[BlueJack]

I want to breed this butterfly double tail. I've never bred betta's before so I need some help. He's in a 6 gallon planted tank right now. I introduced a blue single-tail female yesterday. He nipped up her fins pretty badly so I removed her today. How do I do this??

 

[Drema]

http://joshday.com/howtobreedbettafish.htm

this may help.
"Then place the female in the glass chimney. This will allow the pair to see each other, but to be separated. This gives the male time to build a bubble nest (which houses the fry until they are free swimming) under the Styrofoam cup (you can also use bubble wrap to shelter the nest). When the male completes the nest, and the female shows signs of readiness (swims head down, vertical stripes appear, belly is round with eggs), lift the chimney so she can be with the male."

Maybe using a clear container beside his tank to get them use to each other and see when she is ready?

 

[lauraleellbp]

Before you take that step, you need to condition both of them with good foods for a minimum of two weeks. Live foods are best, but frozen are a suitable substitute. Wait until the female's belly is visibly full of eggs and the male has a bubblenest going, and THEN you can move her to the chimney in the male's tank.

It often takes some trial and error to learn how to interpret their signals, but in general, when they stop chasing and running from each other and start "shimmying" at each others' sides, that's when you lift the chimney.

www.ultimatebettas.com is a good resource.

 

[Gtdad2]

http://www.ultimatebettas.com/index.php?showtopic=3686

Oh, I see Lauralee beat me to the punch...lol.

 

[mistergreen]

Hey, that guy is pretty cool looking... I'm first in line for one or 2 babies


Breeding them is pretty easy. Wait until the girl's abdomen is full of eggs and her ovipositor is sticking out.

 

[majerah1]

Beautiful boy!

Let me chime in that you need fry foods so go ahead and get cultures started when you start the conditioning of the fish.This way they will have some good first foods when they spawn.

 

[wendyjo]

You'll also need lots and lots of jars or other containers to separate the males when they get older - each male will need his own home - can you accommodate them? What do you plan to do with all the babies? Can you find homes for them all and do you have room for them in your house if you can't? I would suggest you do quite a bit more research before doing this. Breeding anything without having a solid plan in place for the offspring is irresponsible.

 

[BlueJack]

You'll also need lots and lots of jars or other containers to separate the males when they get older - each male will need his own home - can you accommodate them? What do you plan to do with all the babies? Can you find homes for them all and do you have room for them in your house if you can't? I would suggest you do quite a bit more research before doing this. Breeding anything without having a solid plan in place for the offspring is irresponsible.

I was just going to let them grow out in my pond. I heard that's the only way the little ones will be able to eat. I guess whatever is in the pond is good food for babies? I didn't know I had to separate them though. I've seen paradise fish breeders keep about a hundred in a concrete pond....i was guessing since betta fish are multiple times less aggressive than paradise fish, I could do the same.

 

[wendyjo]

I was just going to let them grow out in my pond. I heard that's the only way the little ones will be able to eat. I guess whatever is in the pond is good food for babies? I didn't know I had to separate them though. I've seen paradise fish breeders keep about a hundred in a concrete pond....i was guessing since betta fish are multiple times less aggressive than paradise fish, I could do the same.

That might work if it's large enough and has enough hiding spots. I have never known of any home breeders to use a pond so I really don't know how well it would work.

 

[mistergreen]

You should hold off pond rearing the fry till summer. I know it's warm in FL but bettas are more tropical than paradise which are more sub tropical & temperate.

You can do heavy culling the keep the numbers of bettas down. Most of the fry won't look as good as the dad. You can keep them together in one large tank till they're 1-2 months old.

 

[jameslibtech]

just add water and shake!
lol just kidding, good luck

 

[koldsoup]

Often times rearing the fry is the hardest part of breeding bettas.

 

[lauraleellbp]

Betta breeders that use ponds either have VERY large ponds or start culling and jarring pretty quickly, before the fish start sparring and damage each others' fins. Fish that are kept together WILL damage each others' fins, and damaged fish not only won't sell well, but are also prone to infections that can turn into epidemics in crowded situations.

I'd average about 300 fish per spawn. I'd usually run about 100-150 in quart mason jars and then keep the less aggressive males and females (hard to tell apart till they get older) at about 20-30 per 10-20gal tank.

Doing water changes is killer unless you can invest in a nice rack system. I personally won't ever breed them again without one (nor will my hubby let me Hahahaha)

 

[wendyjo]

I hate the idea of culling fish just cause they're not as pretty as others. I know it's done every day but imagine if we did that with our other pets.

 

[Geminiluna]

Your betta is gorgeous, by the way. I bred one of my betta's once. ONCE is the operative word. I didn't have a nice rack system. I had a bookshelf, lined with large 32-ounce deli cups, each containing one betta. And I had a beast of a time keeping the water temperature stable. And I had an even worse time keeping up with water changes. I ended up with stunted growth and few survivors and I've never attempted it since, knowing that my own failure to keep them optimally led to premature deaths and the stunting I observed, etc. :-(

 

[Betta Maniac]

I hate the idea of culling fish just cause they're not as pretty as others. I know it's done every day but imagine if we did that with our other pets.

Up until recently, we did (e.g white boxers).

 

[wendyjo]

Up until recently, we did (e.g white boxers).

Ugh, don't get me started on this topic