . A combination of the two objects can be made for a more pleasing thing to have floating in a tank . A chunk of polystyrene glued under an IAL was mentioned.

As polystyrene coffee cups have been banished into the human history of unnecessary consumer waste in my country in preference for recyclable paper coffee cups the five minute noodle cup is now the choice of breeders. The cup is cut from the lip to the base vertically to make a shell shape that has the moist air trapped inside.

thank you!! will look into that!