Breeding Bettas

[Ludwig Venter]

Whenever I intend to breed my Siamese, I use a 24" tank, place the lady on the outside, & put a male inside a breeding trap..... Once he starts building a nest inside the trap, I release him into the female's domain..... he is thus the underdog (being in her area) and tends to do less damage to the Fe.... I normally have a lot of Hornwit floating where he can build a nest, & keep the bubbles to minimum......

 

[Inchworm]

Hi Ludwig Venter

I've bred gouramis that way and never understood why the betta folks would do it in reverse.

 

[LauraFrog]

^ Mainly because the males do stupid things and refuse to build a second nest. So we put the female in the trap for him to stare at (and build a nest for) and then release her.

 

[hugpug]

Hi there

The thing is, Betta splenden are not like Gourami when it comes to either breeding or their character, so this comparison is a poor one. In Thailand and other Asian countries, Betta have been bred the same way for over 150 years, so its not a case of betta breeders doing it in reverse at all, more todays breeders following on the traditional techniques of those early pioneers.

There are many reasons why a male betta may be aggressive towards the female, but if the pair are treated and conditioned correctly leading upto the spawn, any damage will be minimal.

The reason for having the female in a chimney/jar and the male lose, is that the male can stake his territory and choose where to build the nest. It is also because in their natural habitat it is the male that will approach the female, not the other way around.

 

[LauraFrog]

The other thing I forgot to mention earlier is that if the male is allowed to build a nest before the female is released, he will tend to stay under it (and if the female chooses to hide up the other end of the tank he will not go after her so much.) If he has no nest and they are both in the same area, he will chase her around, stress her out and cause serious injuries.