Beginners Betta Breeding Method

[AriahJade]

Hi all !

I have had allot of requests for easy betta breeding instructions recently so i decided to post it for all. This is the method i use. There are as many methods as there are breeders so my method is in no way right or wrong, its just what works for me. Feel free to play arround and develop your own methods. Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have.

Good luck and Happy Betta Breeding !

Rose

Breeding Betta

These are instructions for first time breeders. Breeding betta can be a very complicated process. I have found this method to be the easiest with the largest fry batches for first time breeders.

I use a 1.5 litre Betta Bow tank that can be purchased at wall mart for around 8.00 I also have a 10 gallon tank set up well in advance. This is full of plants, snails and gravel but has no other fish. You want algae to start to grow in the tank and a healthy ecosystem before you begin spawning your betta.

I use a whisper internal filter for 1-3 gallon aquariums in the 10 gallon tank to oxygenate the water with minimal disturbance. I do not oxygenate the betta bow tank.

The bow tank comes with a divider and a bottom grate. I also purchase a light for small tanks. This uses a regular Christmas light sized bulb and can also be purchased at walmart. It is important to remove the bottom grate before putting in your bettas as the eggs will get caught underneath and your male cannot remove them to the nest. Use water from your 10 gallon so it is not a shock to your fry when you later move them.

When you place the male and female in the bow tank place the light on top and leave it on. The light helps by providing spring like conditions and heating the water. It will also help the male later to see the fry at night. Use the divider to divide male and female for 24-48 hours. Until he has built a good bubble nest. I will often put a small plastic floating plant on his side to give him a more secure nest site. Your female should have lateral bars by this time (may be difficult to see on light females) and you will be able to see the ovipositor if she is ready to breed. When the pair are ready to begin remove the divider. If your female is being very badly damaged. (bleeding or missing allot of fin) replace the divider for another 12 hours. Also replace the divider if there is no spawning activity for 12 hours. Continue this process until there is spawning. You may continue to feed your bettas until spawning commences. NOTE: it may take several days and often a week or more before a pair begins spawning. Some pairs spawn immediately others such as half moons often take a long time. Once spawning commences the male will “squeeze” up to 400 eggs out of the female by wrapping his body around her.

When the pair are finished spawning your male will chase the female away. It is now time to very carefully remove her to her own container. I recommend using betta fix to prevent infection of her spawning injuries.

When removing her use a small net and be careful not to disturb the bubble nest. This is where your plastic plant comes in handy as an anchor for the nest.

After 1-2 days you will see little tails hanging out from your nest. These are your fry.

Their father will care for them until they are free swimming, at about 3 days old. I float the whole betta bow tank in the 10 gallon fry tank. Once the fry are removed to the tank remove dad immediately to his own container. If you try and remove him from the bow tank you will disturb your fry and possibly catch many of them in the net ! Begin feeding fry immediately with vinegar eels and or freshly hatched brine shimp until they are approximately 4-5 weeks old. Then you can supplement their diet with finly chopped frozen foods such as bloodworms and brine shrimp. By six or 7 weeks they should be eating frozen exclusively.

After 5 weeks begin removing ( to their own containers) any obviously aggressive fry or fry who appear to be male ( longer fins, brighter colour) as they may begin killing smaller, less developed fry. When you move them put water from your 10 gallon in the container. This helps keep the 10 gallon clean as it acts as a water change and also helps your fry adjust to their new bowl environment. After 5 weeks you will be removing fry almost daily ! You should be able to sex all fry by 12 weeks of age. Some people continue to raise females together. I prefer at about 12 weeks to seperate them to their own containers. This keeps them looking nice and allows them to grow bigger as they dont have to compete for food. I find separated females to be better future spawners.

Using this method I have raised an average of 80 fry from each spawn. It is a good starter method.

If you have any more questions please do not hesitate to call.

Thank you

Rose

[jvision]

Excellent article, Rose! I recommend it be pinned! :thumbs:

[mharding4]

Im thinking I might try and breed bettas and see how that goes I have been doing some reading and it says to feed the fry live food. I live in red deer and the only thing i have seen that I can get are brine shrimp that you can hatch on your own? It also says that feeding them only brine shrimp will give them issues with swim bladder? any hints? I know i can get "fry food" that comes in a squirt bottle at petland? This seems to be the only barrier that I have found other than actually breeding them so far.

[Sprucegruve]

Thank you AriahJade for the good article.

Just adding easy food for beginners

There is a food product "golden pearls" is comes in very very small sizes.

You could try the 5-50 micron size for for baby bettas.

Or if you have a set of rubber boots,go to a clean pond or creek And collect daphnia for the baby bettas.

Just make sure there are no farmers using pesticides or herbicides right by the creek,you don't want there garbage leeching into your food source.

You can also collect glass shrimp,fairy shrimp,and mosquito larva at a pond/creek,but they will be too big for baby bettas.

I have used the golden pearls,when I was waiting for my brine shrimp to hatch,it seemed to work well.

My baby bristle nose plecos liked it,and so so did my baby lemon lime cichlids.

When I was feeding baby brine shrimp to my fry,once a day I would add a small around of powder spirulina for them to eat and I never had any problems

Edited May 14, 2012 by Sprucegruve

[mharding4]

thanks for the info!!!

[Wgcc1]

Breeding bettas is fun

[RickyB]

I'm trying to breed a pair of my bettas. I bought a nice looking female from pet smart, a new shipment that came in, but the cup it came in said female . I really think it's a male. It flairs with a mirror and really does a wiggle fight when I put it with the male crown tail I have. I did everything I think was right When I condition her/him. I really don't know for sure how to tell.

[fishclubgirl]

Look for an "egg spot" as he/she could be a plakat. First bettas I bred were 2 "females".

[RickyB]

New question to ask yea.

I had a female hm ready to breed, but her in with a conditioned male hm. He did not make a bubble nest . She laid her eggs on fri night, 90% were under the styrofoam cup but no bubbles. So I took her out sat morn left him thinking maby he will tend to them, he is hanging out under the cup he's doing something.

I'm thinking a unsuccessful breed. I don't think the eggs will make it. Have you seen this before.

[MattsBettas]

That happened with my very first spawn, and it scared me- came so far to have all the eggs die! Because the eggs were successfully fertilized, though, a good number of them made it.

They may die, they may live... Leave them be for now, though.