Do you have to have a heater for the betta to make a buble nest?

Question

or do you and the heater when the eggs are nesting and were can I get live food.

Answer 1

If the male is in good condition he will attempt a nest in almost any temp. However, bettas are tropical fish and need temps in the range of 78-82 farenheit for both the male and female to spawn.

Yes, you will need a heater and a sponge filter for the breeding tank. The sponge filter will not suck up the babies. It also needs to be at the far end of the tank from the bubble nest when he builds it, and only bubbling very slightly.

Keep the male and female separate and feed them good high protein food for about 2-3 weeks before you put them together to spawn. The female's belly will swell with eggs and she will develop a small white spot under her stomach by her anal opening. This will indicate she is ready for the male.

Float her in a jar in the male's tank (no gravel on the bottom) so he can see her and become excited. He will then build a bubble nest. When the nest is large (2-3 inches in diameter and about a half inch thick) slowly release the female so you don't disturb the nest.

Now you must watch them very carefully for the next 2-3 hours. If she is not ready to spawn with the male, he will kill her. If she is ready and he is inexperienced, he may damage her. You may need to put her back into the jar for a while longer. If all goes well, they will wrap around each other and as she expells the eggs, he will fertilize them. He then picks them up and puts them in the nest. This can go on for up to an hour. When she is out of eggs, she will start running away from him and you need to remove her so he doesn't kill her.

The male then cares for the nest and the eggs until they hatch. Once they hatch, he will tend the babies (fry) until they are free swimming. After that, he may eat them because they will not stay in the nest any longer and may appear to be strangers.

A very fine powdered food is required because the fry are so small. Feed at least 3 times a day and keep a light on so they can find the food. Once they grow a little, you can feed them newly hatched brine shrimp, again, at least 3 times a day. The most important thing for fry is clean water and plenty of high protein food. Siphon the uneaten food and debris off the bottom every day. Bacteria is the fry's worst enemy.

Bettas are tropical fish from southeast Asia (Thailand, formerly Siam). The proper name is betta (pronounced bet-tah, not bay-tah) splendens. They come from water temps in the area of 78-82 degrees and should therefore have a heater in their tank. Never keep one in a small bowl, the temp fluctuations between night and day in your home will cause a lot of stress and eventually compromise their immune systems. Opportunistic bacteria and parasites will then attack them and cause sickness and eventually death. Fading color and listlessness is a sign of stress and impending illness.

Bettas are solitary fish who must not be kept with others of their species. Males will kill males and males will kill females unless the female is ready to spawn. He will kill her after spawning if she cannot get away from him. The male guards the nest and takes care of the eggs and then the babies (fry) until they become free swimming. A group of females can be kept together, they are not agressive to their own species like the males. In the wild, bettas live as long as 5-7 years.... in our "care, they are lucky to last for 2-3 years.

Answer 2

You should always have heating with bettas, just the same as other tropical fish. As for food some pet shops sell a liquid form of food specifically for baby fish one type is for egg layers the other type is for babies of live baring fish so that would probably be alot easier then trying to get live food for them if that is what you were thinking about.

Answer 3

Usually you do. The best temperature is between 78 and 82 F so most people would need to add a heater to get the tank that warm.

MM