Breeding Bettas

**kirstymacaulay** · 08-31-2005, 12:32 PM

Hi

This is my first time so here goes. I am currently trying to breed my betta fish. I am at the stage that the bubble nest has been made, my female added and they have chased and fought. She now has vertical lines across here body and the little white line at the bottom of her abdomen is showing. She courts him occasionally under the nest so all looks good. My concern is that she is constanly curling her body and resting on the bottom of the tank I know she gets beaten by him and exhausted buy I am very worried that this constant curling and resting means she is dying. Does anyone know if this is normal.

**dab_20** · 08-31-2005, 05:25 PM

i am not sure what to do. you can go on the internet and look on websites. good luck.
Welcome to PT!

**Scooby4** · 09-01-2005, 05:21 PM

My father breed Betta fish. I am very familiar with the breeding process. It is really cool to watch!!!

You can put as many females together as you like but only 1 male. When breeding it is a good idea to ONLY have 1 female and 1 male in the Breeding tank. There are special tank set ups for breeding Betta's. They are longer narrower tanks with seperators. You will need that or another tank. It does take 2 tanks to breed successfully.
The MALE makes a bubble nest on top of the water. They will do this regardless if it is mating or not. It is the MALE's job to take care of the babies NOT the female's. So do NOT keep the female fish with the eggs/nest/male. The female needs removed a day or two AFTER eggs have been placed in the nest by the male.
The breeding process is the coolest part. Now that the female is filled with eggs. Evident with the full belly. The MALE then WRAPS itself around the FEMALE and SQUEZES the eggs out!!! The MALE then picks up the eggs and puts them in the bubble nest. The eggs may be picked up prior to hitting the bottom of the aquarium.
The female will look sorely beaten up after this process. It is a good time to remove the female from the tank at this point. This may take a day if needed. That is why you need the other tank. You can have as many females in that tank as you want. However, female betta's do required "air" more than their male counterparts.
The babies should hatchout in a few weeks. Expect less than 20 to survive at best. You can change some of the water out of the tank but do NOT disturb the nest. The male may eat the eggs if distressed. So I would suggest leaving the water alone if possible until hatching. After a few weeks the new hatchlings will need to be separated. They will start showing their male/female parts at about 6 weeks. It will be difficult to tell them apart till then. You have to watch out for "fighting". That would indicate male.
My father gave me 3 baby Betta's. We thought they were 2 females and a male. Turns out they were 2 Males 1 female. So it can be tricky. Always prepare additional tanks in case. Betta's are the "easier" fish to breed in some cases. You just have to know what your doing and what they are doing. Good luck!!!

**AvaJoy** · 09-08-2005, 08:26 PM

You will find everything you need to know on a comprehensive website bettatalk.com which is over 60 pages and is hosted by a breeder. It covers everything you could ever need or want to know about these beautiful fish. When I had my Bettas I found this website extremely informative, enlightening and entertaining. Best of luck with your Bettas!

**salamander** · 09-11-2005, 03:43 PM

Eek. Poor thing. Maybe you should not breed them. It sounds like she is a hurting unit. Why don't you get rid of the male? Poor girl

**Scooby4** · 10-07-2005, 12:17 AM

The curling action the Betta is doing is normal breeding behavior. It looks pretty brutal but it is how it is done. The male must wrap it's body around the female to squeze the eggs out of the female. This is an exhausting process and often the female may "pass out". The aftermath of the birthing process does leave the fish pretty "beat up". Give some time and separate the female after a day should help. Just don't break any of the "bubble nest" in the process if possible. There are eggs in the bubbles. The male is left behind to take care of the nest and NOT the female!

Hopefully, everything will be okay. Separation after breeding is necessary or they will kill eachother.

**PrinceBrewJulia** · 10-17-2005, 01:45 PM

Originally Posted by salamander

Eek. Poor thing. Maybe you should not breed them. It sounds like she is a hurting unit. Why don't you get rid of the male? Poor girl

Just because the male has beaten her up(which is normal) is no reason to get rid of him, its their basic nature.

Best of luck, may I ask to see pictures of the parents, or possibly be able to hear an update?