Breeding Attempt... Not Possible?

[Ritingyou]

Ok so I gave my friend my two bettas to try breeding since she had everything she needed. The female is ready to mate but the male doesnt seem interested in making a bubble nest. He is slightly smaller than she is so I was wondering is it possible that he is to young to mate yet? Should I get a different male for her? When he sees her he is always showing his fins off but its been a couple days now and not even the slightest sign of a nest.

She was very excited about breeding them and she is starting to give up because of this.. and I dont want her to give up so easily so any advice would be much appreciated.

 

[sausagewinkle]

Are the pair both conditioned?
Also how have they been introduced? What's the tank that you are attempting to breed them in?
As much information as possible will help

 

[Ritingyou]

She has the male in a 10 gallon tank with lots of plants (some live some fake). I gave her a decent size container to let the female float in so the male would see her without harming her. She told me that she feeds them twice a day. Once in the morning with bloodworms (defrosted) then in the afternoon with small betta pellets (like one or two) the temp stays around 75.

Because she has been trying for so long giving them bloodworms has become a normal routine, and am wondering if that is a bad thing..

 

[lilfishie]

i would seperate the female for 2 weeks, condition both with bloodworm or anything else you can get twice daily, then pop the female back into the tub and see how it goes.

My male lost interest but since i have divided them off he's built another nest over night

 

[Ritingyou]

Well they have been apart for about a week and a half now because she was on vacation. Would it be safe to try tonight or should she wait longer? ALso she should only feed bloodworms from now on? No pellets?

The male I gave her never made a nest even when alone. I figured he would when he saw the female but never had any luck..

 

[Ritingyou]

Just a thought, but could it possibly have been an issue with the female and not the male? My friend and I decided to test around.. We put the female into a cup that would float at the top with the male I gave her in the 10 gallon. He flared and shimmered against the cup like normal but she didnt do anything at all. As if he wasnt even there.

But then I brought another betta, an older and bigger one and switched them out and she went nuts over him! He would flare at her and she would flare back. Then the strangest thing is she would point her head up making her body go stright up and down. They both shimmered at eachother showing their fins off and eventually she stopped flareing at him but she kept following him as he circled her.

after an hour and a half (since it was really late and it was time for lights out for the fish we moved her back into the other 10 gallon and left them be. We noticed small bubbles along the side of the tank but nothing that could form a bubble nest.. But it could be the process of one since this male normally makes one every 2-3 days. We know the female is ready because she has the white dot that shows when they have a lot of eggs.. of course her color prevents us from seeing stripes letting us know shes ready as well..

 

[lilfishie]

the white dot you speak of is there on most females, does she have any verticle barring?

 

[Ritingyou]

The white dot on the one my friend has only appeared a week and a half ago, but yes two red lines on the side of her body which appeared id say.. 2-3 days ago? Hasent been that long.

 

[lilfishie]

What colour is the fish in question? The egg spot is more visable when eggy and some don't show it when not so it could be possible

 

[Ritingyou]

This is the picture I took of her when I was still in the store about to get her.. before I even decided to let my friend have her.

 

[lilfishie]

ah yes i remember seeing her don't see why her bars would be red? usually they are very light bars, my blue females show cream coloured bars, but then my black & silver female has pure black bars

 

[Ritingyou]

I was very surprised to see them red as well,but I dont know what else it could be if that isnt what the red lines are. They are to thick to be blood veins. Which is why I wonder if maybe she just wasnt interested in the male we had her paird with since he was slightly smaller with her.. She shows the signs of being ready but didnt pay any attention to him. But with the new male we brought out she has gone nuts over!

Also another thing I have never seen before.. she made her body point stright up head first. Any idea what that means?? Not once have I seen a betta do that.

 

[lilfishie]

normally they go head down to show the male there ready to breed, never heard of 1 going head up before, but i am only getting my 1st spawn ready now

 

[Ritingyou]

That is what I have read but its not what I saw.. maybe shes just a odd ball female? I've had many bettas before, but not one have done that before..

An odd ball very picky female..

 

[lilfishie]

That is what I have read but its not what I saw.. maybe shes just a odd ball female? I've had many bettas before, but not one have done that before..

An odd ball very picky female..

sounds like someone i know