betta spawn

[bettabill]

Trying to breed a pair of bettas. The female is ready, white spot, head bowing and lat line. The problem is the male won't build a nest. They been together for a week now.sunday morning I plan on releasing the female. Any suggestions would be welcome. I new to bettas. Thanks
(Sorry guppy guy. I'm new at this posting.)

 

[Wilkes]

There are some good videos on YouTube regarding this and what to look for. Check them out

 

[Andy Sager]

Trying to breed a pair of bettas. The female is ready, white spot, head bowing and lat line. The problem is the male won't build a nest. They been together for a week now.sunday morning I plan on releasing the female. Any suggestions would be welcome. I new to bettas. Thanks
(Sorry guppy guy. I'm new at this posting.)

First thing to know is that not all males will build a nest prior to spawning. Some don't build until the act of spawning while he's putting the eggs in. At this point, it's a guess that your male is old enough or in condition to spawn. (The temp might also be why he hasn't built a nest.)

I noticed the sponge filter in the tank. If it's running, it may be why the male is not building a nest. Bettas prefer very slow moving to almost still water to breed.

The following is an a-z method I use to breed Bettas. I use it for all variations of Betta splendens. You can see pics of some of my setups in my albums on my profile page. Feel free to Pm me if you have any other questions.

I breed Bettas this way:
Condition the potential pair by adding higher protein foods like Bloodworms or Black Worms to their normal diet for approx. 1 week. Female should be nice and round with the first egg showing at her ovipositor.

Tank with new water and no filter-Covered to keep humidity in, water 80-82 degrees, Water height- no more than 6 inches. (I use anything from clear shoe box trays to bowls to glass tanks for spawning tanks. The water height is what's more important.) Some tubes such as PVC fittings or piping or other hiding places for the female along the bottom. I usually have 3 to 4 of these in the tank.

Male loose in tank- Female in glass jar, I use a piece of Romain lettuce leaf roughly 2" square for the male to build his nest. You can substitute a floating live plant for the lettuce. ( As the lettuce starts to deteriorate, infusoria cultures begin to develop.)
Assuming your fish have been conditioned, Males build nest within 24-36 hours, Females show breeding colors almost immediately, If female does not "challenge" the male when he flairs at her, she is most likely not ready for breeding. (My females flair their gill plates right back at the males.)
If all signs point to a compatible pair, I release the female in the morning.
I've had spawns happen as quickly as 45 minutes after introduction to 7 days later. (Note that if the male is highly aggressive, I will put the female back in the jar at night for their protection.) Once spawning is completed, the female is removed. Male cares for the eggs and fry. The male comes out the day before the fry are free swimming.

Rearing fry:
I don't usually start my fry with infusoria other than what was in the tank from the lettuce. I start hatching setup for live brine shrimp the day the fry start free swimming so that they are newly hatched by day 2. (PM me for more instructions on hatching out brine if you need it.)
At about 7-10 days old, I start a sponge filter with very little air (Fry are very sensitive to water movement.) I seed the sponge prior to using it to have a "cycled" filter instantly.

From this point on, it's feeding and careful water changes to get them to grow.



Hope this helps

 

[bettabill]

Thanks for the info. Waters at 82 and yes I need to turn the air off. I like the idea of the lettuce. I'll keep you posted, and yes to YouTube on everything.thanks