Help me!

[KayDowson]

I introduced my male and female to breed, and while i still had them in seperate tanks she expelled some of her eggs. Well, she was still nice and plump and u could still see the eggs in her belly so i put her in the tank with the male and nothing. I waited a day and tried again and still nothing. What do I do, did I do something wrong?

[monroe0704]

I've had many failed spawns because the couple just wasn't ready. Plus all of mine, no, wait, MOST of mine are first time breeders and it takes them longer to get things right.

You started off conditioning them right?

[KayDowson]

Yeah i started off with the conditioning and she got nice and fat and healthy. They are a first time breed(my fisrt time too :)), so I'm wondering if thats not it. I also have another female who is ready to spawn and I'm debating on if I should try her with demon or just let him and angel have a while and try them again in a few days.

[monroe0704]

As long as they aren't stressed or too damaged you can leave them in there for a few days to see if it'll happen. Sometimes it does take up to four days! I'm sure somewhere down the road a member will ask about your setup and all, so maybe you can describe it now.

[KayDowson]

I have a couple tanks and 3 betas total, 1 male demon, and 2 females angel and violet. Demon has a 3 gallon cylinder tank that he stays in, he has a couple plants and and rocks and such in there with him. Angel and violet have a 5 gallon each with the same kind of stuff in there with them. And I just set up a 2 gallon for them to spawn in. It has the divider thing in the middle so they get to see each other and get used to each other before i pulled it out and let them in with each other. Im hoping to get a 20 gallon here soon so i can get some more females for a sorority in there and the get a couple more males for the smaller tanks.

[monroe0704]

Hmmm so where were the babies going to grow out? And while spawning in a smaller tank isn't necessarily bad, 2 gallons might be cutting it close in my opinion. Then you'd have to move the fry to a growout tank at least 10 gallons. I'm not extremely well versed in breeding yet but I'd say that the environment wasn't adequate for spawning and the bettas weren't fully ready.

[KayDowson]

ok thanks. What size tank would you think would be suitable. I have an extra 10 gal, 5 gal, 2 gal and (3) 1 gals lying around. I also have a heater i can spare and a fliter, the only with the filter is I'm not able to change the setting on it so its only speed is fast and hard. Do u think if i set up a 10 gal that I could move him in there and he might start up his bubble nest and then maybe add her and see if that works better. I've had bettas for years, but like I said this is my first spawn and I just have no idea what I'm doing. But the local pet store where I do all my shopping is looking for new local breeders and is willing to give store credit or cash for them once they mature. Also what is this culling thing that i keep hearing people talking about?

[monroe0704]

Culling is basically killing the fry, mostly so deformed fish don't suffer.

Before you go any further in your breeding attempts I'd suggest that you read over this site and follow the instructions for whichever method you choose. A heater will be a must in the spawning tank (it should be in general too unless the room temp stays very high). This site has some great information.

http://bettysplendens.com/articles/c....imp?catid=855

[dramaqueen]

Here is a sticky that might be helpful to you. It has some links to some good sites that have good info on breeding.
http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/b...estions-65791/

[indjo]

Condition the pair separately. Let them see each other only when you're ready to breed. Females will release their eggs if their ready to spawn but don't have any partner.

Preferably use a 10g + for breeding. Grow outs should be larger (depending on how many fry). Culling is killing - you kill unwanted fry (deformed or whatever).

Prepare fry food before you breed. Fry must be fed daily after they are free swimming.