I have a male betta and a female betta. I want to breed them. My male built a bubble nest but the female does not have vertical stripes. Can the male and female still breed?
2007-05-08 11:47:58 · 4 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Fish
Yes, they can. Not all females develop the stripes when they are ready to breed. The best sign to look for it a plump full belly and an egg spot. That's a small whitish lump under the belly of the female. Here's how I do it:
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 separate 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 adding 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 success. 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 separate them. Once separated 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 bettas before you know it!
MM
2007-05-08 11:56:50 · answer #1 · answered by magicman116 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
They could if she wanted him as a mate or she was ready to mate. There is a lot more to courtship than building a nest.
You need the right temp (24oC I find best), right water parameters (use peat filtration), low filter current, LOTS of hiding places, floating plants or something. That is the start.
Oh yes, and water less than 6 inches deep, but minimum of 5 gallons.
If after you do all that they are still not interested, they just might not be ready or willing to mate with each other. Would you want to have sex with any random man you were forced to live with?
2007-05-08 20:53:33 · answer #2 · answered by Noota Oolah 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Iv'e heard that betta don't breed because they don't get along.
The female will have babies by its'self and without the betta.
2007-05-08 18:57:24 · answer #3 · answered by eddie st swimmer 2 · 0⤊ 2⤋
maybe...give it some time....
and if they do breed....take the eggs away from the parents...they'll want to eat them
2007-05-08 18:55:20 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋