Breeding Problems

[TribeOfShroom]

Well after conditioning for 2 weeks, (the female dark, eggy and vertical bars always showing, the male flaring nest building etc)
I decided that his nest was a goodun and they were both ready. So I released her into the tank and all looked good, they swam side by side, flared and she swam to the nest without any persuasion.... then it went tits up. I'm guessing she didn't like the nest, she instantly went about popping it.. which in turn made the male 'annoyed' to put it politely and he went about chasing and trying to rip her apart. So out she came, back into her sorority tank, recovering from a few nips

So once they both recover I'll start conditioning again. What can I do to stop this from happening again?

Btw this was Steel and the cambodian male.

 

[modaz]

this is very common, he will rip her as most males do, yes she didnt like the nest but if you had left her in there she wouldve just gone to hide if there was enough cover for her to do so and he wouldve made a better nest with the hope to impress her next time, they can be together in the same tank for 3 days before they actually spawn, so next time hold on tight and leave her in there as they should spawn eventually, if not after 3 days then take her out, some of mine do take 5 days but this is b/c im used to spawning them now and know how they go about doing it so willing to extend the time period in there

 

[TribeOfShroom]

Cheers modaz. Now considering that my other females are quite 'plump' and have been conditioned as well. Could I put one of them in the chimmey in the male tank to give him an insentive or should I let the male recover?? (not that he suffered any damage.. perhaps his pride, but nothing other than that)

 

[StarChildren]

when i had my first female and first male together, she would destroy his nest over and over again, it drove me nuts, probably as much as it did the male. thats normal. i would think, since the male only had his ego hurt, that it would be ok to put another female in there...but i am not sure.

 

[blue_betta]

the first pair i bred from did exactly the sam, and i didnt expect it either, she got a chunk out her tail and i panicked and took her out, and in my frustrations i removed the male, destroyed his nest and began to take down the breeing tank.. before i did, i came i on here and people were like "yeh they are supposed to do that" so i huridly set everything up ahain, and the next day they spawned

as long as the female has plenty cover to hide from the male, and you keep an eye on things, its all ok.

the chunk that female lost from her tail never regrew, and she had a notch in her tail for the rest of her life

 

[TribeOfShroom]

Right well, seeing as Steel is recovering. I've now got the choice of 4 females. 3 are viable, the other 1 for some reason hasn't egged up, nor has she showed vertical bars. So I'm keeping an eye on her, just incase she is actually a he.

the first pair i bred from did exactly the sam, and i didnt expect it either, she got a chunk out her tail and i panicked and took her out, and in my frustrations i removed the male, destroyed his nest and began to take down the breeing tank.. before i did, i came i on here and people were like "yeh they are supposed to do that" so i huridly set everything up ahain, and the next day they spawned

as long as the female has plenty cover to hide from the male, and you keep an eye on things, its all ok.

the chunk that female lost from her tail never regrew, and she had a notch in her tail for the rest of her life

Did you use the same female the next day?

 

[blue_betta]

Right well, seeing as Steel is recovering. I've now got the choice of 4 females. 3 are viable, the other 1 for some reason hasn't egged up, nor has she showed vertical bars. So I'm keeping an eye on her, just incase she is actually a he.

the first pair i bred from did exactly the sam, and i didnt expect it either, she got a chunk out her tail and i panicked and took her out, and in my frustrations i removed the male, destroyed his nest and began to take down the breeing tank.. before i did, i came i on here and people were like "yeh they are supposed to do that" so i huridly set everything up ahain, and the next day they spawned

as long as the female has plenty cover to hide from the male, and you keep an eye on things, its all ok.

the chunk that female lost from her tail never regrew, and she had a notch in her tail for the rest of her life

Did you use the same female the next day?

yup, they spawned within an hour

 

[TribeOfShroom]

Right, well I'm doing something that I really shouldn't. I've put steel back into her chimmey in the male tank.

The male is frantically building the biggest nest I've seen him build so far, and she hasn't lost her vertical bars. Both are eating as if it's an all you can eat.

I'm going to give it a couple of days and then release Steel and see what happens.

*the only reason I've put steel back in, is because she was trying to jump through the glass into the male tank. I guess she wants to be in there.

Wish them luck.

 

[PRW1988]

Did you float the female in an extra cup/container in the breeding tank for a couple of days?? Generally if you float a spare container (must have a lid so the female doesn't jump), then the male will become "excited" and begin to add to his bubble nest.

 

[TribeOfShroom]

Did you float the female in an extra cup/container in the breeding tank for a couple of days?? Generally if you float a spare container (must have a lid so the female doesn't jump), then the male will become "excited" and begin to add to his bubble nest.

Erm I'm not quite sure what you mean. Sorry long day at work. I floated her in a bag (standard practice for me even if both tanks are have the same water par.) then I put her in her chimmey. The chimmey, can't be jumped out of anyway... hehe I thought one of them would try getting in or out so I devised a lid device for on top lol. Nothing but air and water can get through, no fish.

But he's already frantically trying to build his nest bigger and better than before. I think she hurt his pride after destroying the last one.