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Female has verticals, but hides from male?

10K views 91 replies 12 participants last post by  soady 
#1 ·
Tank info: 8gal, filtered, heated, lightly planted, divided with a piece of wood and a safe net. They both live on their own side.

Tank mates:
6 neon tetras (they can go through the net to each side) 2 Ancistrus and 1 Helena snail.

The male has made a huge, thick, bubble nest (10x4 inches). She is swelling with eggs and has vertical stripes. Now, I haven't done proper conditioning but I fed them all sorts of different foods (dried worms, flakes, pellets..) a bit more than usual for the past 2 weeks. I will do proper conditioning once I obtain frozen bloodworms (should be soon).

Anyway, since they both seem ready, my question is:

Why does the female hide from the male? They were together for 2 hours before I took her back to her side of the tank and I was watching them all that time. She had found 3 very good hiding places and she just went from one another all the time so no nipped fins.

But, he attacked her a few times after what she started swimming frantically in circles at the bottom for a few seconds. I realized that nothing will happen between them and took her away.

The male was behaving great, flaring, dancing, fixing the nest, trying to get her to swim to his nest...

I don't understand her behavior, someone please explain.

Thank you lots!


This photo was taken just now.
 
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#2 ·
This is normal behavior. Some people will use a small container to prevent the female from getting away from the male and they do breed a lot faster that way. HOWEVER< the female also gets alot more beat up!

I use a tank with four plants one in each corner for the female to hide behind. Also I use a big bunch of flooting plants incase she wants to hide in the middle of them. My females usually have very little injuries from their spawns. It may take a little longer, but to me, I'm not in all that big a hurry.

When she hides, if you wait long enough, and when you first put her with him, it will be longer a wait, she will eventually make herself known, the male will chase her, maybe give her a nip, and she will hide again. She will make her "hiding sessions" shorter and shorter as she grows more confident in what is going on. This also wears the male down a little, so he is not as anxious and full of energy to be rougher with her. Now if her bars change to the horizontal line from her mouth to her tail, she is scared, and they are not flirting. I always look to the female to tell me what is truely going on. If the male is being mean, or if the female is not ready, she will not show bars.

Alot of people do not breed with things in the spawn tank. I have found it to be alot better. just my opinion though. I don't mind one bit letting the female hide. In nature, I'm sure the female hides from the male. I think this way is a more natural process. It is also very funny when you see the female come out of hiding and swim up to the male like, "well aren't you gonna come find me?" lol
 
#3 ·
Hahah, thanks for the great response! :)

She has a lot of hiding spaces, are you telling me that I should keep them together for longer than 2 hours or just try again the next day?

Her vertical stripes get stronger when she is close to the male. Even after he attacked her, the vertical stripes became much brighter.

While she is in hiding, he fixes the nest, dances and chases neon tetras (good for wearing him out). She has hiding places so good that he starts to search for her. :D I wouldn't expect much nipped fins.

Thanks again for replying, I really thought that something was wrong with her and I feel much more confident now.
 
#4 ·
You are more than welcome. I love talking about fish.:) lol

You still have the other fish in the tank with them? They haveto bein the spawn tank alone, with a bare bottom. If you had a successful spawn with the other fish in the tank, one of two things would happen. The other fish will eat the eggs/fry, or the male will kill them.

You needthe bottom of the tank to be bare because when they wrap, the eggs will fall to the ground.They will collect them and put them in thenest. They will continue tofall out of the nest and Daddy will collectthem and put them back. If you have gravel, they will fall in in between and die.

Once you have all that done, usually you place the female in a jar and let the male flirt and build a nest. But since you have already had them in the tank together, I would try going ahead and skipping that part. Putthem together, and just leave them. If you take her out, when you put her back in, the process has to start all over again.

The females like when the guys get a little rough. Some females won't spawn if the male isn't rough. Her having the bars is avery good sign that she is enjoying the attention.

If they are both virgins, it may take them a while. I just spawned a young pair of virgins and it took them almost a week to figure out what they were doing.lol It was quite funny to watch. They were both very interested in one another, but didn't know what it was that they wanted to do. They finally figured it out though and I have about 300 healthy fry!

Now at times he will chase her and nip her. And other times he will swim up to her,do a little dance then swim back to the nest. Sometimes the male will start to stay longer and longer under the nest and its not much longer the female till join him. She should be approaching him head down.

Good luck with this spawn! It sounds to me that with just a few adjustments and more time you will have you some nice little ones.lol Don't forget to start a spawn log if they do!
 
#5 ·
Keep them in together for as long as you feel comfortable.. I've kept pairs together for over a week.. once I kept a pair together for 2 weeks. If they lose interest, she isn't eggy, etc.. then remove and recondition. But if they continue to flirt, act interested, eggy, etc.. then leave them be. Don't disturb them.. the less you move around the tank, the quicker they will "get the job done" in my experience. Why I tape up a dish towel to the front of the tank with masking tape so I can peek in every so often without disturbing them too much. Virgins tend to get shy/nervous/excited too easily, in my opinion.. so the less you mess around them, the better they will be.

Wait.. you have neon tetras in the tank??

You really need to have them in their own breeding tank with no other fish... the care the fry needs is specific and they are very fragile.. the neons will kill the fry and eggs.
 
#7 ·
Thank you guys for replying! Wonderful advice.

I have read a lot and saw too many videos on how to breed bettas the best way. I don't want it to be perfect, I would like it to be more natural, eggs fall to the bottom in the wild, that's why there are so many of them. I would certainly put my neon tetras away until the fry are fully grown.

And about keeping them together... I kept them together for 2 hours the first time, and 3 hours the second time on the same day now, and she hid much less the second time.

I will definitely post a spawn log once it is done. :)
 
#8 ·
Well, I won't even get into how these fish are totally innapropriate breeders, but you have to condition properly. Flakes, pellets, and dried worms are not conditioning foods. And some betta pairs must be together for weeks before they breed. Why are you breeding in a community tank? In a tank with gravel (believe me, gravel is not natural. In the wild, the bottom is mud and sand.), the eggs will get caught, rot, and die. Once the fry hatch, they can get caught inbetween the gravel and die. Cleaning will be next to impossible. Bars on females technically do not indicate readiness to breed,they indicate submissiveness (fear/giving in).

IMO you are not ready to spawn. You do not have a proper spawning setup and you have not conditioned your pair properly.
 
#9 ·
Horizontal lines indicate fear/giving in. The fishes are great. An egg fallen into mud and sand is as lost as in gravel. Please note, once again, that I am breeding them under conditions that will produce just about grown up fish as it would happen in the wild. You can not judge my readiness to breed bettas on what info I posted here. Bloodworms are to be bought, neon tetras taken out... This wasn't a spawning thread after all, I just asked a simple question. I didn't expect them to spawn right away (especially since they weren't conditioned), I was just confused by her behavior, so I asked about it.

"I haven't done proper conditioning but I fed them all sorts of different foods (dried worms, flakes, pellets..) a bit more than usual for the past 2 weeks. I will do proper conditioning once I obtain frozen bloodworms (should be soon)." - You missed this part of the text.
 
#10 ·
Hey, I mean you learn by doing, right? She's going to remove the gravel & tetras. Horizontal bars are stress stripes, and vertical bars are breeding stripes. I think she should give it a shot!

EDIT: wait a sec. You posted before I did! Whoops!
 
#13 ·
"Breeding stripes" aren't always a sign for breeding, as mentioned by Matts - it's just a form of communication. They show them for different reasons, submission (which is needed for spawning) is one of the reasons for the stripes, so they will get them when ready to breed as well as when being submissive for other reasons.

I would personally have the tank set up properly before attempting to breed, you can't change it once they breed.

You can technically use the gravel, but it's harder to keep clean - as you will be wanting to remove dead food daily with an airline tubing and gravel can make it a bit harder.. people who use substrate during breeding tend to use different sands rather than gravel.

Don't have a filter going in the tank - after the fry are free swimming you can then turn on a sponge filter, with the air pump set on low/valve turned down low. Any other filter will kill the fry.

Lowering the water level isn't a must - but it does make it easier on the male who will spend days swimming up and down collecting fallen eggs and fry (which bare bottom will make it easier for him to see them).

Remove all other fish from the tank before you try to breed. The male betta will try to kill them, or he will eat all his eggs if he feels he can't protect them - he would rather eat them than let another fish get them.

Nothing wrong with what you are wanting to breed, but the set up needs a bit of tweaking to make the survival of the fry possible. You want it "natural" which is great.. Oldfishlady breeds in full tanks, but they are very heavily planted without any other fish nor filter going.

Once the eggs are laid you can't disturb them nor bother the father.. once they are free swimming you can't go in and remove the substrate, etc without risking killing them.
 
#14 ·
No worries, I will take good care. :) I will clean the tank, vacuum and put a flat surface over the gravel until the fry grow large enough. I will move the neons to the other side. I actually have a good plan on how I will do it. I will move the wood to the right and insert a glass divider. I will keep the fry and the male at the left and the female and the neons at the right side.

I said ignorant because of sentences like "The more fish on the shelves, the more fish that die." But he didn't know that we don't keep bettas on shelves, and that we take good care of them at the pet shops.
 
#15 ·
Still not a safe way to house them.. a cover over the gravel will house so much bad bacteria as the dead worms will go through the cracks on the edges.. the male will be stressed being able to see the female and other fish - have to remember they naturally chase all other fish from their territory. He won't be able to focus on taking care of the nest/babies as he will be spending his time and his energy (which he needs for constant care of the nest) going over to the other side to flare and attempt to chase off the other fish. He won't be eating for days, won't sleep, so he needs his energy spent on caring for the constant falling of eggs/fry.. not flaring at the divider doing his best to chase away the other fish.

Makes me wonder what you have planned for their grow out tanks and jars... can't cut corners in breeding these fish.. they aren't as simple as live bearers. The male and female should have their own tanks as it is, not use the breeding tank as their home tank. Where do you keep them at normally? Why does the female have to be in the breeding tank? She will need to be away from the male as well.. females don't want to be near a male (even if divided), and especially not after breeding where she will be beat up and could be easily half dead from the process.. that is added stress on her too.

I must urge you to set it up properly if you are going to breed them. You are more than likely just going to end up killing all of the babies - what is the point to bring them into the world just to kill them because you don't have a breeding tank? You are placing all the fish into a stressful situation - the female could become overly aggressive to the other fish because she is being forced to be near the male, the male is going to be under a ton of stress because he can see the other fish/female so close to the nest, the tetras being in a smaller section and being chased/flared at all the time.. why risk their health (causing an outbreak in ich, etc) and their life (death caused by too much stress)? Go purchase a 10g from Walmart - set ups are $30, or just the tank for $12, and a heater that can heat it up to the proper temp.. then breed?

Normally I'm all for trying new techniques, but this isn't a technique, this is simply trying to breed just to breed but not put the time/money in that is needed to properly breed. Not trying to be rude by any means, but your ideal is not ideal.. IF you can even get them to breed (less of a chance due to the distraction of the other fish), why not do it where it gives the fry a good chance at surviving and growing healthy?

Technically, you may be able to get them to spawn with what you are wanting to do. But it's at a great risk.. and unsure if you want to risk the well being of the fish you care about..

How big is the tank?

Also keep in mind since you have to do daily large water changes for the fry for a few months.. if your tank is cycled you are risking the cycle crashing which would kill your fry in a heartbeat.
 
#16 ·
Thank you a lot, for taking your time and giving good advice. :)

Check this thread out: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=125760

You can see everything you need about my tank.

The male and the fry will be completely isolated from the female and the neons, the glass won't be see through. As for the gravel, I agree. I will remove all the gravel from the left side, put in more plants, then condition them with bloodworms and do everything right. If I don't get fantastic results, that's okay, it is my first time. I will feed them with infusoria for the first week and after that probably with frozen daphnia or some live culture. The breeding side of the tank will hold 4g, which is enough for a small number of fry, and the tank is 8g in whole so the water quality would be okay. Is there anything I missed mentioning?

I promise all will be good and i will post a spawn log once it is in action!
 
#17 ·
"the tetras being in a smaller section and being chased/flared at all the time.."

The female never chases them, only the male, and yet, they prefer to stay on his side. It is impossible for a betta to catch a neon tetra so I think they don't mind occasional attacks. They make a few circles and the betta gets dizzy. :D
 
#18 ·
This is ridiculous. You're calling me ignorant when you are breeding veiltails (I saw pics of them and their finnage isn't good even for veiltails.) when you could easily breed high quality, sellable fish. And yet you ignore our advice and are planning to spawn in a community tank. The bacteria will build up in the gravel and kill the fry. Any you cannot vacuum a fry tank. If you don't want to be criticized,do it right.
 
#19 ·
Honestly if you only end up with 4 fry, this is not a suffiecient setup. Just being honest with you. You will need to do water changes, and that WILL CRASH your cycled tank and all your fish will die. On top of all that, what are you going to do with the fry? If you are able to get any to stay alive, which under these conditins, I do believe the Dad is going to eat them, and I am one that leaves Dadd with fry until they are grown, what are you going to do with the fry? If they are females, they tank is not going to be big enough to handle all those fish. If any of them are male, you will have no choice but to get another tank. If two or more are male???? I really don't get it. Why not just bite the bullet if you want to do this, and go buy a tank? You will have to eventually anyway. Regardless of all the things that we know to be wrong with this set up, given you all benefit of a doubt, if things go the way YOU say they will, in the end, you will still need to buy a tank.

I don't mean any disrespect by my response. You have not experienced breeding bettas, and so I understand you naivety. I wish for everyone who loves these fish the experience of seeing a spawn and raising their own fry. We, those who have successfully breed these and other fish, no you are setting yourself up for failure. Please step back, and think this through. I am sure in your heart of hearts that you would never harm any of your fish, and yet you are about to do just that. We have no reason to mis lead you on these facts. If you could breed them this way, trust me, we would all LOVE that! We go through a lot of work and money to do this because we know the way you are attempting does not work.

Please reconsider.
 
#20 ·
I would like to share with you something that just happened this morning. I have several fish. One one shelf I have a male in a tank with a bare bottom. This is a wire shelf. On the shelf below, I have another tank with some rosey barbs. Now, I walk in this morning and the male betta has his nose pinned to the bottom in the corner of his tank. ??? What is he doing? I thought. I fed them, went about my business. Went back in, looked at tehm again, and again, he had his nose pinned to the corner of the tank. I was barefoot this time, and as I stepped closer my foot got wet. Looked around to find out where it was coming from, and the rosey barb tank had sprung a leak. While I was concerned with the betta, I had to fix this problem.

I changed out the tank the rosey barbs where in, cleaned up the mess. You know the betta has yet to do what he was doing before. Was he looking to see what the water was doing? Could he "hear" the water?

I have had fish my whole life. WHOLE LIFE. Growing up we had tanks in every room except the bathroom. Fish are more intelligent thatn you know. Just because the female isn't chasing the neons now, do not be surprised if she starts because she will know that there are her babies on the other side of that glass. Also, those neons will know that there are eggs somewhere in that tank. I had a 150 gallon tank with a bonded pair of marble angels. Whenever they would lay eggs, ALL the other fish behaviors would change. My pictus and red tail would begin fighting, my rosey barbs would be pushy toward the angels, it was a mess. It was because the other fish wanted to eat the eggs and they knew there was going to be eggs. I always knew they were getting ready to lay eggs because of the way the other fish behave.

Just because the other fish are getting along now, do not think for one minute that having eggs in that tank on the other side of a glass divider isn't going to effect them. Just because Dad cannot see the other fish, don't think for one moment he doesn't know that they are there. A 10gallon tank doesn't cost all that much. Also try craigslist. You may be able to pick you up a few tanks for a little bit of nothing!
 
#21 · (Edited)
You have a beautiful set up for your fish, great for what you have, but not for breeding.

louisvillelady was able to say things much better than I could.. we will help you in every way we can, but you will have to trust what we are saying when it comes to what will work and what won't.. what is best for all of your fish, etc.

I'm not going to lecture you on which fish to breed. That is strictly a breeder's choice, and personal opinion.

As louisvillelady mentioned, all the fish will be aware as the breeding pair will be letting off pheromones which will drive all the fish nuts. Neon tetras look cute and innocent.. but they are tetras, and tetras are the chihuahuas of the fish world.. cute, tiny, you just want to hold.. but they will nip you for no good reason. They will nip each other, the female betta.. and with her state/mood after breeding.. it can potentially be a death sentence for some fish. The female will need a place to recoup and heal. She is not going to be able to do that in a tank with tiny spastic fish swimming around her.

I too have had fish since I was 12.. my parents had some while I was growing up. 22 years later I still am in love with fish, tropical and cichlids.. have bred different types for a long time when I was younger. I may be new to breeding bettas, but I spent 18+ months studying their care, behavior, history.. learning about the splenden species as much as I could. I spent months researching breeding before I even purchased any items. And I still learn new things all the time when it comes to breeding these fish.

It really is a fun process, and I recommend it to anyone who has the time, space, money it takes to breed. I will answer any questions that I can, if I can't I'll recommend a person or site/group where they can get the answers.

So answer these questions to yourself before you breed them -

Can I, do I want to, spend hours a day doing water changes, cleaning tanks, feeding.

Do I have the space it needs to have the proper set up.. for the breeding tank(s), grow out tank(s), a place to house 100+ jars and a way to heat all those jars. You may not end up with a 100 males, but you may, and you want to prepare. Sometimes you may have to remove females if they are overly aggressive.

Do I have the money to spend on making sure I have everything I need? IAL, tanks, heaters, sponge filters, jars/cups, live foods, etc.. it all costs a pretty penny. If you go with all new things, you are looking at at least a thousand dollars for a simple, small set up. I think in the end, for 2 spawn tanks and 2 30g grow out tanks on my first set up.. with everything needed (including a way to house the jars/cups) I spent easily $1500 - that also includes a few pairs of breed worthy fish. Shipping costs is included in that.
Doesn't mean you will spend that much - you can go a cheaper route by using plastic buckets, etc for spawning and such..
Don't forget the jump in electric/water bills..

A lot of people who start getting into bettas want to breed them, and think it's as simple as just tossing them in together.. sometimes you see people say their fish jumped a divider and bred, or they got success by tossing the pair together and not preparing.. keep in mind after they post that, you don't hear anything from them again concerning the spawn as it tends to end badly. This is something that even with all the right equipment and knowledge, can still easily lose the fry over something we think is very minute - adding new water in after a change that is just a tiny bit off of the water in the tank (chemistry/temp wise). A lot of breeders easily lose 2/3rds of their first spawn or two due to needing to work out the kinks and that is with proper set up.

So you can see our concern - it's not just about whether you breed them or not, and not just about the lives of the fry (we understand nature and how it's natural for deaths to occur, a way of making sure there isn't an over population, etc). It's also about the welfare of the fish you already have and have fallen in love with.
It is also about you.. how it will effect you. Can you imagine getting a spawn, seeing them hatch.. then possibly they grow up for a few days.. a week, two weeks.. then something goes wrong and they all die. Trust me, you will get attached to those tiny little babies quickly. You'll talk to them, feed them, care for them.. and then lose them all. You will feel bad, you may blame yourself, etc.
Is that really fair for you? And if the fry dies, the male WILL know, and will "feel" something. Yes, they live off of instinct.. but they KNOW.

The male of my recent spawn.. After a long battleI was finally able to get him away from the nest (him coming to attack my finger), I got him out and he ended up with 28 fry in his mouth. When he got into his container to recoup he ended up making a whole new nest and started caring for the fry he had hidden in his mouth (unsure how he fit that many in there.. but I counted 28 lol). Over the next couple of days I had to go and remove them.. I used a plastic spoon and a styrofoam cup.. every time I went to get a baby it was a race with him, he would rush up to the baby I was going for and grab it before I could get it. I had to be slow and careful as to not hurt the babies. But he knew what I was doing and he was doing his best to protect them from me. After about 5 days I had them all removed and into the fry tank.

That was over 2 weeks ago. He has built and maintained nests every day since then. He had never built a nest prior when he was in his home tank. Never.
Now he has one going all the time. Part of it is he wants to breed again.. but whenever I look at him and his nest, it pulls at my heartstrings because I felt bad removing him so soon.. now that I have confirmed that he is a great daddy, he can stay with his babies on his next spawn.

So.. as louisvillelady said.. fish know. They can't feel sadness like us, or happiness.. they live off of instincts. But a part of them just knows when something isn't right, or if they want something they can't have. I have other stories too.. but this one is most recent and still crushes me how sad he was after being removed. Some males have stressed and passed on after being removed from their nest. If he is forced to eat his babies because he fears the other fish.. he may become stressed from that.

So yes.. reconsider breeding at this moment. If serious then get what is needed and we will be very happy to help you. Like I said.. doesn't matter what you breed, just matters is the health and well being of you and the fish.

And ugh, I'd freak if I saw one of my tanks leaking lol
 
#23 ·
"Neons are best kept in a densely planted tank with subdued light and an ideal temperature of 21–27°C (70–81°F) to resemble their native Amazon environments."

There is my solution. The neons will be at my 1 gallon bowl while the female betta will have the other side of the tank. Everyone will be happy. Especially since I will remove all the gravel from the left side where the nest will be. I will then not let them see each other for a while, condition them, and finally introduce them to a healthy environment, small, but healthy and spacious enough for how many fish will determine the father as he will stay with them until some age when I can give them to an aquarium pet store. I spoke to the manager of the store today when I was getting new lights and he said that it would be great. So that's my plan, give them away when they are at just about fighting and keep one or two females. I believe these are good conditions, especially since the water is cycled better in a larger tank, even though the spawning side will be a half of the tank. I might even transfer some of the nest to the female to see if she will take care of them, because, you never know with bettas, each is different. As I said earlier, my female once layed eggs on her own and had built a bubble nest to store the eggs, so she has a nice history of being a parent, maybe they will both take care of the little bettas, but separately? :D
 
#34 ·
That picture, those fish all have stress stripes and are clamped. They are not happy.

"Neons are best kept in a densely planted tank with subdued light and an ideal temperature of 21–27°C (70–81°F) to resemble their native Amazon environments."
Your tank has neither on a daily basis.

There is my solution. The neons will be at my 1 gallon bowl while the female betta will have the other side of the tank. Everyone will be happy.
Why put multiple fish in such a small container, where the ammonia will build up quickly (more than bettas, because every time a fish uses it's gills, it creates ammonia). Why not put the female in the 1g with a heater, get a 10g and put the neons in that?

Then everyone will be happy. But multiple neons in a bowl? They need a filter.. you expect them to live in that bowl, cold (the temp will be below 70), full of ammonia for 3+ months?

Especially since I will remove all the gravel from the left side where the nest will be. I will then not let them see each other for a while, condition them, and finally introduce them to a healthy environment, small, but healthy and spacious enough for how many fish will determine the father as he will stay with them until some age when I can give them to an aquarium pet store.
What if he determines to keep 200+ fry? Then what?

They will last about 4 weeks (at most) in that size (well.. unsure what size as you never said what tank size you are doing this in).. then they must be moved to a larger tank. Even if you only have 5 babies, they will need to go into a larger space. Period. No way to go around it.

You will have to wait until they are about 4 months old before you can sell them - they will need to be separated BEFORE they reach selling age. They WILL NEED larger space before they reach selling age. Can't get around that.

So you will still need a grow out tank and multiple heated jars to house them so they can grow to the size they need before you sell them. If you sell them too young then you are doing what Petco does and send them off to people who have no idea how to care for adults, let alone very young juvies..

I spoke to the manager of the store today when I was getting new lights and he said that it would be great. So that's my plan, give them away when they are at just about fighting and keep one or two females.
They start fighting before they should be sold - while they are only 6-7 weeks you will easily start jarring them. You ideally want to wait until 14/16 weeks before selling to give them a chance at surviving. That tiny space will not allow 5 of them to grow up with the dad.

I believe these are good conditions, especially since the water is cycled better in a larger tank, even though the spawning side will be a half of the tank.
As mentioned, with the amount of water changes, large changes your cycle will collapse and kill all the fish in the tank. A fry/grow out tank does not need to be cycled.

I might even transfer some of the nest to the female to see if she will take care of them, because, you never know with bettas, each is different.
And those eggs will be dead. There is a reason that the male will chase off the female and oftentimes try to kill her after spawning- she will eat the eggs. They are not the care takers.

As I said earlier, my female once layed eggs on her own and had built a bubble nest to store the eggs, so she has a nice history of being a parent, maybe they will both take care of the little bettas, but separately? :D
Incorrect - she put the eggs in the nest out of instinct. The females often times will help place the eggs into the nest, but that is as far as their role goes into caring for the fry.
Not to be mean/rude, but your ideas just simply put your fish in danger. You are creating hundreds of lives just to have them die shortly after birth. You apparently rather not listen to people who have experience and who have done research... unsure what more I can say to help you see the faults in your plan.
 
#24 ·
A store person once told a boyfriend of mine that redtail sharks are a schooling fish. Another time I overheard a store person telling another customer that they could put cichlids in a community tank. The closest pet store to me is run by a lady who is a member of the local fish club, and she had never even seen a plakat betta or knew there was such a thing. Moral of the story, just because they work in the fish department does not mean they know what they are talking about.
 
#25 ·
Copied from another thread where I posted:

Here, bettas are kept in excellent conditions.
There is no reason to assume that all pet stores are neglecting their betta fish. Here, in every store, bettas are kept in individual tanks (10 gallon at least), planted, cycled, with snails and other fish suitable to be kept with a betta. Really, I have never seen a betta being kept badly at pet stores here. Here are some pictures I took when I was at the store:

Sorrority:



And males are kept in individual tanks:



 
#28 ·
I didn't say anything about keeping bettas on shelves. I said just because someone works in a fish department does not make them an authority on fish. They may simply know how to do their job and their knowledge begins and ends there. If that is what he told you, then he does not know anything about breeding bettas. But hey, if you are the type of person who seeks knowledge by continuing to ask people until you get the answer you want instead of listening to those who know, well, that is your privilege.

Your male is going to eat your fry. That is if your lucky enough to get them to breed. Good luck.
 
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