Should i breed betta fish

Add the heater and set it to Note: Think ahead and have some baby brine ready to go for the hungry fry. Hikari first bites can also work well. To do this you will need to start feeding them live food , things like: Live brine shrimp Bloodworms Crickets Roaches, If live food is unavailable, you can also try frozen or freeze-dried brine shrimp and blood worms. You should aim to feed live food every day for about a week before introducing the fish to one another.

Step 5 Introduce The Breeding Pair After a week has passed of live food feeding you are ready to introduce the breeding pair. Move the male and female so they can see one another clearly, but are separated. Try placing the tanks next to each other, or place them on opposite sides of the tank with a divider in the breeding tank.

It is extremely important the breeding pair see each other before being put together. This will help minimize the risk of serious injury. Let them watch one another for a few days and look for the following signals. Signals the male Betta is ready to start breeding Flaring. He may have built his nest. Male will start chasing the female. Signals the female Betta is ready to start breeding A small white egg tube will stick out just behind the ventral fin.

Vertical stripes may appear on her body. She may chase the male. She will move into position with her head down.

If you start to notice some or all of these signals it could mean they are ready to start mating. Step 6 Removing The Divider After the male has built a large bubble nest.

You should turn off the filter and release the female into the male side of the tank , but be sure to keep an eye on the pair. The male will probably bully her by nipping at her fins and chasing her around.

This is ok! This can last several hours or even days. Be sure there are plenty of hiding places for the female to escape the bullying. Check on the pair regularly to prevent serious injuries. Step 7 How To Mate Betta Fish Once the male catches the female he will wrap his body around the female and attempt fertilization.

This may take a few attempts as the male sometimes drops the female. As the female starts to drop eggs the male will catch them and place them in his nest.

Sometimes the females may try to eat the eggs. In terms of dominance of genes, there are four types:. Homozygous dominant 2.

Homozygous recessive 3. Heterozygous 4. You need to understand the genotypes of your female and male betta. AND then, you can still be left with many many potential color combinations. This was a great question, I think I will do more research into this and update the article. Happy fishkeeping! I really would like to know. Thanks allot.. Hello, Justin. Thank you for your comment. Fry tend to hatch between 24 and 48 hours. Wish you all the best for the future!

Feel free to update us with your results, we love to hear about more real experiences. Hi thanks for the info , love this site and the comments are super helpful. Hello, Chole. Sometimes the males will eat the fry, it happens. What you should do is remove the male as soon as your fry become free swimming.

Hi… I remove my female betta from male beta tank as male beta is more aggressive. Thank you for your comment, Aric. I am pleased you liked the article. Because males compete for a female, more focus is given to selecting an attractive male. Please, let me know if you have any more questions. I watched the embraces and eggs popping out and him catching them putting them in the nest- however I did this in male Bettas tank. Is there a way I can transfer the eggs to a tank without hurting them?

Thank you for your comment, Jamie. The male will care for the eggs until they hatch. HI i would like some information when the male betta start nesting we should leave the light on or off thank you.

Thanks so much helped me get more info bout my fish and how it needs to be breed and to make sure they dont die. It cures my worries about the nipping chasing and back to the dancing again for them to be ready for spawning. Thank you! A very good write up shared. Add Comment. Post Comment. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. So you want to know how to breed Betta fish?

If you are trying to create a genetic line, you will only want to select the best few fish from each spawn to continue breeding, and sell or give away the others, or you will quickly find yourself with more bettas than you can possibly take care of. Sexing Young Bettas. This takes time and experience to see; sometimes experienced breeders find themselves accidentally putting two males together.

Males have longer fins, however young males have short fins. Males flare at each other. Females usually won't, but females can be just as aggressive as males. Females have an egg spot, which is located on her belly; this is where eggs are released during spawning. Males blow bubble nests; if you jar a Betta and it blows a nest, it's a male. However, some females also blow bubble nests, so be sure to double-check.

Once the male knows the female betta has eggs, he will court her and come close to her. They mate and the male uses an action that fertilizes her eggs at the same time as he squeezes the eggs from her. When the fertilized eggs start falling in the water, the male takes them with his mouth and blows them into the bubble nest he prepared prior to mating.

After that, his part is done and he stops being interested. Not Helpful 5 Helpful Before adding them together, provide plentiful hiding spaces so the female can hide if the male gets aggressive, and also make sure the tank is very long so they can swim without bumping into each other that often. If you notice any aggression, separate them immediately. Never have more than 1 male in with the female s. Yes, betta fish can eat their own babies.

The father fish is more likely to eat the baby fish fingerlings , while the mother fish might ignore them if the living conditions are not stressful to her e.

Some betta fish are just not good parents and they will eat the babies regardless. Not Helpful 14 Helpful Not Helpful 23 Helpful He is probably sleeping.

Many types of fish sleep with their eyes open. By turning the light on, you are signaling that it is daytime, and time for him to swim, eat, etc. Not Helpful 24 Helpful My male is building a nest but I have no female.

What would be causing him to do this? What do I do about it? He's obviously confused. No, that just means he likes the environment you provided him with and you are doing a good job taking care of him.

Many male betta behave this way when the environment is ideal. Not Helpful 64 Helpful Any live insect is fine, but it would be a good idea to get the insects from a pet store or fish tank store. Wild insects often carry harmful diseases that can hurt your fish. Betta fish in particular seem to love blood worms, both frozen and freeze dried.

Not Helpful 33 Helpful The male betta does that because it feels that the tank you have provided it with would be a good place to have fry. If a female ever came along, it would be prepared. This is a compliment to your excellent tank arrangement. Not Helpful 52 Helpful I imagine you mean the same type of betta, or same coloration.

In this case most of the young will bear those features. Keep in mind that, like pretty much anything else, Bettas have regressive genes, so you may get a few with surprisingly different features.

If you mean the same as in 2 fish from the same spawn, this is inbreeding and can result in deformities and weak genetics. I would not do this myself, nor would I sleep with my sister. Not Helpful 38 Helpful How will I know when the male and female are ready to be in the same tank during breeding? Your betta will see the female and begin to flare at her. When you put them in the same tank, they will most likely fight. This is normal, and it's okay -- they are pretty tough. Not Helpful 32 Helpful Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered.

By using this service, some information may be shared with YouTube. Before attempting to breed anything, make sure you have a plan for the young. Bettas can produce over fry in one pairing, so be sure you have somewhere for them all to go.

Helpful Not Helpful Always remove dead uneaten food from the fry tank, otherwise it will decompose and cause a bacterial infection. Make sure not to suck up the babies in the water changes, they are small and may not be able to swim against the current.

This allows the use of a heater and filter, which will provide a much healthier environment than individual small jars and tanks. Some breeders prefer tanks as small as 2 gallons 7. While this can speed up the breeding process there is less room for the female to run away and hide it will mean moving the fry to a larger tank at a younger age, which can be risky and result in the death of some or all fry if not performed carefully.

Helpful 90 Not Helpful Some pairings never work, either because the bettas do not like one another, or one is a poor breeder. Don't be discouraged to try again with different pairings.

Always use brine shrimp nets when netting bettas. Standard nets can catch and shred delicate fins. Helpful 64 Not Helpful Do a lot of research before breeding.

There are many good sources on the internet, or you could talk to a local breeder or aquarium expert. High-quality fry come from high-quality breeding stock. If you are planning on selling your fry, it is worth it to invest money in good breeding pairs.

If you create a unique, stable genetic line, name your strain for future identification. You may have to make tough decisions about fish born with severe deformities. If they are suffering, you may want to consider euthanasia as a humane option.

Never attempt to breed fish with deformities like crooked spines or misshapen fins. Helpful 86 Not Helpful Before breeding, pick your fish wisely. If you get a sickly fish it can affect the young. Don't hesitate to ask the breeder or store owner questions. Helpful 4 Not Helpful 0. Never feed young fry uncrushed flake or pellet foods as these are too large and fry will ignore non-live foods. Fry will either starve to death or be killed by a bacterial infection caused by the uneaten food.

Helpful 3 Not Helpful 0. One may add live plants like Hornwort, Java fern, and Anacharis as they can reduce the ammonia levels and also provide good oxygenation in the tank. Live plants also grow tiny microscopic organisms which the newborn fry can feed on as sometimes the live foods that are available are too big or too fast for your fry to consume. Get books about breeding from a library and watch videos of how to breed before breeding so you can know what to do and what to be prepared for.

Helpful 3 Not Helpful 1. Some breeders provide something for the males to build the nest under, such as a styrofoam cup, piece of lettuce, or another floating object. Related wikiHows How to. How to.