# Breeding Beta Fish



## Happy Tortoise (Dec 16, 2012)

Hey guys,

I love torts and all things living, but if I wanted to breed a beta, what would be the best option? Are the female and male allowed together? I have a red veil tailed male beta that I raised since two years ago and I don't think he is sutaible for breeding. He is pretty old and can't eat pellets, so he is off the list. I have a blue striped female I got a month ago, she is also veil tailed. Should I get another male? The female is an inch long (from mouth to base of tail) and not very aggressive. The male is two inches long (mouth to base of tail) and quite fierce. The red male is pretty old, so I think I should. I havn't bred any vertabretes before- (I bred mantises) and I think I am ready. Help me!


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## african cake queen (Dec 16, 2012)

hi, i have always had betas around. the male cares for the eggs. he makes a bubble nest. he also may kill the female. i have a 4 year old white male.i dont thinks its hard to do but i have never tried.'lol' good luck.


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## BowandWalter (Dec 16, 2012)

I've never really gotten into it. I know at least one member breeds them in a bathtub pond outside, they just put a boy and girl in and catch the babies out and the end of summer. I know it takes a lot more room then most people think, 40 gallons or so minimum, I've only read about it so maybe you can squeeze by with less. you need a really young male, after a year their fertility goes way down.

I personally keep a male and a female together in my Angelfish tank. I don't recommend it unless you really know your fishes personality, and I mean really really, otherwise you can end up with a dead fish. 

If your breeding fish for the first time I'd go for mollies or guppies, something that needs less room, and is less prone to aggression. Once you've got that down then move up to things like Betta fish.

Googling common things like breeding fish may be a good idea.


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## CourtneyAndCarl (Dec 16, 2012)

My only advise to you is DON'T! I hate to be a Debbie Downer but I have tried several times and they have all been awful experiences. It is not as simple as putting the male and female together. 

You need to have, at minimum, a ten gallon tank to do this, as well two five gallon tanks standing by to put the parents in once they are no longer needed in the breeding cycle, and at least one other ten gallon tank standing by once the fry outgrow the one tank. I have always used twenty gallon tanks because you can keep more fry in them. The tank also needs to be kept very warm.

The male, which needs to be between 6 months and 1 year of age (mose betta you find at petstores will probably be out of this range) needs to live and be conditioned in the breeding tank for at least a month before you introduce the female. In this time the female needs to be fattened up. That means frozen or live bloodworms twice a day, same thing for the male.

When you do introduce her, it needs to be in some sort of container that is see through so they can interact but not actually get to each other, and preferably still allows filtered water to come through (either a tank divider or a breeding cup thing). The male will flare to the female often, and eventually build a bubble nest. In order to facilitate a bubble nest big enough to keep eggs in, you will have to create some sort of break in the water where the filter can't move the water around. Males also tend to prefer something with a closed top. I have always used a styrofoam cup cut in half and placed on the surface of the water. The female isn't ready to breed until she ovulates, there will be a little white dot on her anus. Once his bubble nest is big enough and the female shows signs of carrying eggs, you can release the female into the tank.

You can ABSOLUTELY not leave the tank during this period because things can turn south quickly. There will be a lot of chasing, and eventually the male will lead the female to his bubble nest. If she likes it, she will allow him to breed. If not, she will jump through the nest and destroy it. If anyone's fins get ripped, you need to remove the female right away. Only allow them to stay together for about an hour or so and if no breeding happens, remove her and try again in a couple of days. All the while, they still need to be fed blood worms 2-3 times a day. 

If they do breed, the male will wrap himself around the female and squeeze her eggs out. The male, sometimes with the help of the female, will collect all the eggs into his mouth and spit them into his bubble nest. After this is done, you need to remove the female and put her in her five gallon tank immediately or the male will kill her. 

Now you've got eggs. The male will not eat anything at this time, which is why it is very important that he is fattened up before hand. When the eggs hatch, he will still care for them until their yolk sacs completely dissolve and they become free swimming, then he will eat them. This can happen within minutes, so you need to watch them closely. Once they start free swimming, remove the male to a five gallon tank ASAP and feed him well.

Since I have never gotten past that stage, I can't speak from first hand experience for the rest of it, but I did do a lot of research.

The fry need to be fed small increments 5+ times a day. You need a sponge filter for them or else they will get sucked into any other filter. They can also eat off of the sponge filter. It is very easy for fry to die from poor water conditions so you want to make sure you don't feed them more than they can eat, and you need to do small water changes every day. As the fry grow, the males will start fighting and you need to seperate them from each other. Ideally you would have some sort of breeding system where you have several small compartments that are all filtered, but if not they each need at least one gallon (stock up on milk jugs now, you may have enough in a few years) and small daily water changes (do remember that you can get upwards of 50+ males at once). The females can stay together. The most important thing for the males in their individual containers is that they stay warm. If you can't provide them with aquarium heaters, they need to be kept in a room that is at a pretty constant 78 degrees Fahrenheit. 

Once they have all grown, good luck finding homes for your potential 100+ betta, most of which will be ugly grayish colors.


I would really, REALLY recommend you stay away from breeding betta. If you want lots of pretty babies, go with guppies. If you want a fish that has very interesting breeding habits, convict cichlids are awesome.


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