Betta Splendens Breeding (i Have Fry)

[spilz]

hi, i have just moved 1 male and 2 female fighters into a small breeding tank, i have a heating mat underneath to keep it a few degrees over room temp and nothing in the tank but a floating plant

it appears the female has started building the nest, is this normal? i thought it was the male.
is there anything else i can do?

 

[dmarie04]

First, of all...you don't really have two females in with the male do you? If so, then I suggest you seperate all fish and do more research before breeding your bettas. Your temp is wrong, also and you'll need hiding spots for your (one) female. There is lots of betta breeding info out there. There are FAQs here in this forum and several websites I could recommend if you are serious about breeding.
Some females do build nests if they are particularly agressive girls. It's not completely unheard of.

 

[spilz]

ok how do you do it then, because my fish seem fine together, they have been in a community tank for 2 months together now. in the breeding tank there is a massive plant and the male cant see the females most of the time, spilz

 

[Amerce]

Bit puzzled here, why are you trying to breed a fish that you have no idea on what their spawning habits are ?

If you had a community tank with these fish then I can only presume that there was no aggression because -

1. they are still young
2. they are siblings so are used to each other - for the time being anyway
3. there was too much going on in the tank to allow them to be aggressive with each other
4. there were plenty of hiding places for them so if there was any aggression the fish could hide

If you are planning on spawning them please read the pinned topics about breeding this species, they are not known to be harem breeders so it must be a 1 on 1 session otherwise they will gang up on the male or other female and kill it.

Also what are you planning on doing with the prospective fry, 100+ if you are lucky ?

 

[Bubblenester]

Actually, some breeders like to put in two females with a male- sometimes a female is more likely to breed if she feels a little competitive over the male. I've done it before but I kept the second female in a hurricane lamp just in case. I've also heard of putting two males in a tank and letting them compete for the female, but I don't think I'd be brave enough to try that one!

Anyway, putting just one female in is the usual way to do it, and safer.

 

[spilz]

i have now put the two females seperately in plastic jars in the breeding tank so the male can see them but not touch them, i dont see why people are being arsey, ive only asked a question, and your saying why am i trying to breed something i know nothing about... but if the fish are fine together, what have i got to lose? people that take things too seriously annoy me. we have 5 tanks in my house, two of which only house harlequin rasbora (which i bred) and i also have about 5 breeding tanks. fair enough some people have posted who are genuinly trying to help (bubblenester- whos story is the same as what ive been told by friends who have bred them), but theres a few smart arses on here who need to chill out and help people rather than show how much better they are.

 

[modaz]

i have now put the two females seperately in plastic jars in the breeding tank so the male can see them but not touch them, i dont see why people are being arsey, ive only asked a question, and your saying why am i trying to breed something i know nothing about... but if the fish are fine together, what have i got to lose? people that take things too seriously annoy me. we have 5 tanks in my house, two of which only house harlequin rasbora (which i bred) and i also have about 5 breeding tanks. fair enough some people have posted who are genuinly trying to help (bubblenester- whos story is the same as what ive been told by friends who have bred them), but theres a few smart arses on here who need to chill out and help people rather than show how much better they are.

AMERCE's and dMARIE's facts are correct!!!!!!! i was gunna respond to your question but i know that you'll just give me a mouthful of abuse as well. so i wont waste my time.

 

[fry_lover]

First, of all...you don't really have two females in with the male do you? If so, then I suggest you seperate all fish and do more research before breeding your bettas. Your temp is wrong, also and you'll need hiding spots for your (one) female. There is lots of betta breeding info out there. There are FAQs here in this forum and several websites I could recommend if you are serious about breeding.
Some females do build nests if they are particularly agressive girls. It's not completely unheard of.

"your temp is wrong"

LOL to that, you dont know what the temp is

 

[spilz]

deleted by spilz

 

[fry_lover]

80f prick

to be fair, im 18 and im gonna have a go, ill post the pics up WHEN they breed! until then, #### off

18 is actually quite old for keeping Betta's

 

[MermaidMel]

80f prick

to be fair, im 18 and im gonna have a go, ill post the pics up WHEN they breed! until then, #### off

That's not really a great response. People are trying to help you but they are concerned that your conditions for spawning are wrong and it does seem you are taking things a bit lightly. What I mean is, just bunging a male and female together in a different tank with a higher temp isn't the way to breed bettas and I honestly did read your o.p. and think you sounded quite ignorant about what's involved in the breeding. For example, if you're successful, do you know how to feed the fry?

And being 18 has naff all to do with anything. In fact, being 18, you should grow up a bit.

oh and also, if you're going to be this way to people on here, we aren't interested in your pics WHEN they breed, to be quite honest we don't need YOUR arsey responses any more than you need ours.

MISMATCH!

 

[dmarie04]

First, of all...you don't really have two females in with the male do you? If so, then I suggest you seperate all fish and do more research before breeding your bettas. Your temp is wrong, also and you'll need hiding spots for your (one) female. There is lots of betta breeding info out there. There are FAQs here in this forum and several websites I could recommend if you are serious about breeding.
Some females do build nests if they are particularly agressive girls. It's not completely unheard of.

"your temp is wrong"

LOL to that, you dont know what the temp is

Actually the op says that temp is a few degrees over room temp!! That is not optimal breeding temperature. Breeding temp must be regulated by a submersible heater. It needs to be 80-84F and stay a constant, with no fluctuations.

Spilz, you may be right. Possibly the way things were said to you weren't as lovey dovey as you may have liked. It doesn't alter the facts, though. We may have been a bit snippy, but it's because this is something we are very passionate about. And, yes, we do take the well-being of these fish seriously. What you are doing is detrimental to the well being of your fish and we do take that seriously. Ignorant fish keeping is a place most of us have been before (how many of us started with uncycled tanks, or bettas in teeny tiny tanks?) however there is no excuse for ignorant breeding. I know of noone that tries to breed an animal without researching, at least a bit, before getting started. Breeding bettas isn't something you can just decide to do and do! You can't just toss some males and females together and get babies and then have them all live together in peaceful harmony. God, I WISH! Breeding bettas is a bit more complicated than that. They aren't rasboras! What harm does it do keeping fish together if they aren't hurting each other? Well, they will be fine....for now. But maybe it will be tonight or tomorrow or two weeks from now or the second your back is turned when it will go horribly horribly wrong! Either the females will fight each other for the right to breed with the male and one of them will kill the other or the male will get sick of the both of them and take them both out. Possibly the females will kill the male. Which ever way it happens, it'll happen and then you'll just have dead fish. Why are you willing to risk that? True, there are exceptions to every rule. I know that. There have been very calm males that have lived in community tanks. There have been pairs that got along and co-habitated for a very long time, without so much as a nip. It happens. But those are the exceptions rather than the rule.
Breeding bettas can be a very rewarding experience. But you need to be prepared. It's not easy. And you need to get your set-up correct first. Read the pinned topics on this forum and do research on the web. Get your supplies gathered, get a quality pair, and then give it a go. If you have questions come here and ask. We are all betta lovers and there are lots of breeders here that can help you out along the way. But, you have to realize that if you are doing something harmful to your fish we aren't going to sugar coat the situation. We are going to point it out and request it be changed! For the sake of your fish.

 

[dmarie04]

80f prick

to be fair, im 18 and im gonna have a go, ill post the pics up WHEN they breed! until then, #### off

Well, then, I guess you TOLD us off! LOL
Ok, then...good luck!! LOL Don't come crying to us when it doesn't work out. And, no, I don't want to see pics of the fry, it will just make me more sad when you post that they've all died off.

 

[spilz]

im sorry guys, i know a lot of you are passionate about things, i just felt like some of you were trying to prove me wrong more than help me, but nevermind, hopefully all can be forgotten.

right, what i was told to do for betta breeding,

have a small tank (like what kids have goldfish in) and heat it to about 80f,(i did it with my fire bellied toads heat mat (he doesnt need it) at first i was told to put two females with one male, as they will share the "chasing", although now i have created dividers and seperated them, i was told to do a water change once a week until they spawned and then not do it as it would affect the eggs, i was then told to remove female when she was back to normal (after spawning) and then remove the male when the fry are free swimming, then once they can be made out, seperate the males.

i am also very passionate about fishkeeping, in fact, most of my student loan has gone on my fishtanks lol, i have 3 21 gallongs in my room, fair enough i dont know a great deal about bettas, but i like to research into stuff, and know everything about all of my other fish (especially harlequins, there ace)

cheerz spilz

 

[MermaidMel]

It takes a strong person to apologise and move on. I'm sure we can join you in that.

This is good, simple advice on spawning
http/www.freewebs.com/keith565/bettaspawning.htm

Hope you can follow and enjoy it - please don't skip conditioning your bettas with live, rich in protein foods for a couple of wks before you breed them and make sure you have a microworm or vinegar worm culture ready when your babies hatch plus freshly hatched baby brine shrimp - it's not an easy thing - the breeding is the easy part, keep all those babies alive and healthy is the tough part.