Breeding Bettas?

[Bluesand1313]

I'm no TOTAL expert on betta fish, but I do know quite a bit now and I've been wanting to do this for some time but didn't HAVE the time or resources.
 
I'm thinking of breeding bettas, and to be honest, I don't know much about it.
I know a few things like no gravel, let the male build a pretty big bubble nest first, see if female is interested, the vertical stripes, the white dot thing (forgot what it's called, it's been a while since Nira passed away), let male care for the eggs but remove him, when, I don't know.
 
And this is where I need your help!
I've never bred fish before and I know bettas are VERY difficult, especially for a beginner, but I've wanted to do this for some time now and I'd just... I'd love to do it!
 
Anything i've missed, or any tips would be super helpful!
 
(Like when you separate them!)

 

[snowflake311]

I have bred other types of fish and I just had my first betta spawn happen today but my male is a bit to young and small so his attempts at the embarrass were very weak. I don't think I have any fertial eggs but time will tell. My female did great she was full of eggs put the eggs up in the nest did not eat them. I will try again when my male gets a little bigger.

You need quality healthy stock. You need to condition them for a week before this helps the female produce more eggs. Feed them rich foods frozen blood worms high quality pellets and live food . Feed them well but don't over feed. Do extra water changes you want them to be in tip top shape. Breeding can take a lot out of a fish so health is a must.

After a week of getting them ready you set up your tank or bucket. I used a 10gal glass tank filled only 4-5 inches. Water around 82 keep the tank covered and in a quite place no action. Let the male go in the breeding tank. Keep female in a clear cup or something so the male can see but not touch. I add floating plans some moss and small sticks along with dry leafs Indian almond leaf is best. Give the male options for building a nest.

Once the male builds a nest let the female out and wait. Check on them to make sure no one is getting too aggressive. My fish took 2 days till they spawned it was their first time. Next time I hope goes better.

It's not hard to get them to spawn. Picking the right mates is key along with good conditioning. It's very exciting and stressful when its your first time.

 

[Wildbetta]

Two weeks of conditioning is best.  Let them be in tanks next to each other while conditioning and view each other a couple times a day.  Feed high quality foods( live and frozen is best) up to 3 times a day and keep the water very clean.  The spawning tank should be around 10 gallons and bare bottomed (to help the male with the eggs).  It is best to fill it up no more than half way with no filter and a heater set to at least 82F.  It is best to add the male to the spawning tank first so he can set it up as his territory and then add the female to the tank inside a clear container to make sure she is ready to breed.  The male will come and flare at her and dance and then go to building his bubblenest.  Coming back to flirt with the female and then going back to work on his nest.  The female will assume a head down position with vertical stripes (not always visable depending on the color of the female) and will "dance" for the male.  This is a kind of sideways sway.  Once these behaviors are noticed then you can release the female.  The pair needs to be monitored closely until they are done spawning to make sure there is no real aggression between them.  Nipped fins and chasing is perfectly normal.  It is a good idea to have some plants in the tank for the female to hide behind if she is trying to get away from the male.  When they are ready to spawn, the female will go to the nest and be head down for the male and they will wrap.  This releases eggs which the male and sometimes the female will add to the bubblenest.  Once the spawning is complete(the male will chase the female away from the nest and won't let her back) then the female needs to be removed.  The male should be left in the tank with the nest until the fry are free swimming horizontally which normally occurs around day 3.  Once the fry are free swimming it is time to remove the male so he can get some much needed rest and food(most males will not eat when tending the nest).  It is vitally important to watch your pair while they are in the spawning tank to make sure they are not going to hurt each other.  I do not advise leaving pairs together longer than 24 hours without spawning attempts because that is dangerous most times(not all times but is a good rule of thumb). 
 
You will need to have small live foods to feed the fry when they are free swimming as they will normally not take to anything that is not alive at least for the first 6 weeks.  Microworms and vinegar eels are the best to start with as they are small enough for the newly hatched fry to eat.  After the first week the best food for betta fry is live baby brine shrimp which can be fed until around 6 weeks when dry foods can start to be introduced.  
 
This is just an overview and doesn't go into all the different situations that can happen but it should give you an idea of how everything should "flow".  
 
Make sure that you have time for daily water changes, have somewhere for upwards of 200+ fry to go once grown, and enough jars to separate all those fry when they reach 8 weeks of age (some a little earlier depending on aggression) before you start breeding.  
 
Hope this has helped.    

 

[Bluesand1313]

Thanks for the help! I will definitely come back to this when I'm doing it! c:

 

[nortonmad213]

very helpful hope some day i have space for this

 

[fatal_degree]

Have you attempted breeding yet? I would love to hear what your experience has been.

 

[GuppyGirl20]

I hope to breed betta one day too of I ever get the space.