How to Breed Betta Fish

Betta fish is not like breeding Cichlids or goldfish. They need more specific requirements e.

g. Water conditions, heating, tank plants or ornaments. I am sharing this information of my experience and through trial and error which I had to go through. The hard part is actually finding a compatible pair of fish to breed with; if they are not compatible they will not breed. Breeding with sibling pairs is the definite advantage and desirable as they have a better chance of breeding true to colour and form as well as being more compatible.

Items you will need to spawn successfully1. A tank approx 38 litres in size with a light. 2. Aged treated water (See note below) 3. Tank heater 4.

1 flat Indian Almond Leave (IAL) or Styrofoam cup halved. Bubble wrap or similar 5. A hang – on or guppy breeder box or large bottle. 6.

Micro worms for the young fry to eat once they hatch 7. Java Moss 8. A brine shrimp culture 9. Air pump 10.

Small Sponge filter 11. Airline tube(Aged water: you need to make up a container of water at least 20L in size. Pour Tap water in the bucket and add de – chlorinator such as Prime at the recommended dose rate, ¼ tsp. of aquarium or non-iodised rock salt in each 10 L of water. Add a few almond leaves to the water, Close the bucket up and leave it for a week. After the week the water should look like a weak yellow tea.

Your water is now ready to use for fry tank and this is also the water you need to use to change your fish water with on a weekly basis.) Steps to take;1. Fill your tank up to a quarter with the water you have aged for a week. 2. Set the heater to 26 degrees Celsius and attach it to an internal wall of the tank (the heater needs to be fully submersed) 3. We use bare bottom tanks with no gravel or other substrate in the tank because the eggs will get lost when they fall to the bottom and it is harder to maintain the cleanliness of the tank.

We add a ball of Java Moss for the female and fry to hide in. 4. Attach the guppy breeder box to the side of the fish tank or large jar (this is for the female to live in while the male builds his bubble nest), they need to be clear so the male can clearly see the female)5. Float a flat Indian almond Leaf (IAL)(or Styrofoam cup, or bubble wrap) for the male to build his bubble nest under. 6. Place male and female in separate containers or bags and float the male in the tank and the female in the guppy box for 30 minutes so the fish can get used to the water temperature.

Release the female into the guppy box or jar and the male into the general tank. 7. The male and female needs to be separated for at least 48 hours while her eggs ripen, the males gets use to the female, and he builds his nest. (You need to keep the feed up to your pair as this is going to be a very stressful and sometimes, a very aggressive time for them).8. After 48 hours watch the pair to see if they seem interested in one another.

The male will swim around, displaying his fins, flaring and generally showing off. The female will display vertical bars on her body and will angle her head down submissively. Some aggressive displays are normal. Release the female into the main tank. The male and female are aggressive towards each other but eventually they will settle and move under the bubble nest. Continually observe the pair closely to see when the male wraps the female with his tail (this is when she will be dropping her eggs).

The male will pick the eggs up and put them in his bubble nest. 9. After the female has dropped her eggs (24 – 48hrs) she will usually go and sit in the corner of the tank or hide, at this stage you can remove her carefully out of the spawning tank ensuring the bubble nest is not disturbed.10.

The male will continue to attend to the bubble nest, catching falling eggs and fry and placing them back into the bubbles. You can usually see hair like structures hanging down from underneath the bubble nest. These are the fry tails. 11. Fry are free swimming at about 72hrs.

At this point you will need to make sure you have a Micro worm culture ready to start feeding the fry as soon as they are free swimming. Feed the fry small amounts often (3-4 times a day) 12. After the fry are free swimming for about 3 days start feeding them newly hatched brine shrimp. After 3 days you can start your sponge filter up (Adjust the filter to one bubble per second)13. Keep an eye on the male to make sure that he is not eating the fry. The male can be taken out of the tank after 10 days.

(We leave the male in for longer, sometimes till jarring out time. It’s really when you feel comfortable doing it and depends on male to male) 14. After a week start adding a litre of water every 2 -3 days (NOTE: the water needs to be exactly the same temperature as the tank water, and the water needs to be added slowly e.g.

Syphoning through a small diameter air hose.) 15. You can jar the fry out as soon as they start showing their sexes, colouration and form or fighting each other, this can take a while.