Breeding My Bettas For The First Time.....

[fry_forever!]

Hey guys. I have been keeping bettas since I was about 7 years old, but I have never attempted to breed them. So, I have a Veiltail male, and what I think is a Veiltail female. (I don't know how to tell what breed of bettas the females are.....)

Scooter
http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=cG2n28IcnU8
(He is much better now, all of his diseases are gone.)

Bella
http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=0yYU16ZqMR8&feature=channel

I've read that it's best not to breed Veiltails from the LFS, but I want to give it a shot.

Bella has her vertical breeding stripes, and I can see her ovipositer, and Scooter is making a bubble nest....

My question is, how long does it take a male betta to make a decent sized bubble nest?

This is what their behaviour is looking like right now....

http/www.youtube.com/watch?v=YgSWDnQW4M4&feature=channel

Sorry for all the vids, that's all I have right now.....

Thanks in advance for any help! Please don't criticize! I am soo new to this! Thank you.

-f_f!

 

[BettasFanG]

Good luck man

 

[aly_starh]

Comment Edited by me.

 

[kingofbettas]

Good luck ..

i've seen your videos..
just advice after hatching you should do is to remove some of the water
male will have a hard and tired having to continue to collect a small baby who drowned based aquarium.

 

[fry_forever!]

Thanks for all the advice.

My female does in fact have vertical stripes - I can see them all over her body. They are a little more of a paler gray.

And I will remove some of the water... Thanks.

 

[flying_jack]

Hmmm. Looking at that video i would have also said that your female betta has stress stripes not breeding stipes.

Jack

 

[fry_forever!]

Okay, well my bettas have bred, and I have removed the female, because the male was beginning to become aggressive towards her. So, do I remove the male when the fry are free-swimming? And do I remove the bubble nest as well? Thanks.

 

[aly_starh]

Erm did you condition them? From what your vid says you only recently got them.

 

[fry_forever!]

Erm did you condition them? From what your vid says you only recently got them.

Not really.... I didn't really do it the way I was supposed to..... But the female wasn't killed, or even injured, and I have quite a few eggs.

 

[aly_starh]

The reason the female is conditioned is so she is fit enough to spawn.

The reason the male is conditioned is so he ish ealthy enough to look after the eggs. He is going to be alert 24/7 for the next 4-5 days catching falling eggs, putting them back on the nest. Blowing bubbles to keep them safe. Blowing fungus off them etc.
He cant be fed until he is removed now, which will be in a few days. So in real terms he wont have ate for 5-6 days.

If you had conditioned him like you were suppose to, you wouldnt have had to worry about him starving to death. He now might be that hungary that he will snack on the eggs;- or if your lucky it will go smoothly (which i doubt it will, seen as you havent even got fry food prepared)

Im not trying to be blunt or anything btw. You should have reall researched.

 

[fry_forever!]

Okay, well I made a mistake. Isn't that how we learn in life? Anyhow, my question now, instead of feeling horrible by being criticized is, when do I remove the bubble nest that the male made?

 

[aly_starh]

Sorry, just advocating researching!

The nest should be removed when fry are free swimming and when you see that none of them go back to it.

male is removed when fry are free-swimming. Another 4-5 days atleast.

 

[fry_forever!]

Sorry, just advocating researching!

The nest should be removed when fry are free swimming and when you see that none of them go back to it.

male is removed when fry are free-swimming. Another 4-5 days atleast.

Okay, thanks for the help. I really appreciate it. I had been feeding the parents often before they produced the eggs, as research said to do, so I think the male should be fine. If not, well, I tried, and I didn't know that you couldn't feed the male once he started taking care of the eggs.

 

[aly_starh]

Some do, most dont.
It triggers his instincts of prey or something. lol

Im not going to, dont want to risk it. Once the fry are free swimming (horizontaly) then remove the male asap, as he *will* eat them, this is definate. Anything swimming horizontal that can fit in his mouth, will go in his mouth.

 

[fry_forever!]

Some do, most dont.
It triggers his instincts of prey or something. lol

Im not going to, dont want to risk it. Once the fry are free swimming (horizontaly) then remove the male asap, as he *will* eat them, this is definate. Anything swimming horizontal that can fit in his mouth, will go in his mouth.

lol Yep, that is definitely true. My male, Lousy Bob, who is in my friend's 29 gal, gobbles up little guppy fry like they are going out of style.

I will be sure to take him out once the fry are free-swimming. I will get some brine shrimp eggs going as well, right now. The female is in a 4.5 gal right now, and I think I'll put the male in another one of my 10 gallons, or perhaps the 39 gal, once the fry are free-swimming.

Thanks again for all the help.