Why is she in that little thing? She should be in her own tank, with a heater, being fed good food. The smaller cylinder is for when they are actually in the spawning tank together. I'm assuming the male has a heater? What are your water changes like with the female's cylinder and the male's 2.5 gallon? Also, what are you feeding them for conditioning?
1-2 gallon tanks (TWO of them) with heaters that can reach 78* at least. Daily 100% water changes (no exceptions). Feed at least 2x daily with high quality foods. Generally this will get your fish in spawning condition in 2-3 weeks.
I also exercise my males with a mirror for 5-10 minutes a day to keep them in shape.
I don't want to be rude, honestly. But this is how you are conditioning them? I've read the multiple pages of information and advice these people have given you and they are pretty clear on the instructions. Why in the world is she in that tiny thing with no heater?? I am just confused on why you are trying to do this without the proper set up and ignoring the info provided. It's like trying to build a car with bicycle parts. :(
Just saying, these fish look in worse health than MY fish, and they are just getting ordinary, average care. A conditioned fish should be brimming with health... those aren't breeders. Nope, I don't care what you say, they're fish that are in the same condition as a petco betta in a cup.
A) Three months old? they dont mature till they are 6 months old thats like trying to get a pair of under ten yr olds to breed.
B) Please tell me you not going to FORCE her to live in that thing, she looks like shes headed to her grave.
C) theres no substrate no plants nothing for them to rest on or hide behind.
D) those need daily water changes
E) dont tap the tanks that stresses them out, especially with the water movement you caused the sick looking female
F) her fins are clamped shes lethargic and looks terrible. shes never going to breed in these conditions.
PLUS we can BARELY see the fish due to lights. DO you supply your tanks with lighting at all?
Are they heated, how often/much/what type of food do u feed?
No wonder your fish arent breeding. I dont understand how you can even think this is okay... "shes probably stressed from her 3-day shipping" yeah right. Your treating her AND him terribly. I've seen healthier, happier fish in wal-mart. Sheesh. Seriously, and you wonder why your fish wont breed? I'm disgusted.
Actually Abby, most Bettas are breeding size at 3-3.5 months old. With fish it's not how old they are but if they're big enough to spawn and responsive. Every pair I've ever spawned has been around the 3-6 month mark, and most of those were much closer to the 3 month mark. Heck, I've got a female in spawn right now that is just barely 12 weeks old and she's ready to go.
Most breeding set ups are pretty minimal, some java moss or other floater or some IAL. Its easier to do water changes if you don't have to take take a bunch of stuff out. My male breeders are kept in 1 or 2 gallon bare bottom tanks with only a piece or two of IAL. I'm able to do a 100% water change in under 1 minute that way and the fish hardly notices it was ever out of the water. Room lighting is sufficient since the fish don't need light to see, you just need light to see the fish. The fish are probably more comfortable in a darker environment.
Check out the eBook Betta Fish Care Made Easy
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