Betta Breeding
and
Raising Betta Fry
Breeding the Betta
Breeding a Betta is
a task that requires a lot of attention and time. In order to have a successful
spawn, everything must be right. Lets begin this lesson with Selection of the
Breeders. In order for the most successful spawn, careful attention must be
paid to the breeders. They need to be anywhere from 12-18 months old, but successful
spawns have occurred with older and younger Bettas. Remember, good and bad traits
will be passed on to the young fry. Once you have chosen the Bettas you would
like to breed, we will move on to the conditioning phase of the spawn.
The Bettas should be conditioned on rich, live foods for about two weeks prior
to the spawn. I suggest bloodworms, microworms, and tubifex worms. Live is the
best, but freeze dried will work ok. You know that the female Betta is ready
to spawn when her oviposter, or small white dot near her anus, is showing, and
her stomach is plump with eggs.
Items Needed:
-variety of live and freeze dried foods
-fungal and bacterial medication (I recommend Maroxy)
-fish net
-small pvc pipe (for hiding place for female)
-oil lamp globe (or jar if you don't have one)
-5-10 gallon aquarium
-amquel (to break down ammonia without production of chlorine and chloramines)
-dechlorinator (to eliminate chlorine and chloramines)
-culture of infusoria
-submersible heater (with temperature set at 80º-85º F)
-thermometer
-pump
-corner or sponge filter (turn filter off during spawning and fry growth for
4 hours, then on for 2)
-siphon, or tubing (to do *small* water changes when the fry have grown larger)
-stress coat (to give to the female once spawning is complete)
-and lots of jars and buckets (to separate the Bettas when they start fighting)
-a small *yellow* butter spread lid (to provide stabilization for bubble nest.
It is scientifically proven that
Bettas are attracted to yellow.)
-Saran wrap, wood lid, or tank hood. (to keep water relatively the same as the
air above it.)
-floating plants such as java fern, elodea, cabomba, and even plastic spawning
grass, etc.
Now that you know when the materials needed to breed Bettas, lets move to the
introduction section. When the female is ready, place an oil lamp globe in the
male's quarters. Then place the female Betta in the globe. The male should take
immediate attention to her and start flaring his gills and *flirting* with her.
Then he should begin building the bubble nest. Once the male has built his bubble
nest, and the female is lowering her upper body, you should release the female
into the tank. Now that you are informed on the introduction aspect of the spawning,
lets begin the actual spawning.
The male should start chasing her, and once she agrees to his advances (her
upper body will be lowered) she will swim over to the bubble nest with him and
he will embrace her. The embrace is when the male wraps his body around hers
and squeezes her eggs out. Some males just seem to have knack, while it may
take others a few tries to get the right grip. Simultaneously, while he is squeezing
eggs out of her, he is releasing his sperm and fertilizing her eggs. Females
can carry as little as 50 eggs, and as much as 300. After a squeezing *session*,
the female will lay motionless under the bubble nest until she regains consciousness.
Once this is done (when he isn't squeezing any more eggs out of her) the female
should be removed and placed in another container. Now is when the stress coat
and fungus medication come into the scene. You will need to put the proper amount
of each in her container. This is so she won't get a fungal or bacterial infection,
and also so her fins and body wounds will heal correctly. The male should now
be placing the eggs in the bubbles.
Now comes the vigil of the eggs hatching. You should now well feed the male,
so he doesn't become carnivorous and eat some of the eggs. The eggs should hatch
within 36-72 hours of placement in the bubbles. Every once in a while, an egg
will fall out of its bubble, and the male will swim down and snatch it up and
return it to its bubble. At this point in time, it is advisable to put an air-tight
hood over the tank. My reason for suggesting this is because in about a week,
the fry will begin developing their labyrinth organs. In order for this to go
successfully, the air above the water must be *approximately* the same as that
of the water. Otherwise, mucus will instantly fill their labyrinth and they
will die.
Although there are several deviations to the breeding method described above,
that is the one I have found to have the best results.
Raising Betta Fry
Alright, we left off with the hatching of the eggs. Immediately following the hatching of the eggs, the fry will not need to be fed. In fact they will be feeding on their yolk sac for 2-3 days. But, the male does need to be fed. Remember, a well-fed father is less likely to turn on his babies and eat some of them. After the fry have munched on their yolk sac for a few days, I suggest putting in some of that infusoria you cultured, maybe a tablespoon or two. You may also want to add some liquid fry food, but follow the instructions on the label, as overfeeding, and filthing of the water could be fatal. As days move on, you might want to introduce new foods to the frys, such as *minced* bloodworms and water daphnia. This will ensure that the fry will grow, and that they can be culled to a smaller, more manageable size, about 50. You should cull first by size, and then as they mature, by color. Now about the filtration, I would recommend leaving it off right after the spawning, so no fry get sucked up. You should probably turn it on though, as they grow stronger. Once the fry are off of the surface, I would skim it with a small net, to remove the surface scum. In about 3-4 weeks, the fish will be big enough to be placed in jars, or larger tanks.