Since I NEVER did get a reply from an admin about making a tutorial on breeding bettas I'll post this thread anyway. This is how I do it.
Shopping list:
10 gallon tank
Sponge filter or corner filter
Water conditioner
Aquarium salt
Live or Plastic plants (VERY thick)
50-100 jars
Microworm culture
Brine shrimp eggs
Extra jar
Airline tubing
Airpump
Turkey Baster
Gravel Vaccume
Larger tank (30+gallons)
Gang Valve
Submersible heater (25 watts)
Styrofoam cup
Plastic Wrap
Methylene Blue
Another submersible heater (for larger tank, 5 watts per gallon)
Setting up the spawning tank:
1. Styrofoam
2. Indian almond leaf
3. Chimney
4. Half ceramic pot
5. Live plants
First rinse the tank, filter, heater and plants. Pick a spot for the tank away from direct sunlight or drafts. Be sure to place the tank on a STRONG table, preferably a fish tank stand. Water is heavy and weighs about 10 pounds per gallon. Now fill your tank about halfway up and add your water conditioner, 1/2 teaspoon of aquarium salt per gallon. Now add your filter and heater but keep them turned off. Connect your airline tubing to the gang valve and then to the filter, use the valve to restrict airflow and produce a very gentle bubbling. Now place your thermometer in the tank (or on the outside, depending on your thermometer) and raise the temp to about 80-82 degrees Farenheit, no more. Cover the tank with some glass. Now your ready to introduce the pair!
YAY :)
Conditioning the pair:
You have to condition the breeding pair WILL kill each other. To condition do these two thins,
- Keep their water EXTREMELY clean.
- Feed them freeze dried or frozen bloodworms.
Adding the pair:
Put the male's jar in the tank for 1 hour, then place him in the tank and let him settle in. If he has a bubblenest then he is ready to get down to buissness. Put the female's jar in the tank, if he is flaring at her and she is not flaring at him, but is trying to get out of the jar, release her and watch them carefully.
Now they should either be chasing each other. Usually after the first bite she should be running for her life. Inbetween chasing the female he should work on his nest.
How bettas spawn:
Suddenly she decides she's not scared anymore and goes to check out the nest. At this time the male will stop chasing her and will try to get her to spawn. Soon they will begin circling each other and then she will flip upside down and he will curve over her. This is known as the 'embrace'. The first few embraces usually have no eggs but will soon begin to produce anywhere from a few to fifty eggs. Spawning lasts from 2-10 hours. When either of them decides to stop spawning the female will retreat. At this time it's best to remove her, but be careful not to disrupt the bubblenest.
Daddy duties:
Now Mr. Betta is under his post blowing new bubbles, moving around eggs, he may even blow a new nest and move all the eggs to it. At around 24 hours after spawning the fry will begin to hatch. They will hang tail down from the nest and will begin to fall. Even if the male dosent pick them up from the bottom they will survive on the bottom until they become free swimming. About 36 hours after hatching the fry will become free swimming. At this time you should remove the male, but be careful not to net the fry.
Fry care:
After you remove the male you need to feed the fry. For the first week I feed microworms mixed with BBS. Then I continue with BBS until they are four weeks old. Then I crush up freeze dried foods and mix them with BBS.
IMPORTANAT FEEDING NOTE: Feed twice a day, BUT NEVER OVER FEED!!!
Ok so at around two weeks I start changing water. The first I take out 1 gallon of water and replace 2 gallons of water. I do this every few days. Everytime I change water I replace twice as much as I took out. I also add water on the days I don't change water. About a gallon or so.
IMPORTANT NOTE ON CHANGING WATER: Don't change water until the fry are two weeks old. ALWAYS replace the water with water of the same tempertaure and pH.
Growout tanks:
Your growout tank should be at least 30 gallons in size. It should also have gentle filtration.
Move your fry at five weeks of age, be sure the temperature in the growout is the SAME as the spawning tank (BTW, the spawning tank should have been filled by this time). Simply drain most of the spawning tank water and slowoly acclimate the fry to the growout.
I reccomend changing 50% of the water in the growout weekly.
Sexing the fry:
At around 8 weeks of age the fry you should begin to tell which are males and which are females.
Males: Long fins, flaring, may blow bubbles.
Females: Short fins, won't flare.
Jarring the males:
At around 8 weeks of age the males will become more aggresive. You need to seperate them. Using water from the tank fill your jars with water but only seperate the aggresive males. The peaceful males can stay in the tank until they become aggresive.
Well that's it. That's how I breed bettas.
Check out the eBook Betta Fish Care Made Easy
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