Betta fish breeding is such a broad subject in itself, and I could write an entire book on the subject. In fact, some people have! However, I will give you a brief overview of the breeding process by answering 2 very important questions…
1. How do you know when your betta fish is ready to breed?
In my opinion, the ideal time to breed your Betta fish is when they are between 6 and 12 months old.
You will know when a male is ready to start breeding because he will start making his bubble nest, this usually takes 1-2 days until the nest is complete. You can’t miss the bubble nest when it starts to happen, it is as the name suggests, a nest that looks like a group of bubbles floating in the water.
To tell when a female is ready to spawn, you’ll notice vertical stripes appearing on her sides. Don’t confuse vertical stripes with horizontal ones, because horizontal stripes mean they’re stressed. Also, a female will begin to bloat near the white spot on her belly (ovipositor) when she is brooding. 🙂
2. How are Betta fish bred?
Start by creating a separate breeding tank. The water in the tank should be between 5 and 6 inches deep and a temperature of (75 to 80 Fahrenheit). You will also want to add some large leaves to aid in the construction of the bubble nest and to help the female hide when the male becomes aggressive.
Next, you want to gradually introduce the fish. To do this, place a divider in a tank that separates the two fish, obviously a male and a female Betta! 😉 or keep them in different tanks but so they can see each other.
While introducing them, you should start feeding the Bettas live foods to prepare them for breeding. Such food could be live brine shrimp, frozen bloodworms, or black worms (also known as Tubifex worms). I have to admit, this is not my cup of tea, but Betta loves this stuff! After 10-14 days of doing this, she can place them together in the breeding tank…
However, be sure to supervise when doing this, otherwise the male could become overly aggressive towards the female. Obviously there will be some aggression and biting as they get to know each other. However, if you think it’s getting too severe, remove the female and try again in a couple of days.
Once your Bettas have met and decide to breed, the male will wrap himself around the female, often called a “cuddle.” The female will then release the eggs from her into the bubble nest or the male will pick them up and lay them in the bubble nest. The female can release between 500 and 750 eggs, so the hug is usually done several times.
When the female has finished laying her eggs, remove her from the tank soon after because the male Betta will become very protective of his bubble nest and aggressive, and she might become fish food (sort of like brine shrimp, you know what do I mean?). ).
Once this process is finished, the male will be in charge of fertilizing, cleaning and caring for the eggs, keeping them inside the bubble nest. approx. 2-3 days later, the eggs will hatch and the Fry (Baby Betta) will be released.
Another 3-5 days later, the fry will begin to swim. At this stage, you should remove the male betta from the nest to prevent the fry from becoming fish food. You should feed the fry brine shrimp or daphnia three times a day. After 14 days you can start feeding them flake or powdered food, but in small amounts until they are big enough.
Around 4-5 weeks later, you will be able to identify the males and females. Separate the males before the fight starts because there is always a loser!
This article should have given you a good overview of the breeding process and with this information you will be well on your way to amazing Betta fish displaying the most magnificent color and fin structure that will have your friends jaws dropping when they see your tank. !
