My betta breeding failure

6706 Views 19 Replies 7 Participants Last post by kchan, Nov 17, 2010

kchan

Discussion Starter · Nov 15, 2010

Well the title says it all. I was so excited today becuase my male finally finished his buble nest. I conditioned both of them for 2 weeks woth bloodworms and good quality flakes. The female was fat with eggs and her ovipositor was sticking out and I was sure they were ready to breed, so i released her in with the male betta. I sat there for 2 hours watching him chase her and bite at her. She didn't get hurt, but she was a little stressed. I ended up putting her back in her container inside the 10 gallon. I have no idea why It didnt work? Does it usually take longer? I guess the male wasn't ready to breed. I had my sponge filter on low, and it was like that for 2-3 days when they were in seperate containers.. I also found out why my male didnt want to make a buble nest. He didnt like the sponge filter, so when I turned it off, he started making a HUGE buble nest.

Does anyone know why it didnt work?

Thank you

Kelly

1 - 20 of 20 Posts

kchan

Discussion Starter · #2 · Nov 15, 2010

by the way, she was actually not aggresive at all with the male. She hid and ran from him. He was the really aggresive one.

tetrabettaguy97

· #3 · Nov 15, 2010

I've never actually bred bettas, however from what I have heard and read, it can take A LOT longer than only two hours. In most cases, the female acts cowardly around the male. Was she timid when in the container in the 10 gallon? Did the male show any interest in her while she was in this container?

From some breeder websites I've seen, most of them actually said that "the female will usually be pretty beat up by the time the actual breeding happens". This is pretty much why I've refrained from betta breeding. Anyways, good luck. Maybe you should try again.

-tetrabettaguy97

Do you guys remember Pogs

· #4 · Nov 15, 2010

That sounds like my first attempt. What size tank did you have them in? Try floating the female for a few hours in a glass jar that is half filled with water; then release her. It may take a few days before they actually spawn so make sure you have some bushy plants and many other hiding spots so she can take refuge. Keep in mind, if she is not interested in him at the start she never will be, no matter how many attempts. When she is in the jar, she should be try to get to him too.

Do you guys remember Pogs

· #5 · Nov 15, 2010

Also, make sure you have no water movement at the surface. Your sponge filter might be moving the water to mutch. Bettas breed in stagnant pools so even if you do get them to spawn, any surface agitation will break up the bubble nest or cause the eggs to fall. I had success with a Tomm's mini, placed at the bottom of the tank.

Swan900

· #6 · Nov 15, 2010

Keep doing what your doing for a few more days. Keep them together for longer though, about 3-4 hours. Watch them and make sure she doesnt get too beat up. If it fails again after the fourth day then you could wait another month maybe and condition again. But your better off trying another pair or different female with him. Not all betta's pair well.

Swan

lauraleellbp

· #7 · Nov 15, 2010

I used to fill the breeding tank only 1/2 way full, and then put the female inside a glass chimney (the kind that goes over hurricane lamps) so the pair could see each other but not hurt each other (sometimes females are aggressive, too). I wouldn't lift the chimney to release the female till they stopped making aggressive displays towards each other and seemed more receptive (male stops trying to attack, and rather spends his time showing off his fins and trying to lead the female back to his nest. Female gets vertical bars, ovipositor showing, and starts trying to follow instead of running away or trying to also attack).

It always takes some trial and error to start learning the signs that the two are both ready at the same time. Also, sometimes it won't ever happen (some pairs just aren't compatible), or sometimes one or the other of the pair just isn't ready. Sometimes it takes hours, sometimes a few minutes, sometimes days. Each spawning can work differently, even with the same pair time after time.

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kchan

Discussion Starter · #8 · Nov 15, 2010

That would make a lot of sense if she was tired... He could never catch her.

I guess it would take a longer time. ( would i have to sit and stare at them for 2 or more hours? Or can i just take a peep every 30 mins or so? Im afraid if i dont see he will hurt/kill her. He flared and swam by her alot when she was in her jar. They really had an intrest in eachother.

tetrabettaguy97 said:
I've never actually bred bettas, however from what I have heard and read, it can take A LOT longer than only two hours. In most cases, the female acts cowardly around the male. Was she timid when in the container in the 10 gallon? Did the male show any interest in her while she was in this container?

From some breeder websites I've seen, most of them actually said that "the female will usually be pretty beat up by the time the actual breeding happens". This is pretty much why I've refrained from betta breeding. Anyways, good luck. Maybe you should try again.

-tetrabettaguy97

kchan

Discussion Starter · #9 · Nov 15, 2010

Yeah, i ended up turning the sponge filter off. ( that made the male make his bublenest.)
They are in a 10 gallon take, with 5 inches of water, and a ton of plastic plants ( couldnt get live

)

Do you guys remember Pogs said:
Also, make sure you have no water movement at the surface. Your sponge filter might be moving the water to mutch. Bettas breed in stagnant pools so even if you do get them to spawn, any surface agitation will break up the bubble nest or cause the eggs to fall. I had success with a Tomm's mini, placed at the bottom of the tank.

kchan

Discussion Starter · #10 · Nov 15, 2010

Yeah, i guess it would take longer. ( to get the female tired, so the male can catch her

)

Swan900 said:
Keep doing what your doing for a few more days. Keep them together for longer though, about 3-4 hours. Watch them and make sure she doesnt get too beat up. If it fails again after the fourth day then you could wait another month maybe and condition again. But your better off trying another pair or different female with him. Not all betta's pair well.

Swan

mistergreen

· #11 · Nov 15, 2010

I have this fry/breeder box I could put the female in... They can see each other but the male can't hurt the girl... First time breeding can get a little rough because the boy doesn't know what to do and the girl doesn't know what kind of signals to give.

kchan

Discussion Starter · #12 · Nov 15, 2010

I just put the female in a different jar, with the lid off and she jumped out. she followed the male around for a while, i really thought she was ready. But she began hiding again.

Would it be better to sit and watch them the whole time? Would there be a big chance that the male would kill her?

mistergreen

· #13 · Nov 16, 2010

Give her plenty of plants and pvc tubes to hide in. She'll be fine. You don't have to watch all the time. You'll be surprise o wake up to a bubblenest full of eggs one morning.

When she's not plump, you can take her out.

kchan

Discussion Starter · #14 · Nov 16, 2010

Thank you soooo much! This helped me a lot. Ill keep you all informed on what happens.

mistergreen said:
Give her plenty of plants and pvc tubes to hide in. She'll be fine. You don't have to watch all the time. You'll be surprise o wake up to a bubblenest full of eggs one morning.

When she's not plump, you can take her out.

Imaginary1226

· #15 · Nov 16, 2010

Usually they say leave them in a max of 3 days together. The male chases the female at first, then he tries to lure her over to the nest. Eventually she will come over to look at the nest he has built, she may not like it and try to tear it apart, he will chase her away from it. They do this for awhile and at some point when she is ready she will come to him under the nest with her head down, this means she is ready. They dance for a while underneath the nest and then he tries to wrap her. Keeping the fry alive is the hardest part, you need to do a ton of research about that. They need tiny little live foods at first.

kchan

Discussion Starter · #16 · Nov 16, 2010

Before i got this, i kept them together over night. In the morning i saw he must have gotten her fin. She has a big rip in it. Should i still put her in with him?

Imaginary1226 said:
Usually they say leave them in a max of 3 days together. The male chases the female at first, then he tries to lure her over to the nest. Eventually she will come over to look at the nest he has built, she may not like it and try to tear it apart, he will chase her away from it. They do this for awhile and at some point when she is ready she will come to him under the nest with her head down, this means she is ready. They dance for a while underneath the nest and then he tries to wrap her. Keeping the fry alive is the hardest part, you need to do a ton of research about that. They need tiny little live foods at first.

kchan

Discussion Starter · #17 · Nov 16, 2010

also the buble nest is broken... its very small now. Should i just keep her in her jar untill he makes a better one?

lauraleellbp

· #18 · Nov 16, 2010

Expect some torn fins, on both sides. That's normal for spawning.

As long as she has tons of hiding places in the 10gal, if it looks like they're both ready, I'd leave them together. You don't need to watch the tank constantly, but you do need to keep an eye on things. Remove one or the other if it looks like one is really taking a beating, to the point they're missing scales and constantly cowering in a corner somewhere with really dark colors.

Don't worry about the bubble nest, the male has plenty of time during spawning to add to it.

kchan

Discussion Starter · #19 · Nov 16, 2010

Ok i put them back in a few mins ago. She started losing eggs!! Not too many, she has a lot left. He also made a decent bublenest in the time too.

ill keep you updated!

lauraleellbp said:
Expect some torn fins, on both sides. That's normal for spawning.

As long as she has tons of hiding places in the 10gal, if it looks like they're both ready, I'd leave them together. You don't need to watch the tank constantly, but you do need to keep an eye on things. Remove one or the other if it looks like one is really taking a beating, to the point they're missing scales and constantly cowering in a corner somewhere with really dark colors.

Don't worry about the bubble nest, the male has plenty of time during spawning to add to it.

kchan

Discussion Starter · #20 · Nov 17, 2010

They began embracing and putting the eggs in the nest. I got some nest/egg questions. That need to be answered ASAP please!!
Im scared the male will eat the eggs in the nest!! Can i remove him? I removed the female because she was done spawning. How long does it take for the fry to free swim?

Thanks,

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