First Time Breeding

[FunkyJelly]

I have some questions for you guys...

I recently got a blue and teal delta tail betta put him in an awesome tank with live plants heater filter blah blah. My neighbor told me he had a female betta Bright pink and purple veil tail. So we had the idea of breeding them. We set up a 10 gallon tank filled up half way with a hiding cave and some live plants and a heater running at 86 degrees. I put the male in the breeding tank and put the female in a jar and placed it inside the tank. The second they saw each other there was immediate reaction both turned bright colors and flared at each other. She has eggs and some time drops some in the jar and eats them. The male acts extremely frantic. He still hasn't constructed a nest in the breeding tank yet though..I finally released her out of the jar after three days of eyeing each other through glass to see how they would react. They chase each other around like crazy very fast especially the male. He nips at her fins, tail etc. And she swims away extremely fast and hides in the plants. And he then finds her and repeats chasing..non-stop. Is this normal? Normal...courtship or is the extreme aggressive behavior? Should I take her out and put her back in the jar take him out take both of em out? The guy at the pet store told me to take them both out and leave them facing each other in separate jars for 2 weeks then put them in. I'm confused I hear many different things FYI she does not have the vertical stripes along her body, but does have a fat belly and a big white button under her torso. I have been feeding them blood worms and brine shrimp for the past three days. Do you guys have any tips or suggestions. I also bought another female today also has a white button under her torso and has stripes running along the side of her body and when she sees the male they turn vertical. But they haven't really seen each to other to much just for a minute. She also turned away from him. She is brown and blue in color sometimes turns purple. Can you guys help? Thanks!

[TheBlueBettaFish]

Chasing is normal

[FunkyJelly]

ya i know but her fins are getting ripped more and more...is that normal? he's not even concentrating on building a nest? I'm afraid he'll kill her if i live em like this all night...it's not even my fish...

[HD4life]

If her fins are getting torn a lot I would take her out. My first spawn the male didn't do much of a nest until they started embracing but he wasn't to aggressive. Chasing is very normal but the amount of damage to the female needs to be monitored. Take her out, treat her with melafix or another medicine for a while and maybe try again in a few weeks.

[TheBlueBettaFish]

I would take the female out then wait for a bubble nest from the male also look up how to breed Bettas before you try

[1fish2fish]

Did you actually condition the fish for breeding? You can't just throw two fish together and expect them to spawn without following the correct procedures.

You need to condition the fish on live or frozen foods for 7-14 days... the longer the better. During this time they should be in total isolation and not see any other fish. Do not use any freeze dried foods and avoid the use of pellets... frozen or live foods hold the most nutrition.

During this time you must do water changes DAILY. This is why most breeders keep their stock in smaller 1-2 gallon tanks where the water can be easily changed.

After the two week period reintroduce the pair into the spawning tank at the same time with the female in the jar. Let them flirt and release the female when they both start swimming in the S pattern.

If the female is damaged you will have to let her heal completely before conditioning. Unhealthy fish don't breed.