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| |  Breeding Bettas
By Rhonni from Fish 'R Us®
| Things
to Consider |
 |
| Welcome to the world of
Betta Splendens. These are an incredible breed of fish. Even more
incredible is to breed them. If you are considering breeding these fine
fish, keep a few things in mind. Your female will most definitely get
beaten up, whether it is a little or a lot depends. You have the
potential to end up with anywhere from 50 to 300 baby bettas. Make sure
you have the space to keep hundreds of jars that the males will have to
be separated in to. You will have to culture your own live food, such as
MicroWorms or hatch out live Baby Brine Shrimp (BBS). These are essential in
the diet of your growing babies. This is a very time consuming project
to take on. It cannot be done half-heartedly. This entails 5 to 6 months
of total attention. Keep this in mind before venturing into breeding. |
| Supplies |
|
| There are a number of
things you need to get BEFORE you start the pair spawning. The following
is a list. If you have any questions about any of the items, click on it
and a new window will open with reasons or explanations for this item.
|
| Preparing
the Tank |
|
| To get your tank ready for
the pair, first make sure it is clean. Set it up on the stand or table
it will be on. I fill my 10 gallon half full of water. Other people say
to use 3 or 5 inches of water. After the water is in, I add Aquari-Sol,
NovAqua & Amquel following the instructions. This gets the water
conditioned and set for the breeders as well as the fry. I also place a
small amount of aquarium salt, but this is a heated discussion in the
group as to whether it is a good idea or not. I then place my
plants at one end of the tank. I make sure there are enough plants to
make almost a bush of plants. This makes it easy for the female to zip
through, and harder for the male to catch her. She will need refuge from
him during spawning. I choose to use live Java Moss in the breeding
tank. This will automatically provide the fry's first food, Infusoria.
If you use plastic plants, it is a good idea to make your own. I place my seasoned sponge filter at the same end
as the plants. I then place the heater in the center/back of the tank. I
set it and watch it for a day or so and make sure it is keeping a
temperature of 80° - 82°F. Then you can take your half-Styrofoam cup
and place at the opposite end of the
plants. I used a suction cup once as well as tape to hold it in
place. I do not recommend tape, but a suction cup works well. I do not
use anything at all now, I just let it float in one end. Make sure you have a cover for your tank. It is essential that
the air above the water be very humid to help the fry develop their labyrinth
organs. If the glass inside the tank is wet and foggy, then you have it
covered well. If you do not have a cover, you can use saran wrap and use
water from the tank on your finger to 'seal' the wrap in the edges of
the tank. |
| Preparing
the Breeding Pair |
|
| You should also be preparing your breeders. Keep
them separated from other fish for at least a week before breeding. If
possible, feed them live foods such as Brine Shrimp, Wingless Fruit
Flies or other live foods.
This will ensure their good health and condition for the stressful
spawning process. |
| Introducing
the Female |
|
| When I breed a pair, stick
the male in at least one day before introducing the female. This allows
the male to get comfortable with his new surroundings. When I feel he is
ready, I place the female in a hurricae lantern chimney. These are great
because she can swim around, always have fresh air and you can fed her
though the top. They are approximately $1.50 at WalMart. I then leave her in the
lantern until the male has built his nest. All bettas are
different, so this is where experimenting comes in. Some people like to
stick them both in at the same time. It all depends on your preference
and what works for you. Your female will develop vertical stripes
(Cambodian bettas will not show these stripes due to their light body
color) when
she is comfortable and flirty with the male. These stripes are right
near her gills and are usually a light peach color. She will also develop
eggs as a sign of her readiness. If she still has horizontal
stripes after a couple days and is being violently pursued by the male,
you may consider removing her back into her lantern. Some males are
overly violent, but can still be bred with patience. If you are
attempting ot breed a violent male, just keep an extra close eye on the
female. Also, in the other extreme, if you are breeding a meek male, it
is a good idea to keep your female in her lantern (or jar) during the
night. I have heard many horror stories about the female ripping the
male up in the night. |
| Spawning |
|
| After the female is ready,
she will inspect the bubble nest. If it is unsatisfactory in her eyes,
she will go back to the other end of the tank and wait until he comes
and gets her again (sometimes she will destroy it). She will re-inspect it until she is satisfied and/or
ready with eggs. At this time they will begin their 'embrace'. The male
will wrap himself around her and squeeze the eggs out of her. Just a few
at a time will come out. When they finish an embrace, the female may
look dead, after a few seconds she will snap out of it. He fertilizes
them as he is wrapped around her, so if they fall to the ground before
he picks them up or he picks them up mid-water it is ok. He will place
them in his nest. When they have finished their many embraces, he will
chase the female off. You need to remove her at this time and place her
in a bowl conditioned with Aquari-Sol, Novaqua, Amquel and MarOxy (some
use MethBlu). If you do not remove her from the breeding tank, the
male may kill her. Spawning can take anywhere from 1 to 10 days. If it
persists for very long, just make sure your female is doing ok. |
| Hatching |
|
| Within 24-48 hours your eggs
will hatch and you will have fry. I have also heard it can take up to 3
days. They will remain in the bubble nest for up to a week after hatching. For the first 2 or 3 days they will
feed off the yolks of their eggs. The father will help keep them in the
nest. Picking them up as they fall and replacing them for the first 3 or
so days. If he shows any signs of eating the young (this is not very
common but does happen) remove him immediately and lower the water
level to anywhere to 1 inch. When the fry are free swimming and the
father can no longer keep up with them, you can remove him and place him
in a bowl conditioned with Aquari-Sol, Novaqua, Amquel and MarOxy
(again, some use MethBlu instead). This is where you proceed to the feeding. |
| Feeding |
|
| If you do not have live
plants in your tank, you will want to introduce Infusoria to the fry at
about day 2. If you have live plants in your tank you can skip making
the Infusoria. About day 3
to 5 you will need to start feeding BBS (baby brine shrimp) and/or MicroWorms. There are many, many opinions as to which is better. There
are pros and cons on both. I have chosen to use both, but mainly MicroWorms.
I happen to think that MicroWorms are God's
gift to breeders. Make sure you are feeding them enough to
fill them up. Check to see if their little bellies are full and pink
(BBS) or white (MicroWorms). Using a
magnifying glass & flashlight helps considerably. There are many foods you can feed your young
fry, including : BBS, MicroWorms, live bloodworms, daphnia, mosquito
larvae, MicroWorms, whiteworms, freeze dried tubifex, krill, or brine,
and occasionally chopped and frozen chicken livers. It is also a good
idea to feed mixtures of veggie flakes to help keep the fry from getting
constipated from the high protein of live foods. |
| Care
for Juveniles |
|
| Care for the babies is
simply: feed, warmth & clean water. That is it in a nutshell. Feed
them, preferably twice a day. I have heard of those only feeding once a
day and they did ok, but if you want the best for your fry, (and who
doesn't?) feed them at least 2 times a day. Keep their tank at least
80°F to 85°F. I have heard people say to fluctuate the temperature to help
fight diseases and others say to keep it constant. Apparently it works
both ways because they all had successful spawns and survival rates. I
know for sure that it is critical to keep the water AND the air above
the water warm while the fry develop their labyrinth organs (between 4
& 6 weeks). If they go
to the surface of the water to take their first breath and it is not
warmer than the water, they will freeze to death . . . instantly. Make absolutely
sure you have a good cover (saran wrap will work) to keep the heat and
moisture inside the tank. I keep my tank at approximately 80°F. It
fluctuates anywhere from 80°-85°F. |
| The
End Result |
|
| The young bettas They will
begin to develop their color from 4-5weeks. At this time they can be
moved to a larger container or tank if needed. From 6 - 12 weeks the fry
grow rapidly. Especially when given ample room to grow. They should be
ready to breed at 4-5 months and ready to sell at 5-6 months. If you are
going for a specific trait such as a color or a tail shape, choose a
female from your spawn that holds this trait and breed it back to it's
father. This can be done for a couple generations before you will need
to introduce new genes. |
| Any
Questions? |
|
| If you have any question,
feel free to ask the group!!! |
|
