Betta Help

nikki128 · Apr 12, 2006

Hi All-

I am a new betta owner and a friend told me I could put a male and female together. They got along well but started breeding and I don't have the means to raise fry. I seperated them and now they both look sad. I am not certain if any eggs were saved. The male put them in his mouth but there was not a large bubble nest just some bubbles along the top of the tank. Any suggestions on how to keep the two happy and how to I handle if any eggs were fertilized and I get fry?

thanks,
desperate new betta owner

sukie · Apr 12, 2006

First and fore most. . .

:hi:

Secondly I would read the pinned topics up at the top of the thread like this one. . .
http

/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=37944

Hope that helps somewhat.

RandomWiktor · Apr 12, 2006

First and foremost - males and females should never be housed together. It is dangerous for both fish involved. Though you seem to have a rare exception, it is very likely that they only got along because the female was swollen with eggs and ready to breed. You should keep them in individual tanks from now on to avoid possible fighting, or even death, down the road.

I have serious concerns about the wellbeing of the fry since I'm assuming this was a pet store pair never primed for breeding; it is possible that the eggs may all be "duds." If not, however, you can expect to see fry I believe within about 24 hours; they should look like little tails sticking out of the bubblenest, from what I've seen. However, if you've removed both the male and the female from the tank, the male will not be there to tend to the new hatchlings, and they may very well die as a result. The female should be kept far away, as she'll just munch on them, if she hasn't allready eaten all of the eggs.

I'm going to end my advice here, however, since I am not schooled in breeding bettas. If you look at the FAQs for this section, there might be info on betta breeding. If not, I'm sure some of our breeders will gladly give you advice on how to proceed. I do know that keeping the temp nice and warm, keeping the air around the tank humid is important, though.