My first breeding try [Need your Help]

[siamesebh]

Hi everybody,

This is my second thread in this great forum, hope to learn from you and share experience..

well, I am planning to try breeding Bettas and I really need your help/advice

I have one betta male in 10 gallon aquarium filled up to 15cm with floating half cup, the male already starts to build the bubble nest in it as you can see in the picture:

http://ge.tt/6XlGl1a/v/0?c

While I have four females, but I am not sure if they are mature enough for breeding? please advice..


http://ge.tt/9KRAn1a/v/1


Sorry for the bad quality of the images

[Myates]

The females look okay, hard to tell them all..

I would condition them properly first before attempting to breed.

Both in their own smaller tanks next to one another, fed lots and lots of food - live and frozen being more ideal. Don't let them see another betta during conditioning, except for 10-20 minutes once a day you will let them see each other. It can take anywhere from 5-14 days depending upon the female.

Then introduce them to the breeding tank.

None of those females are anywhere close to being ready to breed, they should be eggy before attempting.

If you haven't started conditioning both pairs yet but know what to do, then ignore what I said. It just sounded as if you were just going to place them together (since the male is already in the breeding tank) and I wanted to make sure you understood you will have to condition them first. :)

But otherwise, if you can get the female to egg up then she is mature. I would say your females are mature enough to become eggy under the right conditions.

[siamesebh]

Thank you very much Myates.. I will update you with news in this thread..

Please provide me with your valuable advice always you and the experts here in this great forum..

Thank you again

[siamesebh]

They still separated and I am feeding them frozen bloodworm now..
I used to feed them fruits worm during the past two days..

Is it enough to feed them 4 worms two times a day?

Whats next?

[indjo]

To fatten up the girls, feed bloodworms until they begin to bloat - you want them fat as soon as possible. Perhaps it would be easier if you isolated the mother to be, at least a few days before you plan to float her in the breeding tank.

It's hard to tell size in pictures. I use 3cm (body size) or more for females.

[siamesebh]

I've introduced the female now in a bowl as you can see in the following picture, and feeding them frozen bloodworm two times a day..

http://img692.imageshack.us/img692/9418/dsc5007i.jpg

3 bloodworms eachtime for male and another 3 for female.. Is it enough?

[siamesebh]

By the way.. How long it may take until conditioning done and I can see the vertical lines on the female?

[Myates]

It can take anywhere from 3-14 days (give or take) for conditioning.. the male needs a few days at least of feedings 3-4 times a day, the female it varies as she could become eggy quickly, or slowly.

Why keeping them separate except for 10-20 minutes a day helps get her eggy quicker (it's the ideal anyways), as if they can see each other regularly they aren't as.. excited.. some may still become eggy, some don't. But I've had better luck only giving them minimal viewings during conditioning. They get to see each other enough that they don't become overly aggressive and to get excited when they do see one another, but not enough to get them bored of each other. And separate as in, they are both in their own containers/small tanks with something (like paper) blocking their view of one another - remove the paper/object so they can see each other, replace once done. Don't need to move her to and from the tank with him - he should be in a smaller holding container just like the girl.

Some females get eggy easily, some don't.. so have to just go off of your girl. When she has a nice rounded belly (bigger than normal), and it stays rounded between feedings then you can assume she is eggy. The bigger she is, the better.. just don't make her sick with food. I would say 3-4 feedings a day of roughly 4 blood worms each feeding would be enough. Hard to say, as I don't count mine.. I just put them in there (a couple at a time) until I feel they had enough. I also determine if/how much I feed based on whether or not I think she should have some according to her size, waste, etc.

A lot of this is stuff you will learn as you go - everyone does things differently, feeds differently, conditions a bit different. If your girl is a good sized then you can feed her more, if she is on the small side, then less per meal. So only you can really judge.

The vertical lines appear when you place the male and female into the breeding tank.. they are a way of communication, not always breeding. She may show them right away, she may not.. but once you see them, look for other signs such as head down and wanting to follow the male. Those are good indicators that she is interested and ready. But showing the bars and flaring is saying she is stand offish and not quite ready.

But she should show them (if she is a darker color) once she is eggy and in view of the male.