my betta fish are not cooraperating with me. all the male does is bite the female even thought the female is full of eggs. like people said u have to hve the tankclean and have warm water... well i did that he still bites her. when i put the female in with the male she gets all stripy. what do i do to make then cooaperate.
last question why does my male and female have white dots on there fins?
2007-03-16 09:49:18 · 6 answers · asked by Szanna 2 in Pets ➔ Fish
First the white dots. Could be color patterns? Its along shot but possible. If not then it's most likely ick. It's very easy to treat with malachite green treatments from the pet store. Something like Quick Cure.
As for breeding, I would suggest you remove the female and start conditioning over again. here's a method that has worked well for me for many years.
Breeding tank: A 10 gallon makes a good breeding tank for bettas. Place in on a dark surface and set it up with no gravel or decorations. Use a small sponge filter and a heater. maintain the heat at 78-82, the temperature is not really that critical. Using a hood is a good idea to hold in heat and moisture.
Conditioning: Condition the male in the breeding tank. Condition the female in a seperate tank and be sure they cannot see each other. Feed well on frozen or live foods alternating with flakes or pellets for at least a week. The female should be plump with eggs and the male should be flaring and showing his best color, maybe even building a bubble nest.
Spawning: Drop the water level in the breeding tank to about 5" deep. Place the female in a bowl or other container next to the breeding tank so that the male can see her. As soon as there is a good bubble nest in the breeding tank add the female. Check for eggs in the bubble nest every few hours. You know they are finished when the female is hiding from the male and he no longer leaves the nest to chase her down. He will also not be trying to attract her to the nest. At this time remove the female from the breeding tank. If they fail to breed within a few hours go back and repeat the conditioning steps for a week.
Eggs and fry: The eggs will hatch in 2 days. At first the male will collect the babies and return them to the bubble nest, this is normal. Once you see that the babes are able to swim in a normal fashion, remove the male. Now is the time to start feeding the babies. Feed them newly hatched brine shrimp, micro worms or vinegar eels. Feed several times a day for the first week to 10 days. At that time you can start addig some powdered flake food to their diet and begin increasing the water level in the tank.
Care: The babies need very clean water. Do a 50% or more water change every day and be sure to remove any uneaten food or dead babies that you see. Keeping the water clean and changed very often is one of the major keys to sucess. Be sure you cull the brood. Culling is to remove unwanted fish. Remove any deformed fish right away and destroy them.
Rearing and selection: Eventually you will need to split the batch as they will over crowd the 10 gallon. Removing the females to another tank is the best way. The males can stay together without a problem. Continue to feed quality foods of increasing size working your way up to frozen or adult brine shrimp and continue to do large daily water changes. Once they begin to develop color, you should cull based on color. Keep the color you like and remove the rest. Even if you started with two reds you will get a few that are not red or are not evenly colored. If they are near adult size a shop should buy them from you or at least give you some store credit. Be ruthless, keep only the very best to breed with next time around.
The males can stay together basically for their entire lives as long as you never seperate them. Once seperated even for a day they will begin to fight so keep that in mind.
Best of luck and stick with it, you'll have baby betta before you know it!
MM
2007-03-16 10:39:01 · answer #1 · answered by magicman116 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
The white dots may indicate that your fish are sick..possible with ick. As for breeding fish I have no clue. Maybe do your own research online and by reading books instead of going off what others tell you....
2007-03-16 09:53:53 · answer #2 · answered by debcat76135 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
sometimes if the male doesn't fancy her, he will attack her
nipping and chasing however is part of the courtship
how long have you conditioned them and for how long?
do the white dots look like colouration or like salt on the fins? or like fluffy dots? if it looks like salt, it's ich or white spot, and will need anti-fungal treatments. don't try and breed them if that is the case.
2007-03-16 09:54:14 · answer #3 · answered by catx 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Dunno about the breeding, but the white spots sound like ick. If it looks like small salt granuals, you might want to get some quICK cure from your local wal mart or pet store. Ick can kill a fish in as little as 24 hours if not treated, and it itches them like crazy.
2007-03-16 10:40:33 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
It could just be that either your male or your female is not mature / not ready to mate. In that case the male will kill the female - so you probably should seaparate them.
2007-03-16 09:56:20 · answer #5 · answered by daniela_connelley 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Sounds like ick to me!! Looks like salt!! Maybe they are sick
2007-03-16 09:54:26 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋