Betta Spawning Info

[Spinalcore]

Breeding Bettas

Everyone has their own method of spawning , and herein you will find what has worked best for me through trial and error.

Before you even consider spawning a pair remember you are going to have up to 200 little fry to feed and eventually seperate containers for them!!! Be prepared!!! I feed my fry for the first 4 weeks with microworms. There are a lot of feeds available to feed fry decide before you spawn which you are going to feed.

Conditioning for Spawning (Very Important!!!!)

All our fish are fed a variety of freeze dried foods high in nutrition all the time, so that we don't have to change the routine to prepare for spawning.( Blood Worms, Wardley's Betta Food, Daphnia, Hikari Bio-Gold,....,) We do use some frozen Hikari

Bloodworms and Daphnia a few days before spawning. We feed at least twice per day and sometimes three times ( small amounts), as much as they can eat for at least 2 weeks before attempting to spawn. We use Hikari brand frozen food as we have found their product to be the best quality.( Guaranteed free of parasites)

Tank Setup:

Clean tank well and rinse in very hot water. Fill with treated water. Tape half a Styro cup (cut vertically),up against the front of the tank and plants in the opposite corner at the back. This can be Live or artificial plants.A 5 or10 gallon tank is necessary. The water temp should be 82F and pH 7.2 if your pH is lower or higher by a few points let it be. Adding pH up or down is very stressful to the fish and very difficult to control. We use water straight out of the tap, and a water conditioner and a little Aquarium salt. Our water is prepared and stored for several days before use.

Introducing the Pair

Weather plays a big part in how quick a pair will spawn. I find that nest building happens when the weather cools and precipitation is expected. Do generally wait for air pressure to drop i.e.. for a storm front to roll in.  If it is hot humid and the air is still for days and days, spawning will take longer. So, rather than put the pair through more stress than necessary, I take full advantage of the cooler wet days.  I place the male and the female in the spawning tank ; male loose and female in her protective container. Now, the dilemma,..., many experienced breeders  release the female just after feeding, and just before lights out that night, or the next morning. They do not wait for the male to build nest,or compete it, if he has one started. It does not matter. Some males never build a nest, some do during spawning and some after.These breeders say that  9 times out of 10 the fish are spawning by 10 am the next morning.

I , after many bad experiences with serious damage to the female from a very aggressive male, have adopted a different routine. I leave the male and female in the breeding tank, with the female in her protective container, or glass chimney, for three days. I find that this way there is a lot of flaring back and forth and the male almost always builds a good nest during this time. More importantly, the two fish have begun to get used to each other and when I do release the female, I have far less trauma to deal with for the female.

Do not feed spawning fish but do feed the pair before they have spawned. As the pair are introduced to the spawning tank there will be a lot of flaring and showing off from both fish. The female will get vertical bars on her body, a sign that she is very willing to spawn. If the female does not respond to the male by flaring back at him and cowers in the comer she is removed and tried again in a few weeks. Sometimes it does take the female awhile to realize that she is safe in her little tank and will start responding to the male. I do prefer the female responding within the first 5 minutes and if I am  not desperate to spawn the pair in a hurry I will remove her immediately, and try again at a later date. You will find if the female has not responded by the time you release her the spawning will take a few days to start and she will come out the spawning tank pretty beaten up..

Spawning itself takes place when the female finally presents herself in a downwad posture to the male usually under the bubble

nest. The male wraps himself over the female and gives her a good "Hug". This will eventualy release the eggs and the male will

fertilze them as they slowly fall downward in the water.At this point, the female appears to be unconcious for several seconds.Do not fear, she is fine.My first time, I gasped and thought that the poor female had expired after on "hug"!!!!

During these moments the male will swim down to retrieve the eggs and blow,them into the bubble nest. Often the female will help with this task also when she wakes up.

The actual spawning ritual can last from 1/2 an hour to 3 hours. When the male has had enough he will chase the

Female away from the nest area .You will usually find her in the farthest corner, very anxious to be removed.  I remove her when I see her in the farthest corner of the tank as the male , at this popint may see heras a threaat to the new eggs, and attack her. Usually, she is okay for a while as long as she has a few places to hide.

Using this method of spawning I find that the  females are seldom  nipped very badly. Sopme actually come out of the spawning tank in the same conition as they went in!. If the females finnage does get nipped, it grows back in about two weeks. A little bit of "Melafix" is very helpful to the repair of nipped fins.

Hatching out the Eggs:

The male will tend to the nest making it bigger and picking  up falling eggs and putting them back up

into the nest.This is a constant and exhuasting ritual. This is why the conditioning is so very important! 24-36 hours later the eggs will hatch, depending on the temperature of the tank.You may see the hatchlings falling downward as they cannot swim yet, and "Papa" chasing after them trying to catch them in his mouth to spit them back into the nest.

Some feed the males while they are in the process of tending their eggs and fry When I feed I

put the food at the back of the tank ,or away from the nest. I have  found that most  males will not eat for the

first few days but we do give them the opportunity, if they want to. It is a game of trying to keep the male's strength up, and yet not inducing him to eat the eggs or fry themselves!!!

After, the fry are free swimming,(about 4 days) the male is removed, and back he goes to his regular container. He will be very hungry. Also , watch for signs of lethargy. or depression. Often he will be fine if he is near other fish, but do keep a close eye on him for the first day or two.

So far it has worked to get me eggs and my male is doing his Dadly duties. (Guarding and replacing the eggs in the nest)