Betta breeding

[Erica27]

hello, I am new to betta breeding but I have done ALOT of research on it and watched many many videos. I have them both in my ten gallon with the female in a pepret container. I put them both in last night and he has already made a very big bubble nest. But I’m waiting on her to get the stripes. She is showing a lot of interest in him but I’m just not sure if she is ready. Any help?

 

[Colin_T]

Have you got food for the babies?
The following link has information about making live food for baby fish. You should try to get the food ready before you breed the fish so the babies have something to eat when they hatch.
http://www.fishforums.net/threads/back-to-basics-when-breeding-fish.448304/

Betta fry are small and need green water or infusoria. If you can't get these you can hard boil an egg. Remove the shell and white part. Push the yellow yolk through a handkerchief into a small container of dechlorinated water. Put the lid on the container and shake it up, then use an eye dropper to suck some of the egg yolk solution out and put it in the tank with the babies. Do this 3-5 times per day for the first 2 weeks then start adding newly hatched brineshrimp.

Boil another egg each day and make a new solution each day. Do regular partial water changes on the fry tank or have a small air operated sponge filter in it to keep the water clean. The egg yolk can cause ammonia levels to go up and without water changes or a filter the fry will die from polluted water.

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Make sure you feed the adults fish well for 2-4 weeks before breeding. I use to feed my breeding stock 3-5 times per day with dry, frozen (but defrosted) and live foods. Do big water changes each day or every couple of days to compensate for the extra food going into the tank. Don't breed the fish until they have been well fed for at least 2 weeks and preferably 4 weeks.

The male will build his bubblenest and if the male can see the female he will start displaying to her. When you see him showing off to her you can release her from the trap and monitor them. If the male bashes the female get her out immediately, otherwise leave them together for a day or so. If the tank is big enough and has lots of plants in the female can sometimes stay with the male after breeding, but most people remove the female after breeding and let the male take care of the eggs and fry.

 

[NickAu]

How and where are you going to house the fry in about 8 weeks especially the males?

• For the first three days after becoming free-swimming the fry will need very miniscule foods. Infusoria and tiny free-living nematodes like Vinegar Eels, Microworms, Banana Worms, and Walter Worms make great first foods.
• After 3 days they will be large enough to also start feeding on baby brine shrimp.
• After a week continue to feed baby brine shrimp, but feeding the tiny nematodes will no longer offer any nutritional value.
• At 3-4 weeks continue to feed baby brine shrimp, but you can also introduce finely grated frozen foods. Frozen Bloodworms and frozen Daphnia work great. The Hikari brand is a good choice because their frozen foods have vitamins added before packaging and the food goes through a strict parasite decontamination process.
• At 4-5 weeks you can keep feeding brine shrimp, but you can also introduce live Blackworms. These are aquatic worms and are great because they will live in the tank until they are eaten. Grindal Worms are also a good food that can be introduced at this time. Brine Shrimp, Blackworms, and Grindal Worms can all be fed to adult bettas as well.
• At about 8-9 weeks the fry are starting to mature. Live Brine Shrimp and Bloodworms are still ideal foods, along with frozen foods. At this time dry foods can also be introduced.

As they become larger sized and are readily eating dry foods the number of feedings can be reduced. Feeding them once a day will be okay, but feeding twice a day is best until they are fully grown.