Equid Phantasm wrote:Wolves_rock wrote:So my male bettas tail is healing pretty well, and my two females are getting along great! I'm glad they had the correct personalities for a sorority. Hopefully I can get my little white female (Who might be a double tail? Her tail is shaped like a heart) to breed to my crowntail. Last time I tried she ripped his tail apart and destroyed his bubble nest.. I'll probably keep her near him for a long while before trying it again. Let them get more used to each other.
Sounds like you didn't have male and female prepared correctly.
For your male's bubble nest, did you have something set on the top of the water like a leaf or a thin piece of styrofoam (Cut up styro cups work great, but I use that stuff you buy for artwork, it's heavy paper on both sides with flat styrofoam inside. I simply remove the paper leaving a flat styrofoam platform. 1 piece costs like a buck at Walmart and would make around 30 nest bases.) This will keep the nest's moisture level high and the male betta will build his nest under the cup or leaf.
First, before you attempt any breeding, both fish need to be fed up from what they normally eat by live or frozen fresh foods or even a growth formula with 50% or higher protein (I'll mention my business acquaintance Kory at finsnthings.com for a growth formula, mention you were given a referral from Deb for 10% off your order. I've found his foods amazing and inexpensive. A whole half pound of flakes is like $10 to $14 bucks). This gives them plenty of energy since the male will not eat much after the eggs are laid. Watch how much he eats and alter your feeding accordingly to avoid fouling the water.
Next, some female bettas will not spawn in clear water. On Aquabid and other sources, you can find Almond leaves. Put one or 2 in the male's tank. Yes, they get messy, and the water turns yellow, but it's what some of the ladies prefer.
Next once they have been introduced for at least 2 or 3 weeks visually outside each other's tanks, you will want to put the female in a breeding trap or other means of introducing her to the male which lets her hormones into his water and vice versa. I use a plastic (Not mesh net) breeding trap in a 2.5 gallon setting with about 50% water let down. You could use a peanut butter jar with small holes in it as well but you would need a way to hold it down such as a small stone or it will tip over. (I've tried.) Obviously each breeder has their own ways, but the females hormones must be in the males water and the males in the females's or they will reject each other like yours did. (Note here that a willing female typically shows vertical stripes but not all colors do. Other signs of willingness are full stare down flaring.. no running away when the male flares at her. She also needs to be round with eggs and even sometimes her scales will start to pop out a little near her eggs if she's overly ready)
After at least a week of the mixed water, let her out with the male, but make sure there are plenty of hiding places. THEY WILL TEAR AT EACH OTHER, AND NO MATTER HOW HARD YOU TRY, THERE WILL BE FIN DAMAGE ON ONE OR THE OTHER OF THE 2 BETTAS. That's a fact of nature. Betta breeding is a violent process of nature. .
Even if the female destroys the nest, let the male rebuild it. You can put her back in the breeding trap for his safety. She didn't like his nest is all that happened. A prepared male will rebuild for her inspection. Don't worry too badly about his tail at this point because it seems nature is prepared to heal him quickly. Mine always heal within a week from breeding injuries. The other factor could have been age. A female can be choosy and not want to breed with a younger or immature male. Once they are done tearing at each other, she will begin laying eggs and they will wrap around each other and fall to the floor of the tank, almost like passing out. The male usually comes out of it first and picks up all the eggs. The female waits a little bit and repeats the process until all her eggs are expelled.
Once eggs are laid, the male will start chasing the female again. Remove the female. The male will take over and take care of the nest. Do not leave the female in with the male after all egg laying is done.
Remember I mentioned I had 50% water, here's a key. Do not remove any of the water. Each day add about 2 more cups of water to the container being sure to condition the new water. Make sure you're adding the water well away from the nest and very slowly so the nest moves upward slowly with the water increase. Some eggs may slide down the glass, but the male will take care of them. Once your tank is full again, then you can remove some water, again doing so very slowly to avoid nest damage. Once your fry are swimming around, it's time to move your male to another tank.
I hope this is helpful. I've posted it before but couldn't find the post.
Equid
I missed a lot of that, the forum I read for betta breeding didn't mention half the stuff you did. I'll take everything you said into account, and try again once everything is ready where it needs to be!
Thank you so much! <3
Image courtesy thetropicaltank.co.uk
