betta - Female Bubblenest

[Basserman]

all you betta lovers out there. Have you ever seen a Female Betta
build a "mini" bubble nest?

I'm pretty sure mine just built one this morning. I'll see if I can
get a picture of her adding to the nest.

[[email protected]]

Yep, I got females who build bubble nests.

[[email protected]]

Yup, mine has done this before as well. Perhaps a sign of a
responsible mother? :)

I don't know what it says about her childrearing capabilities, since I
always remove the females after breeding to save her from the male's
aggression.

<tim><

[Basserman]

So I'm going to give breeding bettas a shot. I've got the time and the
resources and thought it would be a fun and challenging experience.

So I put the male and female into a 1 gallon tank seperated by a
divider. They both flared a bit at first and the female finally went
to the head down submissive position. She also got dark horizontal
stripes across her body which I at first thought were a sign of being
ready to breed. Turns out it is a sign of fear. Vertical stripes are
the sign to breed.

My question is, do I wait until I see the vertical stripes before
putting them together, or can I put them together now that she has
shown the submissive behavior and just hope they will become a mating
pair?

[IDzine01]

I'm going to try and have a go at answering a breeding question. I
usually don't but what the heck...

Have they already been conditioned to breed? There is usually a period
where you feed them protein rich live or frozen foods to get them in
tip top shape to handle the spawning process. It also will help to
insure the strongest possible fry. You may see fit to slowly raise the
water temp at this point.

Eventually the vertical stripes will come if they are a good match (not
all bettas will spawn together) and you will notice her heavy with
eggs. With her on the other side of the divider he will hopefully be
inspired to build a bubble nest. After all that has happened then you
put them together. Spawning between bettas can get violent and injuries
may occur. Afterward, you'll want to remove the female and keep the
water very clean so she doesn't get any infections if she does indeed
have some injuries.

I probably missed some things, but I believe that covers many of the
basics. ;-)

[Basserman]

Well, to condition the pair I'm feeding them freeze-dried bloodworms
and some frozen brine shrimp as well as the Hikari Betta Bio-gold
pellets.

I plan to have a batch of baby brine shrimp ready for the fry and the
emergency standby of liquifry 1 for egg layers. As the fry age I plan
to mix in Hikari first bite fry food.

This will be my first try at raising fry so I'm sure it'll be quite a
learning experience.

Thanks IDzine01 for your reply. Have you had any success with breeding?

[IDzine01]

I have and still do keep several bettas and spend a lot of time
researching them but I haven't bred them. This is why I usually avoid
answering breeding questions. I am familiar with the basics, just
haven't done it myself with bettas. I'm currently conditioning Dwarf
Gouramis to breed which is quite similar but a bit more tame.

Good luck, I hope your bettas are feeling the chemistry. ;-)

[John D. Goulden]

> My question is, do I wait until I see the vertical stripes before
> putting them together, or can I put them together now that she has
> shown the submissive behavior and just hope they will become a mating
> pair?

Horizontal stripes are fear and / or submission; vertical stripes are
excitement and / or ready to make baby bettas. Keep feeding them live food
and wait for her to get her eggs and vertical stripes. He should be building
bubble nests in anticipation. When you put them together expect it to get a
little rough. There are several good web pages on breeding bettas that you
probably ought to visit as well.

--
John Goulden

[Basserman]

Any suggestions on food other than Freeze Dried Blood Worms to
condition them for breeding? I alternate that with the Hikari betta
bio-gold pellets and some frozen brine shrimp. Is there anything else
like hard boiled egg yolks that give them the needed protien for
successful breeding?

[Richard Sexton]

In article . com>,
Basserman > wrote:
>Any suggestions on food other than Freeze Dried Blood Worms to
>condition them for breeding? I alternate that with the Hikari betta
>bio-gold pellets and some frozen brine shrimp. Is there anything else
>like hard boiled egg yolks that give them the needed protien for
>successful breeding?
>

Nothing beats live worms for conditioning fish for breeding. Forget
dried or frozen food. You might be able to buy blackworms at your
local store; thi smonths TFH tells youhow to culture them. White
worm cultures are easily available and couldn't be easier to culture.

http://new.killi.net/feeding/live/cultured/worms/white/

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[Tynk]

I would advise you to slow down, and do a bit of research *before*
trying this. If you have already done that, then you should already
know the answers to your question.
Sorry of that comes off as a bit harsh, but I am blunt and to the
point.
Breeding Bettas is easy, but raising them is the hard part.
Do you already know all the steps needed in order to ensure that the
fry survive?
I can help you all ya need, I just want to make sure you are ready
ahead of time and know what you are in for.
Good thing you have the time and resources, because it's not cheap on
either. = )
It is quite rewarding though.

[Tynk]

Well, to condition the pair I'm feeding them freeze-dried bloodworms
and some frozen brine shrimp as well as the Hikari Betta Bio-gold
pellets.

Lay off the freeze dried Bloodworms!!!!
They can cause constipation and who wants to "dance" when you're all
backed up? = )~
Switch to frozen or live Bloodworms, you can even use live bearer fry,
Brine, live or frozen, and the Bio Gold is ok.
You really should be starting the fry out on Microworms. Newly hatched
Brine is too large for many of the fry and those will actually starve
to death then.
The Liquifry can pollute easlily, so use it carefully.
I like to use this stuff, but not for actual feeding of the fry.
I add a few drops, per day from the time of spawning, until they are
free swimming.
The Liquifry seems to creat micro foods in the tank that are already
present by the time their free swimming, so if you do it this way, the
little ones will be able to eat the micro foods, and the larger fry
will be able to the baby Brine.
By using the Liquifry for feeding the fry, you run the risk of
polluting the tank.
Water changes on ther fry tank shouldn't be done until they are 2 weeks
from the free swimming stage, so you don't want to be messing with
trying to do water changes from a polluted tank.

[Vicki PS]

"Tynk" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> I would advise you to slow down, and do a bit of research *before*
> trying this. If you have already done that, then you should already
> know the answers to your question.
> Sorry of that comes off as a bit harsh, but I am blunt and to the
> point.
> Breeding Bettas is easy, but raising them is the hard part.
> Do you already know all the steps needed in order to ensure that the
> fry survive?
> I can help you all ya need, I just want to make sure you are ready
> ahead of time and know what you are in for.
> Good thing you have the time and resources, because it's not cheap on
> either. = )
> It is quite rewarding though.
>

Good advice, Tynk.

One other point -- a 1 gallon tank (assuming this isn't a typo) is too small
to be spawning in.

Vicki PS

[Basserman]

Thanks Vicki! yeah the 1 gallon was more a temporary home for the
bettas while the 10 gallon tank gets set up. I plan to breed them in
the 10 with about 1/2 full of water. I think I have all the necessary
"goods" to have a go at it.

One question, do you keep the bottom of the tank empty? or put some
form of substrate in the tank? I plan to have some fake plants and
rocks for the female to hide in when her and the MR aren't doing their
business, but not sure what, if anything, to keep on the bottom.

[Tynk]

Forgive my bluntness, but you should know this already.
Are you just getting tid bits of info here and there or have you
researched this.
Please, please take my advice before you try to spawn.
Your question about whether or not to put a form of substrate in the
breeding tank is a vivid red flag to me that says you've not done
enough research.

[Basserman]

Tynk - I do appreciate your bluntness. And you are right, I should and
do already know the answer to these questions from the research that I
have done. However, I'm trying to promote conversation with others
that have tried to breed and may have had success or failure depending
on the issues I'm bringing up. Most posters on here have done just
that. I have done a lot research and I do have the time and resources
to give it a try. Yes I am a beginner, but you were too at one time
and I'm sure someone answered your dumb questions like others have with
me.

I know you're trying to help. And you're probably just trying to keep
me from some of the bad experiences that may have happened to you in
your attempts at breeding egg laying fish. I guess that's a thank you
for what it's worth, but regardless of your posts, I'm still going to
give it a try.

[[email protected]]

This site will answer most of your questions:

http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/anabantids2/p/betta.htm

[Tynk]

However, I'm trying to promote conversation with others
that have tried to breed and may have had success or failure depending
on the issues I'm bringing up.

Oh, well then "that's a horse of a different color", hehe.
>From your posts it sounded like you had planned on starting without
all the knowledge yet, and since you never had replied to any of my
posts, how could I have known.
As I said before, I will be happy to help you all you want.