Thursday, April 28, 2011

How to breed bettas

1. Before breeding the bettas, choose the pair of male and female with the characteristics that you would like to see in the fries. A pair with similar colour and fin type will produce better results than a mixed pair (i.e. different colour, different fin type. For more info on colour and fin type, go here.)

2. After that, the bettas have to be conditioned for breeding. Lots of live food will produce best results in a shorter time as compared to using processed food. Live food that can be used include bloodworms, tubifex worms and daphnias. Mosquitoes larvae are said to be the best food for conditioning but it is quite difficult to catch or culture these. You can use other food like meat which are chopped up or small insects like fruit flies. Feed the pair more during this period of time. Feedings can be twice daily up to 4 times depending on amount of food at each feeding.

One convenient type of food that works very well is the frozen live food, like frozen brine shrimps and frozen bloodworms.

The bettas should be placed in two containers which allows them to see each other. Both bettas should start to flare at each other, with the male starting to build a bubble nest. The female will also put on "weight" by producing eggs in her belly. Her belly should swell to be quite big and become pale as the eggs strain against her belly. This will be fast if live food is used and slower with processed food. The conditioning period is about 1-2 weeks. Some breeders prefer a longer period to let the female produce lots of eggs before mating them together. Check to see that the female's belly is big and the ovipositor is portruding out of her belly.

Note:Tubifex worms are suspected to be sources of disease and other undesirable bacterias. Not advisable to use them but they produce the fastest results. Daphnias (Monia) are known to produce a laxative effect on grown bettas when fed in excess.

3. The breeding tank can be from a 1 ft tank to a 2 ft tank. Roughly from about 8 to 15 gallons. The bottom should be bare to allow the male to pick up the eggs more easily. The water level should not be too deep to allow the fries to develop their bladder and labyrinth properly. The water level should be about 4 to 5 inches. Place a styrofoam cup that has been cut into half on the water surface and stick it to the side of the tank. This is for the male to build a bubble nest. The male can be shifted into the tank about halfway through the conditioning or just before breeding.

4. At the end of the conditioning period, place the pair together in the tank. There will be lots of flaring and chasing and even some biting. After a while, the male will concentrate on building his nest and enticing the female to go over and take a look. Once everything is ok, they will mate.

The male will wrap his body around the female's and squeeze the eggs out and fertilizing them at the same time. A moment after that, both will seem to be stunned and male sink down and female float up. (This sinking and floating of the male and female was what I observed, so not sure if it is always true) Then the male will usually recover first and pick up the eggs to his nest. the female will sometimes help the male in this task. There are cases of the female and male eating their eggs. So don't give up if this happens, just keep on trying.

The mating can last quite long, up to 4 hours as reported by a breeder.

The sequence have been captured by a local breeder, click here to take a look.

5. After the eggs are laid and placed in the nest, the male will chase the female away and guard the nest zealously. The female should be removed at this point of time. The male will guard the nest and pick up any eggs that drop form the nest.

6. After one to two days, the eggs should hatch. The fries still have their embryos and will feed on them for up to two days. The time frame are estimated as it depends on the temperature of their surroundings. In most cases, higher temperature translates to faster hatching and growth rate. The fries will seem to hang from the nest and are almost vertical.

7. After their embryos are consumed, they will start to swim horizontally. This can be as fast as two days up to 4 days. As the tank will contain some infusoria, those that grow and consume their embryo faster will eat these. But to ensure that they do not starve, other forms of food have to be prepared for them. Information on fry food can be found below.

After about four days, the male should be removed.

To read More: http://meltingpot.fortunecity.com/alberni/501/breeding.htm

3 comments:

  1. Betta Breeding Equipment

    Before you can begin with the procedure for breeding Betta, you will need to gather all the supplies required for the method. The type of equipment required include a reproduction tank of 15-20 liters, a small water heating equipment, an air pump and air rock for bubbles and a thermometer. Place a few aquatic plants and clay pots in the tank. You will need to set the temperature of the aquarium water to 29°C and use a heater to maintain the temperature constantly. Keep a check on the temperature of the water using a thermometer. The depth of the water should be around 12-15cms. The reproduction tank will also require to be covered with a lid or something similar to maintain a constant air temperature for a month or so. Once all this is done, the Betta breeding setup is ready. Read more on how to take care of Betta fish.

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  3. Sorrysorrysorry...
    Previous post haad typo errors in it.

    I was saying that we should adapt to the feeding habits of our betta, not depend on what people say. Overfeeding will not only result in a waste of food, it also dirties the tank.Take note. We don't want to have to go thru the hassle of cleaning the tank every other day(:

    Btw, for the first point, are you talking about the beauty of the fish?! Do we really need that? Hahahah:)

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