Setting up a betta breeding tank?

So I'm setting up a new betta breeding tank and have everything set up, seasoned driftwood, plants, heater, almond leaves and a seasoned filter. Well it's actually a pre-filter but it's very large and has been in there a few months and I converted it into a regular sponge filter and I cleaned it before using it to get the funk out of it but I didn't clean it to thoroughly so I wouldn't kill the bacteria. Put brand new water in the tank and now today I have high ammonia. What am I doing wrong? should I use old tank water that has processed the ammonia already. I think my water has ammonia

Your breeding tank can be bare apart from some floating plant. Use water from an established tank. The water should only be about 6-8 inches deep. Put the female in first and then about one week later add the male, they should spawn in around two days if they are going to. If they don't spawn separate them and try again in a couple of weeks. They don't need any filtration on their breeding tank.

PS make sure your breeding tank has a tight fitting lid, These fish hate drafts

So I didn’t see your response until after I had already started using someone else’s breeding method. So far I introduced the female first, they said acclimate her for about an hour is a small holding tank within the tank, then I added the male. They were instantly attracted to each other. She turned a deep purple and was flaring and wagging back at him. He started immediately going back and fourth from her to the almond leaf building the nest and showing off. I covered the tank and left in overnight. I looked this morning to see if there was a bubble nest and there was. My question is how do I know the nest is completely built

Callisto405 said:

So I didn’t see your response until after I had already started using someone else’s breeding method. So far I introduced the female first, they said acclimate her for about an hour is a small holding tank within the tank, then I added the male. They were instantly attracted to each other. She turned a deep purple and was flaring and wagging back at him. He started immediately going back and fourth from her to the almond leaf building the nest and showing off. I covered the tank and left in overnight. I looked this morning to see if there was a bubble nest and there was. My question is how do I know the nest is completely built

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Did you test for ammonia again?

That nest looks complete. You will know when they have mated because usually the female gets beaten up in the process of spawning.

Okay, first breeding attempt was a failure. The male was way to aggressive when I released her. I had to remove her. Tried again next morning and same aggressiveness. So I ditched the effort and put them both back in their regular tanks

Yesterday I decided to try again. I used the same flirtatious female and a new male. He’s a little on the old side, I think around he’s around 14 months old. Anyway I set up the tank, introduced her first (separately), then I introduced him at 11 am. Covered the tank and checked 24 hrs later. He had a decent nest. I thought it was a little on the thin side but released her anyway. Watched for a little while to make sure he wouldn’t kill her. Everything seemed fine so I covered the tank to dim the light and left them for a little over 5 hours. Checked and I saw him chasing her from the nest and then I took these pictures. Since I have never done this before I don’t know how to tell if there’s eggs. Look at the picture and tell me what you think. To me it looks like the whiter areas are either eggs or just thicker layers of bubbles. Anyway I bottled her up in case I need to try again tomorrow

I don't think you have eggs. When breeding these guys often the male will kill the female during spawning, if you want them to breed you need to let them do their thing and don't interfere. Remember before spawning any fish, you need to make sure you have the tank capacity to raise the young. In this case you may end up with 200 young that will need separate tanks or containers at some stage.

I currently have 15 fish tanks ranging from 5 gallon to 75 gallon and more experience with fish than you might think. I decided to venture into the new activity of breeding fish with the exception of live bearers. Those are easy. I am very well versed in betta breeding but what I do lack, is actual hands on real life experience. I have read countless articles and watched countless videos on bettas and nowhere in any of it did they say the male USUALLY kills the female. They all say if it gets to aggressive, separate them and try again.

Callisto405 said:

I currently have 15 fish tanks ranging from 5 gallon to 75 gallon and more experience with fish than you might think. I decided to venture into the new activity of breeding fish with the exception of live bearers. Those are easy. I am very well versed in betta breeding but what I do lack, is actual hands on real life experience. I have read countless articles and watched countless videos on bettas and nowhere in any of it did they say the male USUALLY kills the female. They all say if it gets to aggressive, separate them and try again.

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I hope it works out well for you. I am not sure what this forum site can offer you on this matter that you don't already know.