Breeding Bettas

[feliciae]

I currently have both a male and a female crown tail betta. I want to breed them, and I have read several things pertaining to what I need to do. I just wanted to know if there were any tips.
My male is flairing nicely, I have missie seperated in a small suction on the glass thingymajig so he can look at her and she can see him until after they are mated, then she is getting a tank of her own which is cycling right now.
I read that I needed to put a styrofoam cup in there for him to put the eggs and bubble nest under, but I am really unsure about that.
I have had the girl in there for around 12 hours, and I let her out once so that I could rinse out her seperator and let them get to know eachother a little better (I thought I had seen the vertical striping pattern that they get when they are ready to mate on her side, but I must have been wrong as well)

But my boy isn't getting on the ball and building a bubble nest. Am I just being too impatient? I keep reading mixed things about how long this is supposted to take, wether I should leave the girl free or not, even how long it takes the fry to hatch!
Anyone have any valid advice for me?

And what should I feed the babys? I was going to feed them assorted freeze-dried larvae and eggs, but will it be to big?

 

[achase]

Hopefully someone who has had success breeding Betta's will come and post some advice for you. Unfortunately the one attempt I made at breeding Betta's was a utter failure and I realized how truly hard it is to do.

This site may be of some help: breeding bettas. Another link on fry: rearing the fry

 

[achase]

This thread by also be helpful: betta splendens

 

[Fishman1995]

Ok first off, i want to make a list off all the things your gonna need before you even attempt this: LOTS of containers for the babys, A roughly 10 gallon tank with no substrate and not all the way filled with water, Id buy a fin nutriet like stuff because your bettas fin's are gonna get damaged, Food for the babys (baby brine shrimp, Daphnia somethings small like that) and make sure the females tank is on standby because this may not work. Ok now when you have all this fixed you let the Female and Male into the tank, some agression is normal, as the owner, when the agresion is to much is your descion (some bettas just cant breed or arent ready yet) Once there together the male will do a "dance" to impress the female, if they get interested in each other he will build his Bubblenest, then they will do an Embrace which cause's her to release eggs and he fertilizes them, then goes and picks them up and puts them in the nest, this may happen several times. Once this is done remove the female but leave the male until the day the fry are born.Then you can remove him and feed the babys. Good luck and remember, if this try doesnt work try another pair or try again later best of luck to you

 

[bassbonediva]

Also, make sure you have a good-sized grow-out tank ready and cycled (I believe I remember seeing that 30 gallons is the absolute minimum) and tons of containers to separate your new baby boys into once they start showing aggression. Breeding bettas is a very expensive and time-consuming venture, so unless you have show-quality halfmoons or plakats (or crowntails if they're especially nice), I wouldn't even bother. Also, they aren't like most fish where you can just toss them together and let them go at it. You have to closely monitor their behaviors so that you can pull the female out if there are any problems so you don't end up with dead fish. You also have to monitor the male after the eggs are lain and the female is removed to make sure he is being a good daddy and not eating the eggs or fry, plus removing him when the fry become free-swimming because he'll start snacking on them. Also, how did you condition your bettas for breeding beforehand? Breeding takes a lot out of them and daddy won't eat until the fry become free-swimming, so you need to make sure they're in prime condition and are nice and fat. Generally, frozen (thawed) bloodworms, brine shrimp, tubifex, and other protien-rich foods are good for conditioning.

I'm not trying to discourage you. I'm just letting you know the reality of it. I know a lady on another forum who breeds absolutely gorgeous show-quality (and show WINNING) halfmoons, crowntails and halfmoon plakats. Whenever anyone comes on talking about breeding their bettas, she generally discourages them unless they have a lot of time and money on their hands. She is disabled and devotes literally ALL of her time to raising her bettas.

 

[feliciae]

Thanks for the advice guys. I really wanted to breed them, but I realized that I don't have enough room for 500 fish when they grow up. I'm not worried about money, I only started fish keeping because I had nothing else to do with it. (silly huh?)
I suppose that I could raise around 60 if I breed them, but then again, the amount is not determined.
Thanks so much for the advice guys, it really helped me make a decision.

 

[Fishman1995]

On the tank deal you need a 10 gallon not all the way filled up, and put some live vegetation or the cup for the bubble nest

 

[bassbonediva]

+1 to Fishman on the 10gal tank. Only put about 2-3" of water in the tank.

Also, if you're going to breed bettas (eventually), don't breed "cup babies" (slang term for the bettas you get at Petsmart, Petco, and the LFS). You'll never know what you'll end up with, color-wise or quality-wise. You're better off buying quality stock from AquaBid because then you'll know for sure what you're getting.

 

[achase]

Bassbonediva, have you ever purchased betta's from aquabid? I'm interested in buying a betta from there but I'm worried about the fish dying in transport and then having to pay double shipping and handling.

 

[bassbonediva]

I haven't personally, but I know that Newman (one of the members of this forum) purchased a matched pair of plakats from AquaBid a while back and they made it safe and sound and were just gorgeous. I also know people on other forums (FishLore, mainly) who have purchased from AquaBid and have never had a problem.

 

[OrangeCones]

Bassbonediva, have you ever purchased betta's from aquabid? I'm interested in buying a betta from there but I'm worried about the fish dying in transport and then having to pay double shipping and handling.

I've not bought bettas, but have bought other fish from sellers on aquabid with no issues. In fact, except for a few of one species of otos, all of my fish have been purchased sight-unseen and shipped to me from other states.