Trouble Breeding Bettas

[Electricity]

I just got 2 bettas off of aquabid.com that I was hoping to breed. The male seems to be a bit lathargic from the trip however, he spends a lot of time laying on the bottom of the tank.

He will jump right up and swim around when stimulated, but then he goes back down and lays down. The female escaped from her chimney glass at one point, and seemed concerned with him, but that was about it. They chased each other around for a bit, and flared at each other. But they don't seem to be preparing for breeding at all. The male is not building a bubble nest at all (even though I have half a cup tapped to the side of the tank). I've been doing daily 10% water changes, and everything seems.. to be right for breeding, but nothings doing yet. Help?
heres a picture of the full tank.

 

[groupiekilla06]

I would say give the male time to adjust and recover from the stress of the trip before introducing the female again. Try giving him some protein rich bloodworms (freeze dried or frozen), it may perk him up a little. It does seems odd that he would just be laying there though.

The tank is also a little small IMO for breeding. I'd get them a 5 or 10 gallon tank to spawn in.

 

[rocknurworld2006]

i agree with everything groupiekilla06 has said. sometimes it can take months for a male to build a bubble nest only then should female be realesed and she will be ready when she is slight distended with eggs and has vertical stripes!

 

[Amerce]

Questions I need to ask are -

1. when did you buy the fish
2. how far did they travel (US/Thailand)
3. have you been conditioning the fish prior to attempting to spawn them
4. has the female been showing breeding indications (as mentioned... vertical stripes, slighly rounder body)

if the answers are -

1. only a day or so ago - then that is much too soon to know if they are fit and healthy enough to breed yet
2. if you are in the UK and got them from either of the above countries then the fish may need to get used to the tank/water conditions etc. also number 1. applies as well.
3. if you haven't been conditioning them properly with high protein food then they won't be fit for breeding yet.
4. if the female hasn't been introduced to the male then she won't be ready to spawn and you may end up with one or other killing each other.

But what worries me more than anything else is that the male does not sound well.

Also I never breed my betta's in such a deep tank, shallow and long is my preferred method to assist the fry and help the male in collecting and returning the fry to the bubbles.

You need to give us more info before we can really help you.

 

[dmarie04]

Sounds like you put them in the spawning tank way too soon. Your pair needs to be conditioned for about 2 weeks before even thinking about spawning. They had a rough trip. Give them time to adjust to their new homes and then start conditioning. When I condition I feed lots of high protein live and frozen foods and let the male and female see each other for only 15 minutes a day.

 

[Electricity]

I would say give the male time to adjust and recover from the stress of the trip before introducing the female again. Try giving him some protein rich bloodworms (freeze dried or frozen), it may perk him up a little. It does seems odd that he would just be laying there though.

The tank is also a little small IMO for breeding. I'd get them a 5 or 10 gallon tank to spawn in.

The tank is a 5 gallon hex. I chose it because I don't currently have the space for a longer tank.

I'm guessing from what I've heard that I tried to rush into it way to fast. I'm going to remove the female, and take it slower. I'll update when something changes.
thanks guys!
-E

 

[rocknurworld2006]

no problem electricity were here to help anytime!!!!

 

[bettawen]

1st things 1st, you need to get them in tiptop shape, give both of them time to recover from the travel and feed well in that period, giving the female her own tank is a great idea and make sure both tanks are heated. be warned some imported fish never make the adjustment to uk water. if u do decide to attempt to spawn then the water level in that tank is far to high, which makes it harder for the male to collect the eggs and fry (when and if they spawn)
good luck with them

 

[cation]

The tank is a 5 gallon hex. I chose it because I don't currently have the space for a longer tank.

A successful breeding can result in hundreds of eggs and as many fry, who will need a large growout tank (20g+). Eventually, all the males will need a tank apiece, and you will need 2 tanks for your parent pair, and at least one large tank for the females. Just something to think about. Raising bettas can really be quite a challenge.

 

[Electricity]

The tank is a 5 gallon hex. I chose it because I don't currently have the space for a longer tank.

A successful breeding can result in hundreds of eggs and as many fry, who will need a large growout tank (20g+). Eventually, all the males will need a tank apiece, and you will need 2 tanks for your parent pair, and at least one large tank for the females. Just something to think about. Raising bettas can really be quite a challenge.

I have a 10 G set up for the female, as well as a 20 g set up with other fish in it. I also have 2 10 gs, 2 20s and a 30 g on a rack, they just arn't set up at the moment. I just figured the hex would be best, maybe i was wrong..

 

[CathyGo]

One of the 10 gallons half full would make a much better spawning area than the 5 gallon when they are ready. But give them a few weeks(a month?) as the others have said.