Female betta won't breed with male

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Emmafaith0720

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Hi! I'm currently trying to breed my male with one of my females but I'm having a bit of an issue. The male has built a beautiful bubble nest and does the dance to my female but she refuses to have any interaction with him. While she won't Mate with him, her and one of my other females will do the dance with each other anytime they meet in the tank. I am 100% positive they are both females but I don't know why they are ok with each other but not the male.

Any ideas?
 
Fish can be surprisingly choosy as to who they want to get jiggy with. They won't settle for just any flashy so'n'so that happens to glide past.

You might want to split them up before she gets irritated and psychotic by his unwanted flirtations and attacks him......Siamese Fighters/Betta are a tetchy little fish, they either love you or hate you, there is no middle ground with them.
 
Did you introduce them slowly, letting them get used to each other first?
 
Fish can be surprisingly choosy as to who they want to get jiggy with. They won't settle for just any flashy so'n'so that happens to glide past.

You might want to split them up before she gets irritated and psychotic by his unwanted flirtations and attacks him......Siamese Fighters/Betta are a tetchy little fish, they either love you or hate you, there is no middle ground
Is there a way to get her interested or is she going to reject him forever?
 
Hello and welcome the forum!!

It's best to have at least a few inches of water in the breeding tank but preferably 5 gallons. The tank should be neither the male's tank nor the female tank.

It should have a few live plants, floating plants, and ones that don't need planting. You will need to add Indian almond leaves for tannins, they also increase fertility. Add a few hides, you want ones with multiple exits, smooth, and no sharp edges. I personally also look for natural-looking hides.

Do not have anything in the tank that will move the water such as a filter or bubbler. Do not have any substrate or the male will not be able to properly pick up the eggs. You will need an appropriately sized submersible aquarium heater to keep the water at a stable temp of 78, 79, or 80 degrees F. The tank must be cycled prior to breeding, you can't do an in-fish cycle.

You can add a little cutout piece of a feather, bubble rap, IA, or extra floating plants for the betta to build its bubble nest.

Now that a proper breeding tank must are established Ill get into the proper introduction and the breeding itself.

You will need to condition your pair with live and frozen carnivore food for at least 1-2 weeks before breeding. The female needs her strength to lay eggs and the male needs his strength to build a bubble nest and care for his eggs and fry for about 3-4 days straight.

Your male and female should be as close to the same size as possible. There so be no big size difference or the male with not be able to properly embrace the female when spawning.

You will want to introduce the male to the tank. Give him about 1-3 days to claim this as his territory. Now add the female in a clear cup that the bottom has been cut off of. The male should make a bubble nest in 1-4 days. If he has not in this time, lift the cutout cup and release the female. Watch for aggression and remove her if there is extensive biting. If he has still not built a nest retry process with another female and remove the existing one.

Once your male has built a bubble nest remove the cut-out cup to release the female. If he is extensively trying to bite her, remove the female eminently. If they are doing good and the female is a darker color, she should show vertical stripes. The male should "dance". They should spawn in 1-7 days. If they have not, try again with a different female.


They won't just spawn as soon as you drop the female in, it takes time. (Sadly lol) It can take days for the introduction process and days for spawning to occur. I hope you have good luck. Breeding bettas is supper fun and rewarding. Also, IDK if you already have something set up or not but I would get a vinegar eel culture for the fry and a baby brine shrimp hatchery going for when they are a bit older. I'd say you have a pretty good chance of getting them to spawn. :fish: :)
 
Thank you! I'm going to go ahead and reset to add some more hides for the female. Currently she has two relatively small ones so I will do that. I will give them more time to see each other without the female being released and then release her. I will update after all of that
 
One of my local stores had a shipment of mostly shortfinned males sent as females. If there is display in the sorority, it isn't impossible... But if it's a female and she isn't ready, what you see is pretty standard.
 
Thank you! I'm going to go ahead and reset to add some more hides for the female. Currently she has two relatively small ones so I will do that. I will give them more time to see each other without the female being released and then release her. I will update after all of that
Sounds good, and best of luck. I'll be keeping my eye out for an update!
 

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