Attempting To Spawn Bettas

[Sasha]

Hi everyone.

After my last attempt to spawn bettas last year which was unsuccessful, I decided to try again. I've never bred bettas before, so this is a new experience and challenge for me.

The pair that I've chosen is my Turquoise Mask HMs, around 4.5 months old. I conditioned them for more than 2 weeks on bloodworms and brine shrimp. The spawning tank is a 10 gallon bare bottomed, with a sponge filter, heater, and a couple of silk plants in case the female needs a place to hide.

I introduced the male into the spawning tank on Monday, then added the female on Wednesday and placed her in the chimney glass. The male started flaring at her and started building a small bubble nest yesterday under a plastic lily pad. I released the female yesterday, and she immediately displayed vertical bars. The male chased her around a bit, but didn't nip her too bad.

Right now, the male is under his small bubble nest blowing a few bubbles and every time the female approaches him, he just wiggles his body then chases her away. He also approaches her and wiggles his body. The female occasionally flares at him too.

Is that a good sign? How long does the courting usually last? Again, this is my first time spawning bettas.

 

[amio]

Same experience except for the tank size. I'm using a five-gallon. Mine were together for around four days. The male wasn't good at courtship. I was gonna give up and was planning on buying a new female tomorrow, but a couple of hours ago they did it. And now I've got eggs!
My first time, too. Patience, dear.

 

[Sasha]

Thanks for advice.

I just noticed that the male's dorsal fin and tail is a bit torn. The pair still hasn't spawned yet. Should I still keep them in the spawning tank together?

 

[amio]

Observe them for a few more days. If they still don't do it, put the female back in the chimney. Frayed fins are normal.

 

[ezrock]

hi. i'd say as long as neither are getting horribly beat up, leave them be. I took over a year of intermittent attempts to finally succeed. In the end, what worked for me was conditioning them and all that...then putting the male and female in 100% fresh/aged water in a 5 gallon (half filled), heated to 80degrees, with a styrofoam cup and some live plants floating. I then left my house for the weekend to visit another city and when I came back there were babies in the nest almost free-swimming.

I really think what was keeping me from success was that I kept taking the female out too early. So, try letting them be alone without you checking in on them too much, and hopefully they'll spawn for you

-Ian

 

[Sasha]

Thanks. I'll leave them in the spawning tank together for a few more days and see what happens.

By the way, I just noticed that the female is releasing some unfertilized eggs and then eating them off of the bottom.

 

[_cRaCkEr_]

Goodluck Shasha and keep us posted.

 

[Sasha]

I'll be sure to keep you all updated.

Here are a couple pics of the pair.

 

[amio]

Very nice pair..

 

[bettawen]

nice pair, keep trying dont give up, sometimes a 1st spawn is slow, as long as they are still flirting theres hope

 

[Pugbrat]

Wow! Beautiful pair. The best of luck to you.

They are correct... frayed fins are normal. That's part of the courtship of bettas. Maybe it's a sign to show that both parents will be strong.
Look for submissive signs in the female (approaching the bubble nest with her head down). That means they'll be spawning real soon. It will take a few or more attempts for the male to turn the female over for the embrace. Once they get it right, there will be no problem.

From the very few spawn attempts I've tried, they will spawn when temperature rises. Out here it's usually in the afternoon because it's already warm.